a wild day

Yesterday was a big wildlife day in the ol' yard. It started out with a visit from one of the bobcats, but I am going to save that for another day. Then I got some pictures of the busy mommas in the front courtyard.

Here is the view from our bedroom window. Do you see the planter up on the cement block?That is where the momma quail has her little nest of eggs. Then high above her on the first brick post you can see another mother.

It is one of the many dove's that are around this yard. One of them did the same thing last year, in the same place, although it didn't last very long. These pictures were taken through the window as the dove is very flighty and takes off as soon as you go out the door.
Which, is how I got this picture yesterday while I was out sweeping the front patio. She flew off as soon as I went out the door. S0, curious as I am... I stood on a chair and just stretched my arm way up. I couldn't actually see in the nest, but after snapping the pictures and looking at the camera screen, I saw that there are indeed two little eggs.
And here is the quail momma. She has been sitting on her eggs quite a lot lately. She isn't as bothered by us walking around out there and only takes off if you get too close. I zoomed in on her while she just sat and eyed me.
And then when she flew off I saw that there are still twelve eggs and she has added more soft feathers around them. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I've been trying to get a picture of this guy. The cardinals are quick birds that just don't stay in one place long. I put a tray of bird seed out and that did the trick.
But, as quickly as he appeared... he flew off.
On another pass through the backyard I heard a lot of singing from the palm trees. I looked up and saw this nest. The bird was by it but when I went in to get my camera it had flown off.
However, it hadn't gone far. Just over to the other palm tree. There were two of them singing back and forth (probably talking about me) but I couldn't ever see the other one. When I uploaded my pictures though, I think that I could see a tiny little bit of yellow back behind the nest. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong photo to add to this post so you can't see it in this one.

I believe this is an oriole. They are so pretty and they sing quite nicely too.
He was singing back and forth with the other one.
And then there were these two little guys right on a branch/frond right behind the oriole. And they were singing like crazy too. It was just a nice afternoon seeing all of these pretty birds and hearing them constantly singing and chirping. I was feeling pretty happy. Loving the outdoors and enjoying the beautiful weather.
And then I saw this!
Ya, I see you looking at me.
For the rest of the afternoon I was constantly looking down around my feet and legs. Every time I would stand still for just a few seconds I would literally feel goosebumps on my legs and then panic. Way to ruin an otherwise pleasant day Mr. King snake!

So, I have now resumed my bobcat, snake, lizard, rodent anti-get-me routine. When you hear someone stomping their feet, clapping their hands, occasionally jumping up and down while shouting "here I come...go away...!" you know it is just me.

I hope they hear me too.

a quick moment

It rained most of the day on Saturday.

Along with the rain was a sky that kept changing. From thick soggy clouds that slowly lifted for the sun to shine for awhile, to big black rolling clouds that really meant business. Rainy business. As the sun was just going down, one of the girls' friends rang the doorbell. When we opened the door for him the first thing he said was "do you have shoes on?" then "you have to come look at this!" So, I slipped on my shoes and by then I heard "Mom, get your camera!" I did and by the time I got outside there was a sky show worthy of our favorite family phrase..."sunset alert"!

It was more like a video clip being played right before our eyes. And it literally lasted about a minute. The few pictures I took all look different. It was changing that quickly, the sun dropping in record speed. And it was one for our memory only, as the camera was not able to capture the beauty of it. The sky was bright pink and there were puffs of steamy clouds hovering over the mountain. Behind us the sky was dark black with the bits of sun still able to make a small rainbow. The rain was starting to fall in a quick burst again, only giving me time to say "wow, look at that". Just as quickly as I put my shoes on and grabbed my camera, it was all over.

I'll gladly take any moment in any day when I can say..."wow, look at that!"

an even dozen

I have not looked every day and I am even worried about sharing this photo, but there are twelve little eggs in there now. The last time she got to this many, she added two little feathers and then disaster happened. I see that there are more feathers surrounding the little eggs.

I hope that there is a happier ending this time.

kaleidoscope thursday

I was reminded that I missed kaleidoscope Thursday last week. I was so anxious to post my April Fool's Day surprise the next day, that I completely forgot that it was kaleidoscope Thursday and posted the beautiful butterflies instead. So, without further adieu...

The kaleidoscoped image:

And here is the before:

What exactly is it you ask?

Here it is is in its full glory.

Are you still asking yourself...what the heck is that?

It's a gila monster slide!
I guess it would be cool to slide down a slide that looks like a gila monster. Especially if you are not worried about seeing the real deal in your own yard. Or worry that some day one of those scary things will grab on to your ankle as you are walking through your yard. Or your garage.

You can read about our adventures with two real gila monsters here and here. For me, I'm happy enough to just take a kaleidoscope picture of the big giant plastic gila slide.

Because, the thought of one of those gnawing on my ankle really does not sound very cool at all!

a rose is a rose

The roses are starting to have a party in our yard.

We will keep providing the refreshments...

as long as they keep showing up.

Party hardy, roses!

quail eggs and robin eggs

It is spring and the birds are busy.

The temptation to peek in and see how many eggs the momma quail has left in the planter is too tempting. I try to ignore them. I do not look every day, hoping to lessen the disappointment if something gets to them before they hatch. But, this morning, I did take a peek and saw that she has been busy. Nine perfectly cute little eggs. I do not see the mom and pop quail around very much at all. It puzzles me that she doesn't really sit on her eggs much. I'm guessing it is because they stay warm enough with the outside temperatures reaching 90 most days. Or, is that her strategy too. Stay away so that there isn't as much attention drawn to them. So no one will know they are there.

But, as I said, for me it is hard to completely ignore them.

Kinda like it is hard for me to ignore these little eggs.
It kills me every year at this time. I try to keep walking and ignore the entire aisle completely, but...the temptation is just too much! They are my complete downfall when it comes to candy. I sneak them away every year. Hiding them from little eyes. Keeping them just for me. Eating them one by one. Making them last until the bunny brings the kids their own. And then, anxiously wait for someone to say..."Here Mom...want some of these?"

You know what is harder than resisting the urge to make a beeline for the eggstra special candy aisle this time of year?

It is remembering to check the mirror to make sure I don't have that chalky white ring on my lips from the delicious crunchy shell!

did you hear me scream?

Do you remember me showing you this photo of this big prickly pear cactus in our backyard? Do you remember me telling you that we found the big arm that was off to the right laying down on its side one day and how we could tell that it had not just broken off, but how it appeared to have been chewed? Remember?

And do you remember me saying I couldn't figure out what could have possibly chewed it off, leaving teeth marks as a tell tale sign that something had in fact gnawed its way through the cactus, leaving us wondering ...what could have done that? And then I think I made the small comment that I really didn't want to find out what was lurking around in the dark corners of my fear. Well... yesterday I found out.

I went out to the back yard to water the flowers in the newly planted flower pots. It was really warm and sunny, temperatures did reach the high 80's yesterday. I was leaning over, with the watering can in hand, when I heard a funny noise. I wasn't sure what it was as I had not heard it before and believe me, I pay attention to noises in our yard. Especially when I am alone. This sounded a little like a deep snort or grunt, followed by a... muffled scraping sound. I looked over towards where I thought the noise came from and didn't see anything. So, I continued watering my pretty little flowers.

Then, I heard it again, and this time I thought I caught a little movement. So, I stepped around the tree...not thinking about that chewed up cactus and how I never really wanted to know what chewed it off...

When I saw THIS. Which is just about the time you might have heard my scream. Me. S.c.r.e.a.m.i.n.g ! Like this...EEAhhhggggcckkkkwwwhh!!!
It heard me too. And it started to come towards me. Not very fast. But towards me. And it was between me and the backdoor. And it was huge. I mean huge! So, I did what anyone would do...I jumped up on the patio chair. And then I jumped to the small end table. In my stealth maneuver, the table tipped over and I tumbled to the ground. I could hear the thing behind me and could only imagine those sharp nails clawing at the back of my legs (it was so warm I had shorts on for the first time this season) the color of which probably looked like the soft white underbelly of some kind of yummy morsel to that beast. I quickly jumped up again and ran as fast as I could to the patio and into the house. I was shaking so badly that I could hardly move. I do remember locking the door, just in case it could possibly manage to open it and follow me in. And then I thought... where is the Reptile Wrangler when I need him? At work of course. My next thought was... get the camera!!! And so I did. From the safety of my living room window I got a couple of pictures.
And I stayed inside for the rest of the day. Constantly looking out the window and over my shoulder, just in case. I watched it roaming around in the yard, looking for I don't know what. Me?

When the Reptile Wrangler got home from work I told him all about it and I don't think he believed me. "It's five feet long!" "It had long nails!" "It was chasing me!" "I want an electric fence!"... I said. He went out, against my better advice, with a flashlight. He came back in and said he didn't see anything. This morning, when the sun came up, he went outside again. Still, no sign of the great giant ugly monster lizard creature thing. Does that mean it is still lurking out there somewhere? Does that mean it might come back again when I least expect it to? Does that mean I will not go out in that backyard, ever again? I don't even know what it is?

Or do I? April fools! This giant creature was seen at the zoo last year. It was not in my yard. Thankfully. Because if it was, you really would hear my scream. Ha!

I just hope this won't become a reality because then the joke might be on me.