a little bird show

The last bird post left a bad bird image in my mind. Alfred Hitchcock style. So I decided to show some pictures of a few of the pretty birds that we see in our yard too. Rachel and I have both snapped these, as she is quick to grab my camera when the opportunity is there for her.

Like these first two. She told me, after the fact, "I took a few cool pictures of a bird for you." And this is what I found when I uploaded them. Look closely at the spike on the palm leaf that is dangling down.

Here it is closer.

I've been trying to get some pic's of the hummingbirds. It is my goal to be patient enough one day to get some more. This is one of a few that I took zoomed way in. It was flying around at the top of a tree. I think if you click on the image itself, it will enlarge it so you can get a better view. However, you will then see that the photos are not as crisp and in focus as they should be.

Another one on top of a spike of a palm tree.

Look closely. A nice oriole was hanging around the vine. We see this guy quite often but he is a quick one and hard to snap. I took this pic through the window in the dining room.

I'm always amazed that birds land on these saguaro cactus with all their sharp spikes.

These were not in our yard. But I always love birds on a line.

Love them so much, in fact, that when we spotted this great metal sculpture at an art fair, we had to get it for this gate. Seemed like the perfect spot for a little bird art.

That is it for this thursday morning.

Just birds.

just passing through

Remember this guy? He arrived with all the rain we were getting during the "winter". We have not seen any Bobcats since then. Until yesterday....

Leah and I were in the pool in the afternoon. She is my personal trainer and is trying to train my body into some kind of better shape! I just happened to look over towards the patio. I turned Leah so she would see it too and quietly said..."Leeeeah". I knew she had seen it when she said..."mommmmmm". Walking just as nonchalant as could be, along the stretch of the patio, around the table and chairs, just as if he belonged there, a nice little BOBCAT! He reminded us of our cat Fidgit sauntering along just as calmly as could be. Leah said , "let's move to the center of the pool so he can't get us". I know that cats don't really like water so I figured we were "safe" in the water. And I'm also thinking, seriously? In the back yard? In the middle of the day? While we are out here? Are you kidding me?

So here we are in the middle of the pool staring at him. And yep, he turned and stared at us. He even did a little snarl/meow gesture at us. He jumped up onto the wall by the built in grill and then casually sat down. He did a couple more snarl/meows and just sat right there in the sun. He was, of course, between us and any door into the house, so I said "we might get prune skin before we ever get out of here." (and admittedly I was wishing I would have had my camera, but I was in the pool and water and cameras don't mix) . Leah clapped her hands a few time's, which didn't seem to phase him. Finally, he got up and jumped up to the next ledge, hung out there for a minute and then jumped down behind the wall. We didn't see him for a minute or so, and we said, "great...he will probably lay down in the shade and stay there awhile". Eventually though, he slowly appeared and walked along the rock pathway towards the studio building. Just as casually as he appeared, he disappeared from our sight.

Again, I will say... "are you kidding me?"

big bully

We do have a lot of birds in our yard and in our neighborhood. Some days it actually sounds like a bird aviary with all the chirping and chattering going on. Of course you know about the saga of the poor quail eggs and the trouble they had with the king snake. And I've told you about the early morning quail chatter outside our bedroom window. Then there are the doves, who have tried without success to make a nest and lay some eggs. I have watched several sloppy nests get built and then it seems as though they lose interest and abandon it before they even lay any eggs. We have some pretty song birds and on occasion we see a bright red cardinal dashing about. Don't forget the owl that called our backyard home for the winter.

Once in awhile we see these big black birds. Crows I assume. I always think of the Alfred Hitchcock movie...

I try not to think about them swooping down and pecking my head, but let's be honest here, the thought has crossed my mind a few times. There is just something about them that gives me the creeps. Perhaps because we associate them with Halloween? Or the fact that they are the foragers at picnic sites and are never afraid to crash the party looking for a little morsel of food? Or just the fact that the darn movie scared the stuffing out of me when I was young!

Whatever the reason, I've just never liked seeing them.

But the other day, my mind might have changed. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they are not the birds I need to worry about.

Enter these two...

I heard a bug ruckus/raucous (spell check gives me two choices here, which is it?). There was a big noise and I looked up and saw these two flying around frantically above the yard. The little one was actually dive bombing the big one! They were circling around with the big one going up and down trying to lose the little guy. He was squawking like crazy and the little one was chirping madly trying to peck his back. The little one continued to torment the big guy after he landed on top of this cactus.

I can just imagine the beak lashing this big black bird was giving the little one as it was trying to get a piece of him. So is it these little birds I need to worry about?

in colorado

While living in Colorado we never really tired of the incredible views we had of the mountains.

Those snow capped beauties really are quite majestic. The only time I didn't care for them was when we would have to drive over any of the passes during "snow season". As any of us that have called Colorado home, we know that can be anywhere from ...oh...September through June. It is not uncommon to drive over one of the higher passes at the beginning of June and still see a few flurries. And then there was that time in April, that I drove around a curve and discovered an avalanche had just covered the road in front of me! We have many fond, and not so fond, travel stories of our time living in the Rocky Mountain state. Mostly though, we will always cherish the incredible beauty that we were able to see each and every day.

As the girls and I were leaving Montrose a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about how pretty the mountains looked with the white snow still sharp against the blue sky. As we were leaving Ridgway, on our way to Telluride, we came upon a pretty awesome sight.

A cattle drive. Mama's and their babies being moved from one location to another right along the highway. Rachel slowed down so we could look at the little cute faces and snap a few pictures.

We rolled the windows down so we could hear the sound of their moo's. It was a treat to see these cows with such a pretty backdrop behind them. I hoped to get some good pictures for some new painting subjects for The Dad.

And this perfectly western landscape was complete with this perfectly posed cowboy.

It was a great end to our week in Colorado!

A real Rocky Mountain high, don't you think?

carry on

After all they have been through they remain a quail couple. While my post about their empty nest was fresh yesterday, these two were strolling leisurely around the yard. They stopped now and then to peck at a few seeds and forage around some flower blossoms. They would disappear into the thick greenery and pop back out moments later, smoothing their feathers. They stayed close together, the female occasionally lagging behind inspecting things more closely. The male squawking at her to catch up.

I wonder if they are checking out the neighborhood for a new home?

empty nest syndrome

Nope...her little eggs never hatched and I didn't get to snap a picture of the little baby quail. After all of those eggs in both of the "nests" and all those weeks waiting...in the end...the King Snake won. We'll never know if it was a snake that got the eggs in the front planter, because we never saw it. But we do know for a fact that it was definitely a King Snake that got to the one's in the back yard, because, unfortunately it was seen... twice. I hope that it got it's fill and will now move on . I'd be very happy if I don't see them any more.

The snakes that is.

As for the quail...sleep in until 7 a.m...please? If you have to be up at 4:30...please keep your beaks shut. 'Cuz man oh man you are noisy! And perhaps if you were a little quieter...the snakes wouldn't know you were here.

one hundred and four point nine

When the temperature outside does this...

We do this...

How nice is it to have cousins here in Arizona that have a fabulous boat? And how nice is it that they invite us to go with them to the lake? Very nice... we say. We applied lots of sunscreen and had lots of fun knee boarding (yep, the dad and I managed to show our great skills too), swimming, and the very skilled cousin showed us how to master the wake board! The girls took turns on the knee board and I'm sure this morning their arm muscles are reminding them of the fun. (I know mine are!)

Oh, and their cousin convinced them to do this...

Cliff jumping.

Oh my...

The splash was worth the jump. Such brave girls.

And some tubing rounded out the day!

Ta Da!!!

Thank you cousins... for a great day of fun!