Four-footed and Winged Neighbors

This afternoon I laid down on a warm slab of rock at the bottom of this picture. What a wonderful feeling it was having the warm afternoon sun on my legs and belly, a huge, warm rock on my back, and a cool mountain breeze bringing a perfect balance. I was listening to the cry of a bird of prey in the valley and enjoying the sound of the wind when, a few minutes later, a hummingbird came and lit on a leafless tree a few yards from me. We both looked at each other for about 10 seconds then s/he zoomed over my stomach. I liked that it wasn't afraid to fly towards me.

Five to ten minutes later, some kind of chipmunk(?) jumped onto a rock below me. It was brown with black and white stripes running down its head and back. It had white stripes lining its eyes and was about 5 inches long with a long tail in the air. It then jumped onto a rock closer to have a better look. I was glad it was not afraid either. It then went away, only to appear about 10 minutes later and perched itself on a rock. It made a chuckling noise and I clicked my tongue. She cocked her head. We then had a mysterious conversation. "Chuckle, chuckle", "Click.", "Chuckle.", "Click,click." "Chuckle", "Click". She couldn't stay too long and disappeared I think to take care of some chipmunk business.

My next visitor (actually I guess I was the visitor) was a 3-4 inch lizard who spotted me from a rock well below and to my surprise, started climbing the rocks to get within a few feet of me. While looking at me sideways with one eye, he pumped his chest a few times like he was doing pushups. I looked at him. After a few minutes of him looking at me sideways, I put my foot down on the rock less than a foot way (to see if he might want to come closer) and he did not move, but instead of looking at my foot, turned his head and looked at me square in the eyes. So interesting, that he knew our eyes were the point of communication between us and not my foot. I was glad that he trusted me and was not afraid even when I put my foot close to him. Anyway, we both lay on our respective rocks, enjoying the sun and looking at each other from time to time. It appears lizards are a bit more relaxed than chipmunks, but I think chipmunks would enjoy a good adventure. It was nice spending some time with my four-footed and winged neighbors today. Loving this place. :)