Is it just me, or does the word “skink” sound funny to you? Certain words simply sound odd to me and for some reason “skink” is one of them—I can’t help but smile whenever I say the word out loud.
Recently I took this shot of a Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus, formerly Eumeces fasciatus) at my local marshland park. It was sunning itself on a rotten log and didn’t detect my presence immediately and run away, which is what usually happens when I spot a skink. It seems to have its head cocked a little and has a smile on its face, as though daydreaming, as I do when sunbathing.
I wonder if you could use “skink” as a verb to describe the crawling-type behavior typical of a skink, as in, “I saw my friend skinking about.” If “skink” were a verb, would it follow the model of “drink,” with verbal forms that included “skank” and “skunk?” That might induce a bit of confusion, I suppose, since “skank” suggests a different kind of behavior, as does “skunk.” English can be a strange language.
I’ll just continue smiling.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
There’s a bit of an eew factor here but it’s s good photo.
I think that I like the term “skinking about” Mike. It sounds like what I would be doing while out for a walk in the forest with my camera.
Your post gave me pause to skink, Mike. Fantastic photo too. 🙂
I’m pretty skanked about your photo and the language options. Nicely played.
Smiling. Well done!
I like how the Skinks pattern breaks the lines background of the image. Nice shot.
I always wonder what the person who named it might have been thinking. When I look at it the word skink doesn’t come to mind.
I’ve never heard skink before, but thanks for the smile 🙂 Nice photo!
Very cool! I have never seen a skink up here in Gaithersburg, but if they’re in Alexandria, they must also be here.
On the verbal analogy, it might also follow the model of ‘think’, resulting in ‘skink’, ‘skought’, ‘skought’. Just a thought.
Words–it is so much fun to play with them. I suspect that you have skinks in the woods there in Gaithersburg too. They are elusive little critters and most often I see them when they are out sunning themselves.