Small, curly and sorta cute
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008 [Click to embiggen]
Continuing this week's theme of "surprise", I was minding my own business on a boardwalk overlooking the beach when I heard some muttering coming from behind me. It's a funny thing, this muttering: we seem to be born with a sixth sense that allows us to detect when something's not quite as it should be. People's voices change as soon as they see something that deviates from the routine, and this bright morning by the ocean was no different.
I knew something was going on. So I turned around and saw some folks pointing down at the ground. My sun-blinded eyes at first couldn't see anything. But it didn't take long before this little fellow (fellowette?) came into focus. Sweet, isn't it?
I know it's just a lizard, and this part of the world probably has more of 'em than it needs. I know its brain is barely the size of an apple seed. But I still felt a twinge of sadness go through me as I wondered whether it feared suddenly being in the middle of so many pointing fingers.
Balancing my wish to remember the moment with a wish to not impose any more stress on him/her, I gingerly reached for my camera, zoomed in as best I could and squeezed the shutter a few times before watching him/her skitter into the sandy grass.
Your turn: Meeting up with animals. Please discuss. (Bonus points if you touch on the title of this entry.)
One more thing: More Obama/BlackBerry fun abounds. I'll be on the 6 and 11:30 p.m. newscasts tonight on Kitchener-Waterloo's CKCO CTV affiliate.
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9 comments:
I have always loved lizards, and htis little guy is particularly charming. I can never understand why so many people find them and their ilk unpleasant. I'm glad to hear that you worried a bit over it's feelings under the circumstances.
I don't know why, but discovering a lizard is always exciting, I would have stopped and gaped too.
The kid in me has always loved lizards. After all, they're dragons writ small. And some of them can change colors too. Pretty neat.
We have some beautiful blue/green striped lizards that live around here and I am always pleased to see one - but they don't seem as happy to see me.....LOL. Animal lover that I am, I am pleased to meet up with almost anything, but not a snake (except a black or garden snake which I know is not harmful).
Very cute!!
I used to occasionally leave ground floor windows open ... until :
There I am, crouched over the keyboard in full World of Warcraft focus mode (think tunnel vision). I get a little warning in the form of a "meow" before all of a sudden, I'm getting attacked by monsters out of game as well as in game !
We have a cat, which my neighbour Cyberkitten calls Chronos. Chronos has mastered the art of jumping high enough to get in through ground floor windows that people leave open. And it appears he likes jumping into laps too ...
I jumped so much I hit my head on the printer ! (It's on the top of a bookshelf to the right of where I sit, so the paper out tray can end up in an awkward place ...)
I find animals tough to shoot, especially since my cam's zoom stinks! There's an itty-bitty speck of a gull in my last post...
I got much better film ani shots with the old 200mm lens on my (now busted) SLR-
I happen to like reptiles.
I caught a similar shot in Atlantic Beach last October, though I think my model was a bit more cooperative. It's always serendipitous(?) when the camera and a skittish creature like this one come together. In my experience at least, that's pretty rare. And rarer still is being able to get off a good shot before the moment is gone. Rarer than even that is to get one this good.
I wonder too if a lizard has reasoning skills advanced enough to recognize the importance of all those pointing fingers. I somehow doubt it, but I don't suppose we'll ever get to interview one to find out, huh?
I went with an animal shot for v.2.0 as well... though a much larger and more domesticated species. My pal Tonka got a surprise on Inauguration Day. Though I'm still not sure if his reaction was like, dislike or ambivalence.
Thematic Photographic 33: "Surprise" v.2.0 - What the...?
A while back, our landlord had the building repainted and the roof re-tarred, so they took off all the screends from our windows. It was incredibly hot so we opened our window but left the shade down. The next morning I came in to find a pigeon in our living room! Kinda disgusting, but I got him out before my cats found him.
Leslie
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