Christmas is coming...Al is getting fat

It has been awhile since I've spent some quality time with my pal Al the alligator lizard who roams the nooks and crannies of my backyard patio.
Going back to work cuts into important things like "pal time".

Al has been living outside my back-door for at least two years now. He was here when we moved into the house; so I'm not certain what kind of relationship he had established with the previous owners or just what kind of deal he cut with them regarding amenities. I've basically told him that ANY bugs or other varmints he cares to capture and ingest on the ol' Copper spread are his exclusively. It looks like he has been taking advantage of my largess as he has gained considerable girth over the past two years. Some of the "wide load" quality is due, I realize, to his impending hibernation. His speech has become slurred of late and he moves with the speed of a glacier. Perhaps some of this near catatonic state has been induced by the play of this year's Chargers, but he has always been more of a baseball fan and I know he'll be scurrying around the patio like a gerbil on crack once Spring training begins. Al's first appearance from hibernation usually coincides with the reporting to Peoria of Padre pitchers and catchers.


Also, the addition of several new members to Al's lizard family has probably made for an exhausting season for the aging veteran. I couldn't help but notice that this year the Mrs. popped out at least three little Al's...Or, were they Alices?

One new member of the brood has a distinctly orange cast to him which makes me wonder about how seriously alligator lizards are with regard to fidelity. (Mrs. Al has never seemed especially warm to me.)



"Norbert"....Al's son? What do you think???







This week I'll be smoking a turkey in the old dependable Weber kettle for Linda, me and our daughter Katie and her husband Doug. Thanksgiving day is generally the day Al and I say our good-byes for another season. He will waddle by as I fight off the hickory smoke to baste the bird and say, "Have a nice holiday, Ken...I'll catch you when the Padres' season is new and full of promise." I'll wish him a pleasant hibernation and promise to move the Malibu outdoor light that can sometimes wake him too early.

I'll also urge him to quiz the wife about the orange one.