photo monday

Even the birds are choking on the heat.

Or is he coughing up a dust ball?

Happy monday everyone!

cactus blossom tour

Get a cup of coffee, or some iced tea, lemonade or just a cold glass of water. Because, you will be here awhile. This is a post with pictures. Lots of them. Last summer, when my sister was here visiting, we got up really early and went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. You can read about that tour here and here, if you have some extra time...and a refill on your beverage.

When we went last summer it was in July and it was really hot. There were still some blossoms on the cacti, but most of them had already bloomed. We were told that May was a better month to go, if you wanted to see a whole lot of bloomin' going on. So, I've been patiently waiting for May and a day that the Reptile Wrangler had off so he could go too. He missed our visit there last year.

We took Grandma while she was here last week. It was a nice day, not too hot and perfectly sunny. Guess what? We were not disappointed. There were cactus blossoms everywhere. Although, it seems that perhaps we were a bit late for some varieties, as it looked like they had their show earlier. I have said this before and I will say it again..."how do some of the weirdest looking plants have such beautiful flowers?"

See what I mean? It is a pretty one isn't it? It almost makes you want to smile.
Hee. Go ahead, you can smile!
It is interesting how some of the largest cacti have some of the smallest blossoms. And some of the smallest cacti have some of the largest blossoms. Some just have one flower and some have a lot. These are bright red and form a ring around the cactus.
This one, tall and skinny, has one bloom just at the top.
But it is one of the prettiest. So very white and the petals are so very delicate.
Here is the Century Plant. They are blooming everywhere right now. They are the ones that shoot a big stalk up that look like a giant asparagus. Then it opens up and the blooms look like pom poms on the ends.
This one was interesting. Again, just one flower on the tip of each arm of the cactus. It probably would have been nice if I could remember all the names of these to share with you, but I don't. This one just had pretty red flowers.
Here is a close-up.

No blossom's here. Just a very interesting cactus. It looked like a brain.
Another century plant.
This is a barrel cactus, I believe. These blooms have their work cut out for them opening up through all those sharp spikes. See the ones way in there just getting started?
This is one of my favorite's. We were there a day or two early, but I think it was very beautiful just starting to open.
These are perfectly cute little pink flowers. This is a random tangent. Looking at these is bringing back a memory. These remind me of a toy we had when we were growing up. They were little plastic flowers that looked like this, they went with a plastic board and you pushed them in to make patterns. I'm not sure I can remember it exactly. Any one remember something like that? I do know that they really hurt if you stepped on them.
Another red one. So very bright.
If you like orange, these were very intense.
And full of blooms.
Another tall spike.
And these beauties. There are not very many that are variegated in color.
I just loved how this one swooped over into a very pretty arch.
Another view. The buds on the ends are just about to open.
Love it.
And here is the top of a saguaro. They are blooming everywhere right now. It seems to me that they are blooming more this year than last. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that last winter was so rainy and this winter it was so cold. Or, if they just cycle and bloom more every other year.
No flower here. Just an interesting long arm on this one.
So, that concludes your mini tour of the Desert Botanical Garden. We really enjoyed it and gave our visit a big... thumbs up! Ha!

Well almost. You know...the day wouldn't have been complete if we didn't see this...
It slithered right across the path in front of us. Seriously? Evidently there was a sign that I didn't see that said, "warning...snake crossing". Thanks for the warning... I'm glad the Reptile Wrangler was there to protect me! Although, he didn't point out the sign. That is his shadow right there in the corner. Facing danger, putting himself between me and the snake.

I didn't know going to see the blossoms on the cactus would also be a wildlife adventure! Sheesh.

bobcat week finale

Here we are at the end of the week. Although technically, bobcat week for us has been a little more like bobcat summer, because that is how long they have been visiting us off and on. Oh ya, and that one time in February when one of them surprised me on that early rainy morning. The first time the Momma sauntered across our patio this summer, while Leah and I were in the pool, sure gave us a bit of a fright. It was so shocking to see how perfectly calm she was to pass right by and not run off as we made a little noise. It is hard to tell the size of these cats from my pictures, but really they are rather small. I think that is what makes them feel a little less "scary" to us because Momma is not much bigger than our favorite yellow cat Fidgit.

My sister and her family adopted Fidgit and our dog Jackson when we left Colorado. Fidgit would not have fared well against these neighborhood cats. But, because we miss him, I think the cuteness of the bobcat babies remind us of the time the two stray cats found our house and decided tuna was tasty and they would make our family theirs. This is where I stress that we only think these wild cats are a bit cute and fun to watch at times, but we do not in any way want them to call our yard their home. We do try to scare them off when they are around and we are not feeding them(not even tuna). They have brought their own meals and help themselves (much to our dismay) to the pool water. It has been interesting to watch them and photograph them, which is usually done behind the safety of the windows. We are now in the habit of looking around to see if they are close by before we venture into the yard. So, even though my pictures and stories make it sound like they are welcome visitors, we would prefer them to move on. I think the babies have gotten old enough now and that is what has happened. We are seeing less and less of them and I think we have thrown enough ice, pool splash balls, and the occasional grill scraper, that they are visiting our yard less and less. In fact, we saw them one day in the front of the house this week and that has been it.

So, this could be the end of our bobcat adventure. We do wonder if they are like some animals that come back to the place they were born to have their own babies. If that is the case...the Reptile Wrangler will be a busy guy.

I end bobcat week with a video that Rachel put together of some movie clips that I made of them playing in the yard. You will see the little one with the bum leg and Gus, Molly and the Momma having fun.

Cute. snarl. Fun.

shhhh

I don't want word to spread.

Because this time I want to keep her secret.

And hope that no one else finds out.

She certainly did a much better job of hiding them.

And lets hope this time there is a happy ending.

ten as of today.

five and two

Late this morning I was leaving the house to run some errands. As I went out the door I glanced over and saw the little "mama" sitting in the planter. I dug out my camera and zoomed in as closely as I could without frightening her away. She seemed to be o.k. with me taking her picture as I was standing in the corner of the patio. I was happy to see her there, because I was worried that she was just laying the eggs to be laying them and not planning to hatch them. I had not seen her sitting on them to keep them warm. Maybe she doesn't need to since the weather is already warm?

Peek a boo...

So, as promised I did my research.

They are Gambel's Quail, common to this area. They are also known as Top Knot or Desert Quail. I like the name Top Knot because Chuck used to call the girl's "top knot", when I would put a little water fountain ponytail on top of their heads. (cute memory).

They usually lay a clutch of 10-15 eggs, which hatch after 21-24 days incubation. The chicks are "precocial", which means they will leave the nest with their parents within hours of hatching.( I can't believe that). I hope I'm around the day they hatch so I don't miss getting their picture. Predators of the little eggs are (gasp) rattlesnakes, gila monsters, great horned owls and bobcats. Any of these sound familiar? I hope the fact that they are under the shelter of the patio and up off the ground will help them to stay safe.

This afternoon when I got home I went over to peek in and check on things.

Guess what?

Five and two make:
Seven!

don't you love how each one is different? and do you suppose there will be more because it says they lay a clutch of 10-15? is it common that they lay them over the course of several days? does that mean they will hatch on different days? i am keeping a count on my calendar.

a little surprise

This plant sits on this stone pedestal in the front courtyard. It doesn't seem to require much attention and looks quite pretty. Lately we have been noticing dirt and little rocks that are being "kicked" out of the pot. The dirt was littering the ground around the pedestal. We weren't sure what was making the mess and never saw any other evidence that something was getting in to it. I kept glancing out the window throughout the day, hoping to catch sight of something. One day, I actually heard a little commotion of sorts, and so I went to the front door to see what all the fluttering fuss was all about.

This is what I found:

The picture is not very clear as I was taking it through the glass and the screen on the door. But, you can see that it is a quail. In fact, it is hard to tell but there were two of them in there. They are all over around our yard and driveway all the time. In fact, the front entry gate has two tiles with quails painted on them. I guess they have been frequent visitors for a long time. They are really cute little things and scurry around so quickly. They make great little noises too. Any way, they caught site of me and scooted out of the plant. But, as days went by I could tell that they had been back, because again, dirt and little rocks were scattered on the ground.

This past weekend I was out there sweeping up some leaves and the dirt mess and I looked in the pot and WOO HOO! Look what I saw...

This morning I looked out the window and she was sitting in there. Another quail flew in and caused a bit of a scene. She jumped out and was sitting on the stone pedestal looking a little funny. She was all puffed up and kind of hunkered down. I wondered if the other quail had hurt her. After she flew off I went out to look and... more eggs! Five total. How cool is that? I think the second bird disturbed her egg laying.

I need to do some research and find out what kind of quail they are and how long before these might hatch.

I know you are thinking..."I bet she will take more pictures and share what she learns after she does more research. And I bet if they actually hatch... we will get to see the baby quail."

Yep, that's eggsactly what I plan to do.

it rained cats and dogs

I hate to focus on all the rain we are getting since moving to the desert, but last night it rained again! This time there was a fair amount of wind along with it, which made it extra loud. Speaking of loud noises, the coyotes were howling up a storm just after dark. Get it? Howling up a storm! It rained all night and continued throughout the morning, clearing up this evening to allow the sun to shine and present a very beautiful sunset. We like those sunsets.

Yesterday, while at the grocery store, the clerk told me some people were complaining about the rain and saying that it was like being in Seattle. The lady behind me spoke up and said, "It is like being in Seattle!" She was a little grumpy and had a heavy east coast accent, nothing against people from the east coast...it just led me to believe she was a visitor. There are a lot of visitors & part time residents this time of year. I think we see more out of state license plates in this area than in state plates.

For visitors or part time residents (even newbies like us) the rain is a bit of a surprise when you are expecting moderate, desert-like weather. For people that have lived here awhile, the rain is a welcome sight. It is certainly greening things up and will probably bring more blossoms to the plants than normal. As I said, it was still raining this morning when I got up. As I pulled open the blinds I had quite a surprise. The little guy that was staring back at me was surprised too! He was enjoying his little spot out of the rain. I ran to grab my camera and by the time I got back he was gone from his little dry spot. I looked out all the windows and then...I spotted this:

The first photo was taken from our bedroom window and that is exactly how I saw him sitting on the brick wall. I went to the front door to try to get a different view. Leah was already up so she was peeking out the little window with me. She tapped on the door a few times to see if he would look our way...
Yep... he did.

Rachel had spotted a pair of them about a week ago when she went out in the morning, but I had not seen any until now. I'm a little surprised about this variety in wildlife we are seeing here. And I'm wondering about some of them... visitor or resident? I'm thinking I would like most of them to be visitors.
"Hello bobcat!"

I told you it was raining cats and dogs.

Great Horned Owl

Did anyone know that? They are both still here and I hear them calling each other in the evenings and mornings. I have not found the "pellet" that I learned about from the comment section. If you didn't read that "tidbit" of information... they eat their prey whole and then regurgitate the fur and bones in a small hard pellet. Yum.

A few more interesting facts:

wingspan: 50-60 in.

length: 18-25 in.

tail: 6.9-9.9 in.

average weight:

male-46 1/2 oz.

female-61 oz.

They are large, powerful and mostly nocturnal.

They have nicknames of "night tiger" & "flying bobcat".

Their horns are not really horns but feathers.

They have yellow eyes.

They are closely related to the Eagle Owl which is the world's largest owl.

They are the most common owl of North and South America.

The flat disc feathers around the eyes are thought to concentrate sound.

The male is much smaller than the female and has a lower pitched call.

Their diet may include small mammals to rabbits, birds, fish reptiles and amphibians. They are also the only animal that regularly eats skunk.

They usually have a clutch size of 1-3 but can have as many as 6.

I could write a three page report, but I will leave that for someone else.

I'll keep you posted if I stumble across a pellet!

Saturday afternoon update: Sure enough...I did find two pellets under the palm trees. One was broken into pieces and based on the foot I saw, it looks like the meal was a small bird. Fascinating morsel of information... wouldn't you agree?!

who made this mess?

First off, if anyone is still eating their breakfast, or is just grossed out by... well gross things... I apologize. This is just the way this story unfolded. And I'm here to report things the way they happen. And to give you the facts. It's all about learning new things, right?

So, a couple of days ago I went out to the studio to unpack another box or two. As I was walking along, I noticed this unusually large bird dropping. I looked up thinking... hmmm... who could have done something that large? I thought of the bald eagle that Chuck has seen flying over the house, or the big hawk that Rachel and I saw swooping over the palm trees the other day.(one of my sisters suggested it might be a vulture, thanks Karen!)

Well then I thought of all those nasty starlings we had in Montrose and what a mess they made of everything and realized sometimes you just can't get away from, well poop, you know what I mean? But the size of this splattering had me curious. I decided I would just have to keep my eyes and ears open. I'm kind of on wildlife alert anyway you know. And sure, you just MIGHT catch me clapping my hands, waving my arms and singing, "I'm out here Javelinas...there isn't room for all of us in this backyard! Go play somewhere else!"

The next day I went out to the studio again, noticing the dropping was still there, this time thinking I should probably drag the hose over and clean it up. That's when I heard someone else say "who...made this mess...who?" I looked up into the palm tree and again heard a soft "who"... and that is when I found my answer.

cool huh?

There ended up being two, I found another one in a different tree. It's that natural investigative talent I have. I looked around and saw another white splat at the base of another tree, looked up and found the beauty in these pictures. This one was in a much clearer spot for snapping some photos. I did sneak back to the house to get my zoom lens and I'll admit...I was pretty excited to get these shots!

Chuck had an idea of what kind of owl it could be, so you'll be happy to know that I did some internet research and will be reporting the facts at a later time.

It's a real wildlife sanctuary, I tell you.