The Unexpected Guest

I got home late this afternoon after doing grocery shopping, got out the bag of mixed greens for a salad out of my backpack, then looked up on the kitchen windowsill and was quite surprised to see to see a western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) happily at rest on the inside of the windowsill. I have no idea how he got there — the house seems fairly well-sealed (at least compared to the drafty cabin in Santa Barbara where we lived previously) and there are no obvious holes by the window. Perhaps it’s a bit patrician of me, but I think lizards belong outside the house, so I showed him an open window. After about five minutes of maneuvers on the countertop, I got him to go out the window, where he leapt to land on the African violets below, losing a bit of dignity in the process. He did seem very content where he was on the windowsill. Sigh.

We like western fence lizards though. Apart from being our most commonly-encountered reptile friend around here, they are believed to be important in reducing the incidence of Lyme disease in the state. When nymphal ticks feed on the lizard, some factor in their blood destroys the spirochetes that cause the disease.