The sum total of species of birds I've had in my yard is 47 species, the most recent being Wild Turkey, and the latest of those being the one shown above.
I am currently under the spell of a nasty cold. This morning, I made a mercy run to the grocery store for cold meds. When I grumpily, sneezily drove into my driveway, what did I see on the roof''s peak of my front door? BLUEBIRDS! The little one on the left is one of several a baby bluebirds, recently fledged. The whole of its family was hopping around my front yard in search of breakfast
Delicately Tinted, Blue Birdy Mom
Intensely Blue Dad
No... the sight of the bluebirds didn't cure my cold, but they ironically did ease my blues.
My home whose street name translates as 'Place of the Mighty Raven'
Haven't mentioned a word of this previously, but I'm leaving California. I've had it up to my sweaty armpits with the summers here. Since there is nothing holding me to Sacramento, so as I do not have the zillions of dollars necessary to live on the cooler California coast, I'm out.
Leaving means selling my home of past 26 years. I momentarily considered renting it out but the thought alone nearly gave me a coronary. Therefore I must leave my dear Gulag Garden - the place where good plants come to die. I must uproot my 26 years of accumulated 'stuff'' & puzzle out how one goes about selling one's home while still living in it. UGH! I hope I survive this.
Had a realtor look the place over. She thinks that the kitchen devalues the house by a huge chunk of $$ to which I retort: B.S. When I moved in, the kitchen was in its original condition. Since then I painted & re-floored it with slate-look pergo, and had granite countertops installed. The realtor poo-pooed the granite countertops as 'de classe'. If new owners decide to redo a kitchen, there is zero difference to them how many birthdays the cabinets have celebrated. And anyway, the kitchen is well up to MY liking. Stupid realtor...
Despite the kitchen 'issue' (and believe me, it's my way or the highway) there are a few things that must be brought up to snuff prior to the house going on the market. As I type, my awesome 'handyman' Jim is fixing a previously badly handled repair of a ceiling crack.
He will also fix the hall bathroom to the tune of a new floor and some new underpinnings to the base under the magical 'sinking toilet'.
On the hall bath re-do, the sink was removed for the work, the toidy stashed in the tub and the tiles partially ripped up.
GAK! The toilet definitely was sinking, and no, it wasn't because of my fat bum. The particle board under the tile is disintegrating. Particle board does that when it gets wet. NEVER put particle board in as underpinning to your bathroom floor - too much chance of water getting under there, and why didn't I know that umpteen years ago?
Jim pulled up the tiles way faster than I expected. I thought it would take days, but didn't even take a full afternoon. Either this shows how much I know about this sort of thing.
You can see the disintegrating boards the toilet sat on were removed and thick wood beams were put in to support the new floor boards.
New floor boards in, and the whole floor was sort of spackled over and it was left to dry for a couple of days. Soooo happy I have more than one toilet, I can tell you!
Well, TA DA! The floor is finished & the sink & toidy are back in place. The floor looks quite different with this 'aged wood' pergo look, but I really like it. I'm fond of the pale-yellow & grey color scheme.
As luck have it - I was born in the year of the rabbit - the house hasn't gone on the market yet, but through word of mouth I already have two couples interested in buying my house. If they don't, oh well, then the house will go on the market - as soon as I can complete packing. I think people like my house because it's a nice quiet neighborhood and it has great neighbor's to boot plus that 'Location, location, location' thing.
Anyway, selling without going on the market first is just a best case scenario. Even if that isn't the end story, I must admit, a new adventure begins.
After a year of very-nearly-planning I flew down to Phoenix, Arizona to join my cousin Ed, my very-nearly-a-cousin-in-law Amy and their dog Loca, aka 'Mama', for a weekend of boating & for me, some on-the-water desert birding.
Ed & Amy drove their van, picked me up at the airport, and we were off to Apache Lake.
Eddie and Loca posing for me along the way
I loved the drive, especially when we got off the 'normal' streets of Arizona and onto the back roads, line with towering Saguaro cacti and rattlesnakes. Hey, I love rattlers. Here is a short video of the road. Cool as you can hear the truck rattling - remember we were hauling a boat.
Late afternoon we made it to our destination at Apache Lake. Ed, Amy and Loca took a little time out for a dip in the water on the boat launch area.
The boat! This was taking out of the lake on Sunday
Now, my job - it was a small but important one - was to get my bum onto the boat prior to launching. I work out at a gym regularly so thought I was well up to the task... um... well, not so much really. I couldn't haul my weight up onto the rear of the boat to save my life. Finally, just before giving up and resigning myself to being pulled behind the boat like a rogue barge, I climbed onto the front of the boat's trailer hitch, and managed - just barely - to haul my bum up onto the front of the boat. From there I lowered myself into the boat cabin and TADA! I was sea-worthy!
Capt'n Ed on Deck!
First Mate Amy riding shotgun on the boat's bow
Mesa in the fading light of day
I love when the sun glints on red rock
Apache Lake has lots of nooks and crannies on it's long waterway. Ed found one where we settled in. I was busying myself looking for and at the local wildlife (hey, it's me, DUH). Ed concentrated on trying to lure up some catfish. The catfish weren't biting, but for me, the Western Screech Owls did call and the night time froggies did croak.
Loca trying to spot some catfish for her Daddy Ed
Loads of vultures doing morning calisthenics
We spent the night on the boat. It was some kind of miracle that I, the 'pee-3-times-afore-the-cock-crows' lady, slept through the entire night, not needing to pee even once. That's one huge miracle I can tell you! Early the next morning we docked at the pier, and from there I hiked uphill - which is saying a lot, as even in the early morning, Arizona is too freakn' hot for 'moi'. So I took my time and birded along the way.
This little male Vermillion Flycatcher was my favorite at the dock. The little guy was all over the place and he put on several aria performances just for me.
A Verdin - a desert 'tit' feeding on Ocatillo flowers
We headed back onto the lake and there I started getting in as much birding and photography as possible.
Bullock's Orioles were fairly numerous amid the Mesquite
White-winged Dove down at the lake edge for a drink
My favorite birds for the day were a pair of Yellow Warblers in full breeding plumage. Funny I never think of them as a desert bird.
Cute couple - male and female Yellow Warblers
While some of us wiled away the day birding, others buddied up and got into the water for a little float time.
Captain Amy & her first mate Loca Pup
Meanwhile Ed was captaining one of his water planes.
A little fire keeps the captain warmer
Ed maneuvering one of his pontoon planes
The pleasant day of fishing, birding and floating about went all too quickly. Saturday night the sun set on the beautiful mesas on the river, and made nice silhouettes against the red sky. We spent a second night out on the water, and again - no potty mishaps! Praise be for miracles, eh?
