Southern California alligator lizard hitchhiker in back of truck.

Way back on August 30, in “Garden Treasures,” I wrote about chasing a Southern California alligator lizard around the yard and how my husband, Leonel, and I “performed” a great comedy act for the neighbors.  Well, we simply cannot resist the “chase the lizard urges” that come upon us when we find one of these garden treasures lurking about.

A small Southern California alligator lizard became a hitchhiker in the back of the truck the day before yesterday.  It must have been in an armful of yard debris that Leonel scooped into a yard waste receptacle.  Well, when he was loading additional equipment into the truck, he spied this lovely new, soon-to-be resident of Carranza’s Corner.  He (Leonel not the lizard) trotted into the house, said, “Grab the camera and follow me.”

I love having the camera sitting beside me while I’m at the computer; I can just grab it and go.

Southern California alligator lizard--the dragon imitation says it all. Priceless.

I reach the bed of the truck—and I see equipment.  Where’s the lizard?  Ooh-ooh, there he (she?) is.  We gently move equipment until the critter scurries out from under the pole saw.  Snap, move, snap, move, snap, move.  Okay, time to lower the tailgate.  The lizard immediately hurries to perceived freedom, and plops onto the bumper through the crack between the truck bed and tailgate.  I’m trying to think about how to catch him before he falls to the pavement when he drops flatly (splatly?) onto the street.  He’s okay, though, as he immediately rushes into the right rear wheel.  Bad place to be—So Cal needs to get himself from the truck wheel to the backyard (with a little help from his new friends).

I run over and grab a bucket; Leonel grabs the rake.  By banging our “tools” on the ground, we gradually wrangle So Cal from the street and under our son’s car—and into the wheel.  Sigh.  What is it with So Cal and wheels?  As Leonel and I move from side to side, making noise and being obnoxious, So Cal peeks an evil eye out of the wheel at me.

I get the evil eye from my new friend.

(Of course, remember we are talking to each other—and So Cal—while all this action is happening.  What are passersby thinking?  Hmmm.  Maybe we really don’t want to know.)

Finally, So Cal moves from the final wheel and off into the weed patch by the garage.  Carranza’s Corner has a new resident and I have another story to tell.

Safely at home. And this is the end of the tail.