cooper's hawk

      Everyone asks me if we have had any wildlife sightings lately. My reply is.. not really.

However, just this morning, as I was walking through the yard, I saw a javelina up behind the fence on the hill. Just one, but I'm sure there were others, as they travel in packs. And now that I typed that, I remembered I saw four pretty large deer a couple of weeks ago. They were in front of a house around the corner, just munching away on their trees. I'm not sure if this counts or not, but yesterday I passed a flat rattlesnake that didn't quite make it across the road around the corner from our house too. So, now that I'm thinking about it..."why yes, I have seen some wildlife!"

Oh...and I forgot about that rat that interrupted my sleep a week or so ago! How could I forget that one!?? Maybe I've become used to these interactions that now I don't really think so much about it?
I better not be letting my guard down!!

As I was going through my photos, I saw this group of shots that I forgot about. Last November, I saw this guy out on the fountain in front. I looked it up and the best that I can tell, it's a Cooper's Hawk. I'm not sure if it is a male or female, but what I do think, is that it had a wounded leg. foot. claw? You can see how it held it up close to its body.

He (just because it looks like a he) sat there for about an hour. I periodically looked out the window and he was just there. Resting. You can see his eyes were closed.

Now open. Even though I was taking the pictures through the window, I think it could here the shutter click on the camera. He would sometimes even look my way.

                                                  It looks pretty peaceful here.

  Soon, he started looking out towards the driveway and the sky. I kept watching, at this point, wondering if he was going to take off. His foot was still tucked up towards his body.

                               He started to make a move and hopped over to his left a little.

               And then swoosh...faster than my finger could snap a photo...he was on his way out.

But, instead of taking flight all the way out, he landed here for a bit. Maybe contemplating his next direction or maybe the first small flight was just a test to see if all systems were go.

                             A subtle move made me think he was ready. Nope, he just sat there.

                                                                          Observing.

                                      He was looking back and forth with his foot still tucked.

 I missed the photo of it flying off. It sat there so long I had gone on with my day. When I looked back out it was gone. It was pretty fun to watch it for awhile that morning.

Yes...I guess I have had a few wildlife sightings. Just not as exciting as some. Thank goodness..


And yes, a little gentle wildlife is an ok thing.

quote Monday

We could certainly use a few more good springs in our world!

Our Easter yesterday was a beautiful one. We got to spend it in the backyard, with family, and a pretty blue sky. A little house finch has made a nest up under the eaves on the back patio. The mama and papa were keeping an eye on all of us sitting right below their nest of babies. As things were winding down with our festivities, I got up on a chair with our cousins phone and snapped a photo, so we could see what was up there. I want to say it was a beautiful nest like the one above... however...this is what was up there...

Babies yes!
Poor things were a little fooled thinking I was bringing them something to eat. I saw mama come back a bit later tending to them while papa helped her out.

What is puzzling, is amount of "glue" they have used to build this nest.

I've watched mama birds with other nests clean the babies droppings from the inside to the outside. But I think this is more than that. When people build log cabins, the mortar or materials they use to fill between the logs is called chinking.  I guess, technically, the filler between the sticks and grass would fall into the "other" category, although I realize this is a nest and not a log cabin. Yes, that's a lot of chink for sure! This won't be a nest I try to keep after they all fly away. I prefer a cardinal's nest.

They are birds that are more weavers than chinkers.

Happy Monday everyone!

in bloom

Yesterday, I took a tour around the yard and snapped a few photos of some lovelies in our yard. Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful time of year here in Arizona. I won't be saying that in about four months...but now...in all caps...

THE BEST TIME OF YEAR IS RIGHT NOW!!

The bees are back and lovin' life at the moment.  They have abundant pollen at the tips of their bees knees, and with all the citrus trees in bloom and a little fresh water from the fountain, they are fat and happy! I don't even worry about getting stung right now because, honestly, I don't think they are interested. Drunk on pollen without a care in the world. Take a gander at the one that is in flight and blurry at the bottom of the photo. A good surprise when I uploaded the photos. Every day, the edge of the fountain is loaded with bees!

The bees don't have to wander very far, as the lemon tree, which is in full bloom, is right next to the fountain. Easy nectar! They smell wonderful and if the front door is open, I can smell them inside the house. Sweet!!                                                                    

  We had a mild winter, without a really hard freeze this year, and this bougainvillea couldn't be happier. I'm pretty happy myself because, many things that freeze to the ground with our occasional freezing temperatures, survived this winter and are now full and robust! Oh happy Spring!!

Some of the early cactus bloomers are putting their best petal forward! This one is always a favorite!

   Raise your hand if you agree!! I'm always still amazed that these sharp, prickly, sometimes quite ugly cacti can produce some of the most beautiful, delicate, lovely smelling flowers!

                                              The roses are on the verge of roseplosion!

 And yes...the orchid tree is exploding now too! Without the hard freeze to nip its branches, we are enjoying branches full of these pretty flowers. It was fun when we first moved here to have all of these new plants and flowers that we didn't have in Colorado. I still miss many of my favorites that can't stand the heat here, but this one has certainly taken a good spot on my Arizona favorite bloomer list.

Of course, the bright fuchsia color is what makes this so spectacular...but, I edited this photo to black and white. Sometimes I just love a nice black and white photo to emphasize the details.

We put this lavender plant in last year. It is taking off and looks just perfect right now. See the bee?

                                                                    More roses.

                                                      I liked the back of this one.

The blooms on this tree are abundant this time of year. I always warn Chuck...when the yellow is blooming outside you are going to sneeze!  Oh...see the bee? A ginormous carpenter bee!

 This little potted plant is full of color right now. You know what? This plant was teeny tiny when Austin gave it to me when he was in second grade. His teacher had little cuttings from her house plant that she had each student plant and give to their moms for Mothers Day. Priceless!

The season for bunnies...the real ones love to torment Chuck by eating his little grass lawn!

And finally, this is my Colorado planter. I typed pot first, because it is a plant pot, but now...with the Colorado Pot law I can't really say "this is my Colorado pot",  because some might be surprised to find out I'm growing pot and of course, being that it wouldn't be legal here in Arizona, I might get into some trouble. Or be very popular, who knows.  Ok...now that the pot tangent is over...let me just say that this planter was potted (a verb now) when I left my yard in Colorado. I dug a slip of Columbine and a few Iris bulbs, all that  I could in the December cold, and stuck it is this pot and put it in the back of my car. To my thill...it grew and sprouted that first spring and each spring since. Every year, right about now, I think of that yard and one of my dear friends that I shared my love of gardening with. She has a yard that I always wanted . At the very least, the yard I most loved to stroll through. Jeanne, you know I'm thinking of you! 

While typing this post I've had music playing from my iTunes library. Just as I was finishing the sentence about my friend and her beautiful yard, a song came on. I'm a sappy girl. I just sat and listened and thought it ironic that the title of the song is Flor. It is about a flower. It is written and composed and sung by Leah. I tried to load it here...but am not having any luck. It's a pretty one and since she is so far from home right now I got a little nostalgic for her voice. 

These kids of mine sure make me my heart bloom!!

And these blooms sure make my face smile!

Happy Spring!

quote monday

          Spring 
              translates earth's happiness 
                                       into colorful flowers.

                                                                                                         -Terri Guillemets

We need more colorful flowers...don't you think?

I took a break...just to do a little of nothing for awhile.

All is well and I'm back with colorful flowers blooming everywhere.

I know it does't look or feel like Spring in everyone's neck of the woods.

Soon it will!

Have a Happy Monday!

~norma~