A-Z #9 (I)

I is for ????????  I was totally stumped on this one so decided there are some beautiful creatures and flowers that begin with I so here goes.  I am now wondering about J as well but hopefully I will come up with something.  I know there is an A-Z challenge that takes place in blogging land but this is a challenge to myself so see if I can make it work right through from A to Z.

I love irises.  My first mother-in-law of whom I was very fond, grew beautiful irises in her garden in North Perth.  When I see an iris I always think of her.

Ixias are a flower you seldom see these days.  We sometimes have them pop up in our front garden and also spraxias (do you remember them as well?)

Impatiens are a flower I've always loved.  We used to grow them all the time but haven't had much luck with them of late.  I think the old type were much easier to grow than the modern varieties.

I never fail to be amazed at the leaping power and the grace of the impala.  What beautiful animals they are. The impala is a medium-sized African antelope and the name comes from the Zulu language meaning "gazelle".  When in flight they are capable of jumping distances of more than 10m (33ft) and 3m (9ft) into the air.  it can reach a running speed in a zig-zag of about 60km/hr (37m/ph) to escape predators.

The alpine ibex is endemic to Europe, where its native range is the Alps of France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and northern Italy.  The ibex was driven very close to extinction in the early 19th century and current populations originate from re-introductions or introductions.

The iguana is a genus of herbivorous liards native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America. several islands in Polynesia such as Fiji and Tonga, and the Caribbean.  The word Iguana is derived from a Spanish form of the original Taino name for the species, Iwana.  I have one that sits on the back of our lounge but of course it isn't real.  I find they are fascinating the way they can change colour to blend in with their surroundings.  Our pretend one is the same colour as the one above and our lounge is dark green so even the toy is very clever.  lol

How elegant is the ibis?  We often see them flying around the suburbs as they move from lake to lake. .  The ibis is associated with the Egyptian god Thoth who is often shown in human form with the head of an ibis or may even appear as an ibis.

Well, that is my contribution as far as the letter I is concerned.  I love nearly all creatures, great and small as well as most plants so thought this a worthwhile contribution to my A-Z.   Hope you will agree with me.