Awaiting Inspiration

There are days when inspiration seems elusive.  Often it is due to distractions such as things on your mind that are troubling or perhaps a restless night.  At other times it is as though your mind shuts down and refuses to be creative.

It seems that I have run out of recent photographs that I wish to use on this blog, so I spent some time this morning digging a little further back into some older ones.  The one below is from October of last year.  It is of a Green Anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis) which is common throughout the southeastern U.S.  The photo was taken near Bellville, Texas.

I frequently see lizards.  Most are skittering quickly out of the way into a place of hiding.  The Anoles seem to be much less shy and accommodate human presence more readily.   Many are able to walk up a vertical surface as easily as they walk across the floor.  Like many lizards, their coloration can morph through a spectrum.  In this case, they range from bright green to a dull brown mostly determined by their location and surroundings.

The ability to change color in order to blend with surroundings has inspired scientists to attempt replication of that ability for use in human applications such as the military.  Becoming somewhat invisible through use of coloration and stillness can be useful for hiding from enemies.

It's amazing what we can learn from nature.  Scientists from many disciplines work with chemists and engineers to mimic what occurs in various species -- both plant and animal.  Writers also borrow from those behaviors -- especially in fantasy and science fiction.  I guess I was inspired after all.