Lizards, Water recycling and things

This post is mostly just random little things thrown together. There are tons of little tidbits every day that don't quite make a full topic by themselves so this is a few of them together as one. Below is just a nice shot of a pretty little island right off campus. Megan and I both noticed how this was the first time we'd seen any birds on this small island, but it was also during the highest winds we'd experienced thus far. The birds are smart and know to take refuge where they are safe. I wish I could have gotten closer to them but from our stance it looked like they were something similar to a crane.

(Below) Lizards! I am not really a reptile fan but the lizards here are very cool. There are tons of them and they are very pretty and interesting. So far I have distinguished two types. Below is the smaller type. The eyes bug-out similar to a Gecko but a small body usually about 2-4 inches long, with a tail about an additional 6 inches. It's crazy to see these lizards with tails twice to thrice their own body length. Perhaps it has to do with the low number of cats on the island not pouncing on their tails... ;) Another interesting thing about them is these little ones have a small sack or bag of skin under their throats similar looking to a pelican. They can extend it out so it looks just like a pelican or retract it up against their throat where it's not even noticeable. Oh yeah and man oh man can these little ones JUMP! This is like a frog/gecko/lizard combo. These little guys often jump from trees onto other things jumping a foot or two is common.

The other lizard I have seen around here is like a GIANT blue belly crossed with an alligator lizard. They have extremely vibrant blue bellies, bright green backs and are about a foot or two in length. Jasper and Felicity don't discriminate they try to attack all of them. They don't have a chance in hell of catching one with how quick they are but the dogs don't know this.

(Below) So I am in the grass area behind the apartment complex and I see what's pictured below... That white line across the picture is the rain gutter. It comes off the roof and straight into the water tanks... then the little white pipes go straight into our apartments... hmm so THAT would explain the constant grit and sand in our water.... YUMMY! Apparently this is quite common around this area but it still doesn't thrill us.

(Below) These little guys are all over the place. They seem pretty harmless, (not that I have given them a chance to bite me). Just thought the coloring was very cool looking.