Lounge Lizard

Most of the little lizards in our yard are the  Western Fence Lizard, also known as the Blue Belly lizards.  It is really quite striking to sit near my window in the morning and see one crawl up on the screen to bask in the sun.  The bright blue streaks against the mesh are remarkable and I revel in watching it breathe and twitch its muscles.  Every so often the little fellow cocks his head and peers into the room to look me right in the eye.  I stay very still to assure my guest that I have no mal intentions.  Though I occasionally slip my cell phone out of my purse and snap a few pictures because you never know when one might find its way into my blog. 😉

What made this morning’s lizard encounter different was that this little lady (I presume) had yellow markings on her underbelly.  A quick Google search failed to confirm the variety of my morning visitor and of course, the yellow strips may have simply been another sign post for me to remember that I am playing in the lila.

Animal shaman wisdom for lizards would confirm the visit was most certainly a call to Zen as “Detachment from ego” was the first symbolic meaning for these animal spirit guides.  Transformation seems to be a key factor in these tiny deities.

But even beyond the magic and mysticism, these tiny creatures play an amazing role in transmutation.  In 1998, Berkley scientists discovered that ticks that carried Lyme disease were cleansed of the infection when they feed on the blood of the western fence lizard.

http://berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/1998/0429/lizard.html

I guess it’s true … we never really know who are friends are.