The Blue Belly Lizard Relief Effort

The Why

If you were to ask me how we started this hobby of massaging the bellies of Western Fence lizards, (better known as the Blue Belly lizard) I wouldn't know what to say. Catching lizards has always been a favorite pastime for my husband and I. We live in the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the world. Thousands of acres of Coniferous forest stretch the horizon, covering mountains and grassy hillsides. Within these forests life of all kinds teems; Steller's jays sing in the sky, squirrels dance around the base of trees, and lizards sunbathe on any suitable surface they can find.

The forest is my happy place. A place I can go when I feel claustrophobic from the cage of society or even the walls of my own house. I love to feel the pine needles crunch under the soles of my shoes, the warmth of the sun as it drifts through the canopy of treetops above. Even the smell of fresh pine wafting through the air creates a therapy effect all its own. So, on days where the world gets to be too much for me, I strap on my hiking boots, grab my husband by the arm, and dive into the winding dirt trails of the forest.

The How

We start our excursion on the designated trail, keeping a peripheral on any sudden movements; a rustle of leaves, a shift of pine needles. A few times my ears have deceived me, tricking me into thinking I hear a lizard when its really just the wind blowing through the leaves. But four eyes are better than two, and that also goes for ears. With my husband beside me, we make quite the pair, pointing out things the other might have missed, introducing one another to new sights.

There are times where the lizards are totally oblivious to us, their only care being the rays of sun stretching from the sky...those are the easy catches. Other times it takes some work; after all, no wild thing likes to be caged. We've upturned rocks, raced around tree stumps, and dove under buried tree limbs in order to catch our 'clients' as I so lovingly call them.

The Feeling

In the end, all the scrambling and dirt that cakes our hands and knees is totally worth it. As I carefully turn the lizards onto their backs in the palm of my hand, I gently begin to rub their sparkling, azure blue bellies. I can feel their pulse go from alarmingly high, to quiet and steady. Warmth fills my stomach and heart as a glimpse of a smile crosses their thin reptilian lips...slow at first, then bursting into a full grin. No two are alike, these blue bellied lizards, and so my husband and I take care to note and awe over their patterned stomachs, so intricately detailed with hints of black and grey intertwining with the blue. After a few minutes have passed, we release them back to the forest, joy filling our insides. Sometimes they stay and hang out, other times they rush back to hiding. Every time it is worth it.

Feeling connected to something outside of myself is extremely important to me. It helps me feel grounded, and anchored. It clears away all the clutter I feel of not being enough, or being too much of myself. Doing something for another life, even if it’s just a few Blue belly lizards, takes the focus off myself and truly gives me a sense of inner peace. We get massages to help us with our pain, physical or mental...why not do the same for animals? After all, as the saying goes “You are one massage away from a good mood.” Who says you can’t be the one giving it?