Look at this surprise visitor in my summer garden

Thinking back on my summer garden and planning for next year, I found this picture of an unexpected little visitor on my patio.

We get a lot of critters in our yard, some good and some… not so much. But this one was definitely the highlight.

I live in San Diego, and I think this was a Western skink.

@Keir
From now on, it’s ‘autocarrot’ for me too.

Thorne said:
@Keir
My new phone seems way more sensitive to it. Drives me nuts.

You can probably turn it off in your keyboard settings.

Thorne said:
We have similar ones in Virginia called Common Five-Lined Skinks. Their blue is a little darker.

Edit: My phone changed ‘five’ to ‘fine.’ Autocorrect is the worst. :roll_eyes:

Just a small correction—they’re Five-Lined Skinks. We have them in Maryland too, and I always look forward to seeing them. I’ve got one that’s claimed a spot on my house for a couple of years. Hoping she’s back this spring.

Thorne said:
We have similar ones in Virginia called Common Five-Lined Skinks. Their blue is a little darker.

Edit: My phone changed ‘five’ to ‘fine.’ Autocorrect is the worst. :roll_eyes:

Sorry, but ‘autocarrot’ made me laugh way too hard. :joy::joy::joy:

Sonny said:
Yep, that’s definitely a Western skink. Beautiful little thing!

It was stunning to see!

Sonny said:
Yep, that’s definitely a Western skink. Beautiful little thing!

He looks magical!

I think these guys are awesome. I once saw one take down a giant red wasp like it was nothing.

Vale said:
I think these guys are awesome. I once saw one take down a giant red wasp like it was nothing.

That makes me like them even more!

I have a bunch of these living in my woodpile. In spring, the males get rose-colored heads and turn into tiny warriors. It’s so funny to watch.

Milo said:
I have a bunch of these living in my woodpile. In spring, the males get rose-colored heads and turn into tiny warriors. It’s so funny to watch.

That sounds hilarious! I’d love to see it.

@Rin
They’ll puff up, bob their heads, and act all tough—like they’re ready to take on the world. Then they realize the ‘threat’ is a human and scatter. So entertaining!

It looks like a blue lizard dipped in gold. Stunning!

That’s a blue-tailed skink! We get them a lot in my garden, and they’re such a delight.

image

@Luca
That’s so cool!

I remember a really big one that lived around our yard—it was about a foot long, and the dogs were always so upset about it.

Leith said:
I remember a really big one that lived around our yard—it was about a foot long, and the dogs were always so upset about it.

Poor dogs! This one was small, but we had a bigger one by the trash bins once. It scared me so much—I thought it was a snake at first!

Orion said:
We call them blue streaks in Florida. They’ll even chase cats!

No way! My mom and sister are in Florida, and they’ve told me wild stories about the critters there. It’s always something with Florida!

They’re so cool! Lucky you for having such a visitor.