The title is a quote from Yosemite Sam. The funny thing is they don't jump and they aren't toads! They are, of course, lizards, and they are one of two types of lizard common to this area.
The first type- left - is a Sagebrush Lizard. In the second photo you can see how they got their name as they ran to hide in the sagebrush every time I got close with the camera.
They are really pretty reptiles with blue bellies. The underside is not obvious in these shots but I see it quite often as the lizards seem to be the one prey Frank the cat loves to hunt. He is very gentle in picking them up and bringing them to show me so they usually recover once I take them away from him and release them out of sight.
The second type of lizard we have is the aforementioned horned toad. These are fascinatingly prehistoric looking creatures. They blend in incredibly well to their surroundings, making them tough to see unless you are looking for them.
They come in a wide range of sizes. The animal in the top photo is almost as big as the palm of my hand while the photo below, taken on this morning's run, is of a creature about the size of my thumbnail!
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