We don’t currently have pets, but we do enjoy the many wild animals that live in or near our suburban home. There are several Western Fence Lizards living in our yard, and I’ve trained most of them to eat from my hand. I feed them mealworms, or sometimes small insects that I’ve found. Occasionally we see alligator lizards too, and a few of them have been bold enough to eat from my hand.

We also love watching the various birds that come to our feeders, including sparrows, house finches, lesser goldfinches, and bluejays. Sometimes we see Cooper’s Hawks or Sharp-shinned Hawks that come around to prey on the doves and smaller birds.

There are tiny Worm Salamanders that come out at night sometimes. They look very much like an earthworm but on closer inspection they have a face and tiny, almost vestigial legs.

On rare occasions we’ve found small snakes including Ring-necked Snakes.

Updated May 31, 2010.

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