Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulates)

I went by the Nature Center a week or so ago to see how the construction was progressing. I’d promised myself I would walk out to the point (Segment 10-11). I row past here regularly but had never walked the path. As I made my way along the path, something scampered from the path into the leaves. I thought that was the end of it but…
There at the base of the tree was an Eastern Fence Lizard that must have been basking on the path in the early morning sun. Rather than disappear into the leaves, it had started up the tree trunk. It was probably the flash of its blue belly that drew my attention.

Otherwise it blended perfectly into the tree trunk less than a foot above the ground. I stood still for a long time.

It became more comfortable or, perhaps, less threatened by my presence and moved around the trunk of the tree.

Apparently defying gravity, it posed upside-down.
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Identification resources:
- Lizards of Georgia and South Carolina: Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulates)