"I have a family of 30+ living in my driveway retaining wall." ...

When I attended the recent Ag Breakfast , a landowner approach me with a story of finding a lizard on his property. It was a 5-Lined Skink, not known to be found in this area, and he suggested I write ...

Claim to fame: Five-lined skinks are among the most common lizards found over much of the state (including this area), but they’re much more frequently heard than seen. They’re often the lizards ...

DEAR JOAN: My wife and I were sitting on the patio the other afternoon. We’re used to seeing a lot of Western fence lizards around. They seem to like the patio. We’ve even had an alligator lizard on ...

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.

I know I have written time and time again how funny common names of creatures can be. Sometimes these common names can describe where an animal lives, what time of day it is active or even its ...