If you live in California, you’ve probably seen, or held, a western fence lizard. According to a leading dataset of animal and plant observations, the species is the most commonly spotted reptile in ...

What value does a fence lizard add to the life of a kid under twelve, or an inch worm to the life of a three-year-old? I don't know, but there is some, I think. Value, I mean. We have four grandkids, ...

I recently loaded some fence rails in the back of the station wagon. One rail bumped the seat, and a lizard dropped into the passenger area. When I unloaded the rails, there was no sign of the lizard.

Before the fence, there was the lizard. From tree stumps and rocks, the spiny reptiles basked and watched as wooden fences subdivided the landscape. At some point, one climbed a post and became known ...