There are lots of birders out in the world who at some time have kept lists of the species they’ve seen, the numbers, behaviors, and locations. For amateurs like me, and experts alike – it’s a natural high, a love of life that is different from ourselves.

I have not discovered many people who count lizards – only one so far in my life. He stated it was believed there were more lizard species at Pedernales Falls State Park – not far from where I’m living - than at any other location in the United States. I know little about lizards but it’s always a thrill to spot one in the wild, sunning on a rock like a mini-dinosaur. Sometimes the smaller ones, and snakes as well, can be seen in the beaks of a roadrunner who is thrilled to have a meal, who appreciates our reptilian neighbors in a more primal way.