The lizard's head was down when I first saw him. My first reaction was a sense of wonder that he'd turned a metallic bluish color, blending in with the color of the wire. I've seen the western fence lizards that populate my garden turn from striped brown to almost black but never blue. Then I saw he was seriously stuck. I jiggled the cloche a bit to see if I could help him get loose. He didn't budge and that's when he looked up at me, his mouth open with an expression I interpreted as extreme distress. Whether he was crying for help or expressing abject terror that this human looming above him was going to finish him off, I don't know. I ran and got my garden snips and, as gently and carefully as I could, I snipped the wire clamped around his hind legs. He was still unable to move so I clipped a little more. Then he was away like a flash without a backward glance.
This is my Wednesday Vignette. For more, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Oh thank god this has a happy ending. I don't think I could take a sad story right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much for sad stories right now either, Loree, so I'd be unlikely to share a tale with an unhappy ending.
DeleteI'm so glad you saved him and he scurried away. Poor thing must have been terrified.
ReplyDeleteHe was distressed, that's for sure. I just hope he's learned not to try squeezing through any more metal structures.
Deleteyou're my hero!
ReplyDeleteI was just glad I was able to free him without causing him any further injury.
DeleteSo glad you were able to save him, he must have been terrified.
ReplyDeleteI hate to think how long he was stuck there - long enough to turn himself blue in an effort to conceal him from passing predators but I've no idea how long that takes!
DeleteI was already admiring this plucky lizard when I followed your link, and then I read the passage on how their presence reduces the incidence of Lyme disease. You're a hero freeing a hero!
ReplyDeleteAs there must be a bazillion of these creatures in my garden, I expect I should be able to declare it a Lyme disease free zone. I can't walk 5 feet without one crossing my path.
DeleteGlad that you've spotted and rescued it, lucky lizard!
ReplyDeleteI feel bad I left the wire cloche out in the first place but then, as the lizards are literally everywhere here, I don't suppose there's a truly safe place to keep it. I'm not sure how he got in there either unless he crawled underneath and some predator then pushed the cloche level to the paving stone trying to get at him.
DeleteQuick thinking saves the day! So glad you found him when you did and were able to free him.
ReplyDeleteIt was REALLY hot on Saturday so, yes, I'm glad I didn't find him any later in the day then I did.
DeleteLucky lizard! The info about Lyme disease is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThey eat insects, including grasshoppers, too so they perform a service in the garden, although all I ever see them doing in skittering about, chasing one another, and occasionally performing push-ups, which seems to be a form of communication with their fellow lizards.
DeleteOh, whew, good save, Kris! So glad you came along before it was too late. Lizards are such good friends in the garden.
ReplyDeleteIt'd have turned the tone of the entire weekend in a negative direction if I'd failed there I think, Eliza. I feel badly if anything perishes in my garden (with the exception of the snails the raccoons consume).
DeleteI still mourn the lizards I have been too late for. One trapped at the bottom of a bucket and one fell in my dog's water bowl. I keep all buckets upside down and the water bowl in the house. My neighbor found one her chihuahua was playing with. She attempted CPR but it was not successful. I absolutely love western fence lizards. They keep me company while I garden.
ReplyDeleteThe lizards are plentiful here too, BV. The biggest threat they usually face here is from my cat on the periodic occasions in which they're foolish enough to enter her screened in porch. She then brings them into the house, proudly announcing herself, drops them and we spend as much as an hour trying to trap them so we can put them back outside (far from her porch). I'm afraid she did eat one once, which wasn't pretty, but she seems to have learned from that experience and now only seeks our approval of her hunting prowess.
DeleteOh dear, you saved a life! What a beautiful lizard!
ReplyDeleteWhile they do have blue blood, this is the first one I've ever seen that has changed its external color blue, Beth. I was surprised at how closely he reflected the silvery blue color of the wire cloche.
DeleteGood morning Kris,
ReplyDeleteA terrible experience for the lizzard but you safed him. So great!!!!
I wish we had lizzards overhere but we don't.
Have a wonderful day!!
Rosehugs Marijke
I imagine the lizards wouldn't like your colder climate, Marijke, as they do love the warmth of the sun!
DeleteBlue is their breeding color. They color up in spring for reptilian romance.
ReplyDeleteI've seen them bright yellow, too.
Happy you were able to save the little guy!
I'd never seen them wearing blue here before - maybe he was in the middle of a tryst when he managed to get himself caught in the wire cloche!
DeleteYou're our shero! Glad you were able to free him.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad too. I hope he's learned to avoid wire structures.
DeleteCatching up on some blog posts - glad I did not miss this one! I love how the lizard turned the color of the wire; nature is truly amazing. I am glad you were able to set him free!
ReplyDeleteI was too!
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