I need a pink Coachwhip for a pic. Reeeeely bad.
Saturday, I went to get some Tree Lizards (Urosaurus ornatus) for a photo. Now, for those who don't live around Tree Lizards, they are dirt common. They live in all the towns and cities in Arizona, and all over the deserts and mountain canyons. Mostly, it's nothing to see anywhere from a dozen to TMTC.
I went to Coon Bluff, a Forest Service recreation site along the Salt River near Phoenix. There are two ways to go to Coon Bluff, UP the Bush Highway from Mesa, which is a drag--traffic, stop lights--bleah. Or up Beeline Highway to the jct of the north end of Bush Highway, then DOWN Bush Highway to the river. I picked the desert route, Beeline to Bush Highway. Didn't see any Coachwhips.
Got to Coon Bluff, first Tree Lizard I saw, I broke its tail off. Second Tree Lizard, broke its tail off. Mmmphh! Third one, didn't break its tail off, but it had some funky old injury to the tail--not a good photo op. Mind you, it's hot--real hot, and for some reason, the commonest lizard in the state is proving hard to find. Searched for an hour and a half, saw plenty of baby Desert Spiny, some whiptails, even Long-Tailed Brush Lizards, usually rare at that site. Playing peek-a-boo with a Tree Lizard around a rough-barked mesquite tree, lost track of my noose thread, snagged it on a twig, and it closed completely, not to be opened again. Didn't bring any spare thread. Sigh.
Finally managed to collect some perfect Tree Lizards, went home going DOWN Bush Highway through Mesa. Hadn't gone two miles--freshly killed bright pink Coachwhip in the road. Had I come UP Bush Highway, I might have seen it alive. Crap.
Got home, smelled so bad, the dog sniffed me and made a face. Later that day, the air conditioning in my car stopped working. Thank goodness for Terry with his cheerful posts brimming with success--SOMEbody's having a good season.
