Sceloporus magister
Desert spiny lizard
Helen Harding
Spiny Lizards do not fly
If they tried they'd surely die.
They lurk about upon the ground
Scarcely making any sound,
Tho' one old desert rat proclaims
He's heard them singing when it rains.
~~~~~
Helen Harding was 10 months old when WWII broke out in Europe. She was an evacuee baby in Scotland until her dad said it was safe to come home to the Southeast coast of England. Later, she earned a BA in Zoology at UC Berkeley. She worked as a clinical lab scientist, raising seven kids on her own by working nights in big city hospital labs. She retired early and moved from Oregon to New Mexico.