Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Well, maybe I'll just talk about Tigers. I saw one the other day. In my garden. I'm not kidding!! There I was, turning the raised garden beds. A painstaking chore. I had to step on the shovel, yank the handle down, pull out a wad of dirt, turn it, sift through it and pull out the weeds (roots and all) and start over again. I shoveled load after shovel load.

Boring! 

Back breaking! 

Bothersome! 

 I was on my second garden bed for the day. I estimated I had 5 more rows to dig up, when suddenly..... (cue "Jaws" music)

I dug up a Tiger! 

A Tiger Salamander, that is. Oh, and yes, this little lady gave out a little girly sort of squeal (and then ran to get the camera!)

This wasn't my first encounter with the species. I caught one in a trap when we lived in Black Forest. I was amazed that a critter I associate with moist, dank places actually lives in the arid area of Colorado. Both of the salamanders I encountered were in burrows. It seems that they move in when rodents move out. Hooray! This is great news! My voles may have already decided to move on!!!

And, I guess there are worse things than digging up a Tiger Salamander......

I placed the salamander near a hole in another part of the garden.
He happily slithered and slipped into the hole.
See his tail?

.... digging up half of a Tiger Salamander!