tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55997181435233122042024-03-05T09:04:01.158-06:00Sweating the Small StuffGawain N. E. Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357350569801157928noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-66676629513692746812023-04-10T16:38:00.000-05:002023-04-10T16:38:29.783-05:00Ralph our cat: Preserver of the Home<p>Once or twice a year Black-Tail or "Mule" deer invade our yard. We don't know where they are coming from or where they are going to but we enjoy seeing them. At up to 300 pounds they are the largest wild animal we get in our yard, bigger than the bobcats or the javelinas. We have a birdbath outside our front window and that is the first thing they head for, evidently always in need of water, and this is where our cat Ralph meets up with them. He is an indoor cat because we don't want him by day catching our birds and lizards, or by night getting cornered by a pack of coyotes. But he seems to go into a rage when he looks outside and sees some animal staring in at him. Here is an example from the other day when he woke up suddenly to three deer looking in at him.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkwsdin9a2zzGSsii53WW9nk1voN6OYLTrkwDF5g2dvbkhZY175ywtQQYxxK8pqdZHh22TzfKgDjzjfQryUMTUFnJF4jYPRur_RN85dUk8q16-P3lmi5u1GCon-kqt0hDucFvrSK7K2oaLfB9F38YdkNZiKMfa2fNLMBtjm_G7bJbxQxtBt0yOEmT/s4032/PXL_20230410_001945235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkwsdin9a2zzGSsii53WW9nk1voN6OYLTrkwDF5g2dvbkhZY175ywtQQYxxK8pqdZHh22TzfKgDjzjfQryUMTUFnJF4jYPRur_RN85dUk8q16-P3lmi5u1GCon-kqt0hDucFvrSK7K2oaLfB9F38YdkNZiKMfa2fNLMBtjm_G7bJbxQxtBt0yOEmT/s4032/PXL_20230410_001945235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcOmY_9mTMpBWc_C42m-n38E9yct2YkD04Dp2IBwEtJGyUz7Z8o2c5JMF5FPxSqhBVMoQS2isnzfnoBR1_f5fJY46vQjLqWXdcqa7WSKO-nERv_zAmku4KBKRPE3jEiHmx-SOikSwgrF37yokJCjxPAeAm-mBJIZqJVXw7iptMo6sTpxPLlcYiZcw/s4032/PXL_20230410_001935184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcOmY_9mTMpBWc_C42m-n38E9yct2YkD04Dp2IBwEtJGyUz7Z8o2c5JMF5FPxSqhBVMoQS2isnzfnoBR1_f5fJY46vQjLqWXdcqa7WSKO-nERv_zAmku4KBKRPE3jEiHmx-SOikSwgrF37yokJCjxPAeAm-mBJIZqJVXw7iptMo6sTpxPLlcYiZcw/w277-h396/PXL_20230410_001935184.jpg" width="277" /></a><br /></div><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkwsdin9a2zzGSsii53WW9nk1voN6OYLTrkwDF5g2dvbkhZY175ywtQQYxxK8pqdZHh22TzfKgDjzjfQryUMTUFnJF4jYPRur_RN85dUk8q16-P3lmi5u1GCon-kqt0hDucFvrSK7K2oaLfB9F38YdkNZiKMfa2fNLMBtjm_G7bJbxQxtBt0yOEmT/w277-h382/PXL_20230410_001945235.jpg" width="277" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsvVOAkfr6B-aEABHwCFnE2z9AoeP5Y1cJJgYNes5UhB515sKWSRnNmpK7rBBU8CJIZhxwkSmr_OiGRu2YQWFJFrmfZ8jufOxC2iINUtd3c1SmSrQTandVanzlCvgNqK0JzL-LpIC51HKNG3xmJth5SrGPINF7PNlQfHHtkzAS5hGL-AC6yYwMX-d/s4032/PXL_20230410_001948958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqsvVOAkfr6B-aEABHwCFnE2z9AoeP5Y1cJJgYNes5UhB515sKWSRnNmpK7rBBU8CJIZhxwkSmr_OiGRu2YQWFJFrmfZ8jufOxC2iINUtd3c1SmSrQTandVanzlCvgNqK0JzL-LpIC51HKNG3xmJth5SrGPINF7PNlQfHHtkzAS5hGL-AC6yYwMX-d/w264-h320/PXL_20230410_001948958.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /> <br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-34023657910454743742022-12-15T15:42:00.003-06:002022-12-15T15:42:47.157-06:00Everyone's Back!<p><br /> Finally they had given us permission to return to Agua Caliente Park after the fire.</p><p> We all began arriving at the parking area early and as soon as we got out of our cars realized other people were not moving down into the park, but had already seen friends they had not seen for weeks, or in some cases months, and we were gathering right there, standing and talking, or grabbing any tables and benches handy. Cheryl and I don't have a dog (what would they say if they knew we had a <i>cat!</i>) but virtually everyone else does, and the dogs are as much our friends as our human friends are, and they are literally bowling us over as we are trying to talk to their owners. All our friends are okay, so next after the gossip is past what we all want to see is what shape the park is in.</p><p>Well, we had already had a glimpse as we came in on the approach road, and at first it seemed stark and dramatic, but as days passed on and we got more used to it, it was just sad. The palm trees had been the park's glory (the date palms had been planted a hundred years ago), but now they rattled in their desiccation, tall scorched-black trunks with nothing on their tops but the broken off scraps of their fronds.</p><p> In its natural vegetation the area surrounding the park is called a called a mesquite bosque. For instance in the unaltered patches around the oasis you can see the recognizable shapes of the mesquites leaning in towards you from the horizon. We never saw any sign that the lightning had struck or in anyway damaged the mesquites so they didn't seem to be attractive to the electricity, but the palms were clustered in the center of the oasis and with their weak carton-like structure, the high flames whipped straight through them, and immediately caught the next palm, and the next.<br /></p><p>Here, in a different stand across the lake is what the burned palms looked like before the fire.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBE3PbzaLbvVrN_6xi9D9wW_WmFUe6shVr8xdpnA5FCrwrIWxbHLjBXfOZoLQMSc15-7oq71nOxfmPnoQrubuh4N3BhUmWneh2O_gdgL7IeINb-VS4OhkkwDWVV4tE-Z0nCROJBJxFq168owyKBsLhPdWJGn70hoCeeg8Mtulzbg-1wC-jA6B7UfpU/s1280/P1030471.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1280" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBE3PbzaLbvVrN_6xi9D9wW_WmFUe6shVr8xdpnA5FCrwrIWxbHLjBXfOZoLQMSc15-7oq71nOxfmPnoQrubuh4N3BhUmWneh2O_gdgL7IeINb-VS4OhkkwDWVV4tE-Z0nCROJBJxFq168owyKBsLhPdWJGn70hoCeeg8Mtulzbg-1wC-jA6B7UfpU/w550-h328/P1030471.jpeg" width="550" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Here is what whole stands look like now. Some of these might recover, but it looks doubtful for others.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVe6cklVSo9wqVoAXqqcL0oZN-FghM7GIWCaiC5v0BcJg4pi1M671Me_twAmJFhpZrAH2i9FDwH77a2FVuHvEAnPZC_STK59r8XINct--wPns6L_7c0Y3Ssx_mAlqNTZNtSqbcvt0854tPcf4SSB4e6yHREA76sUmt-1k2yY_QtU1P_92JSXPpmM-/s5760/2R7A8049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVe6cklVSo9wqVoAXqqcL0oZN-FghM7GIWCaiC5v0BcJg4pi1M671Me_twAmJFhpZrAH2i9FDwH77a2FVuHvEAnPZC_STK59r8XINct--wPns6L_7c0Y3Ssx_mAlqNTZNtSqbcvt0854tPcf4SSB4e6yHREA76sUmt-1k2yY_QtU1P_92JSXPpmM-/w500-h333/2R7A8049.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF30GEpYwWOHdMgpVXP5wAn_a7RXa2SqLkp75dFiZK6jop_yP-8r01XNXEmZnIWm_pzGZ6uq9SZW-ifbCR5DevAA8kJ48s6ZUtgN7JUZSrIY1TCc65yUZxhCh1MCHRdN3OmqNcN0l-u9k5K-fv0Qd3Zv0nSOVdKyqEs03eq9qgYkekm5CGVw4OfazD/s5760/2R7A8052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF30GEpYwWOHdMgpVXP5wAn_a7RXa2SqLkp75dFiZK6jop_yP-8r01XNXEmZnIWm_pzGZ6uq9SZW-ifbCR5DevAA8kJ48s6ZUtgN7JUZSrIY1TCc65yUZxhCh1MCHRdN3OmqNcN0l-u9k5K-fv0Qd3Zv0nSOVdKyqEs03eq9qgYkekm5CGVw4OfazD/w523-h348/2R7A8052.JPG" width="523" /></a></div></div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8RXVvYqbqPH0Dh2XIMdQeU0CyWskae793YUNOoTrJBOGuGgfwi8uqyriioLigeEX4Dj_InfUpW1PJBNs8gyVia4irV8ce7ic-aRnr52BWjbFKmyk0OWQZIIrI_AWOldpxuE9x_krv7DaCaekf96S-PFTspH_HZCuRmxfyX6TUv3D-oS6qIYiJYPO/s5760/2R7A8045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5760" data-original-width="3840" height="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8RXVvYqbqPH0Dh2XIMdQeU0CyWskae793YUNOoTrJBOGuGgfwi8uqyriioLigeEX4Dj_InfUpW1PJBNs8gyVia4irV8ce7ic-aRnr52BWjbFKmyk0OWQZIIrI_AWOldpxuE9x_krv7DaCaekf96S-PFTspH_HZCuRmxfyX6TUv3D-oS6qIYiJYPO/w303-h455/2R7A8045.JPG" width="303" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt6ZvPlZS3K9CbzlaDnEzqjOFL7v7OUNAnSpR9FCk02miQ7p5MuQmFZPt16RZ2FZ0R0wF2gjgMENa9IeoyraCg4eLHwPcvGmv6ZUNrvr4WcZxaxEg3BwVECHN1Rqko2SHPWuZueZ6NOr9FkcgoQy0bL7q8g_DCqKvSmjVIp25tpixLa6MGh8ZCKuo/s5760/2R7A8046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt6ZvPlZS3K9CbzlaDnEzqjOFL7v7OUNAnSpR9FCk02miQ7p5MuQmFZPt16RZ2FZ0R0wF2gjgMENa9IeoyraCg4eLHwPcvGmv6ZUNrvr4WcZxaxEg3BwVECHN1Rqko2SHPWuZueZ6NOr9FkcgoQy0bL7q8g_DCqKvSmjVIp25tpixLa6MGh8ZCKuo/w473-h315/2R7A8046.JPG" width="473" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p><span style="color: black;">Well, the park might be more enduring than we believe, more able to rebuild itself. In 2017 (I'm reading a useful history) it was nearly destroyed by a severe microburst which left trees and palms, trn and tattered, the palm fronds ripped apart and littering the ground. The park was cleaned up then; it will be again.<br /></span></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-44006082698696558862022-11-02T19:24:00.002-05:002022-11-02T19:24:48.361-05:00What we're going to miss<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /> Agua Caliente, the park, is noted for its palm trees, many of them massive, some half-a-century old. Without them, the personality of the park would be completely altered. But it would seem something like that would be forever. Instead, a person was more likely to come regularly most of his life and never see a palm tree removed or added, but all held in a sort of trance. Unless something untoward occurs.</p><p>But this time something did happen. There was a violent lightning storm and one or more lightning strikes hit at least one palm tree. This is where the trees were vulnerable. Think of their broad dusty papery fronds and the dry grassy beards that drape down their trunks. One touch of the lightning and the tree is immediately aflame, then the nearby trees catch it. We had seen from our house smoke billowing up from the direction of the park, and we got in the news that night images of raging fires. The fire was quickly stopped but the damage was done. <br /></p><p> </p><p> Here is how it looked before the fire.<br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhB-WsGWhIZFb18X24rFaqEc56IPqPXHyW3XgmP1r_C99YBqFk4Hpp0ZkBUjndX2iwH7zP7MyLsJ8K9DJ-iInFbiJopB0sf6siCJ_znMZ3q9ZtweYuf8CEvU3NiqXYBaQbhkqHBMLliGMGL6TRaBgH4jDqwf-CEUCXZ6oCJniUm0AZVvigEioYQoX/s1280/P1000329.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="1280" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOhB-WsGWhIZFb18X24rFaqEc56IPqPXHyW3XgmP1r_C99YBqFk4Hpp0ZkBUjndX2iwH7zP7MyLsJ8K9DJ-iInFbiJopB0sf6siCJ_znMZ3q9ZtweYuf8CEvU3NiqXYBaQbhkqHBMLliGMGL6TRaBgH4jDqwf-CEUCXZ6oCJniUm0AZVvigEioYQoX/w579-h305/P1000329.jpeg" width="579" /> </a> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The report from the park was that they would be closed for thirty days till they could clear up the mess and try to see which of the damaged trees could be kept alive. The frustration for us was that we couldn't see what parts had burned, and how damaged they were. Finally the thirty days was over (but they had made no move to open the gates). We drove over to the park and stopped at the closed gates, and peered through the closed fences to see if we could make out anything. Then we suddenly saw them, the horrible survivors. All that remained were the ten-or-fifteen-foot straight trunks covered with black soot, and on top of them the short bitten-off fronds, and we wondered how many would sprout out again,<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsy9b-jjHN87EujYn6XjhFz_3ifFNGlz6MWDaf3eF6fFwwTyLJH1eBS2HyKRsT4lzeP22B8VGIrFTP8VrG1hRZUBbAYaovDXTSD5i88oCASzq7YTGk-Dn_DVvZtLhdJLCjuaOKu4TBA8nTUq0e289u8RO7w80ZTX0Z4yiovRXIlr9EOBRvNbvKg0tZ/s4032/PXL_20221028_223639308.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsy9b-jjHN87EujYn6XjhFz_3ifFNGlz6MWDaf3eF6fFwwTyLJH1eBS2HyKRsT4lzeP22B8VGIrFTP8VrG1hRZUBbAYaovDXTSD5i88oCASzq7YTGk-Dn_DVvZtLhdJLCjuaOKu4TBA8nTUq0e289u8RO7w80ZTX0Z4yiovRXIlr9EOBRvNbvKg0tZ/w497-h373/PXL_20221028_223639308.jpg" width="497" /></a></div><br /> </div><p></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-21408446060712247192022-10-16T13:08:00.000-05:002022-10-16T13:08:57.887-05:00What We Do Without Agua Caliente<p> I recently wrote a blog about Agua Caliente Park, which we visit almost every morning. In my blog I tried to list the reasons we are so loyal to it. First of all, we can hop in our car and be there in eight minutes. It's an oasis in the midst of the desert, with lakes and aquatic vegetation suddenly creating a very different, and refreshing landscape, especially because of the many ancient and enormous palm trees. My legs are getting older and I need a good walk to keep them working, and a walk around the outer ring of lakes is perfect for them. And, of course, I mentioned in my earlier blog, we don't know many people here, so our daily social life consists of the people we meet at the park (who come for their own exercise and to walk their dogs).</p><p>So we were somewhat at a loss when we heard the park was closed for a full month to give them some time to clean up the damage they had from a lightning strike. But actually we already had a substitute, one we took when we wanted an occasional variation. We drive straight up the Mt. Lemmon Road till we get to Gordon Hirabayashi Park. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">That takes a bit longer to get to, but otherwise has similar features. A road goes straight through the center, following a creek, and the sides are often rich with wild flowers. You park shortly after you enter the park, and if you then walk to the end of that central road and walk back again to where you parked, it is just right for our walk. </p><p>But do you know what? We have learned something. What we love so much here is the wildlife. These parks are kept to be attractive to wildlife, and no doubt it is there, and you can occasionally glimpse a bobcat or coyote or deer, but I think they are disturbed by the press of people and stay concealed until dark. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But here at home is where we see it. We have about a third of an acre, a mixture of trees, cacti and open areas, and the other houses here on the edge of town often also continue the unbroken natural desert for the animals to slip on through. Many washes come down from the mountains providing corridors for the animals to travel along. We put out food for birds, and that brings them up close to the house where we can see and photo them. It is against the law to put out food for the mammals, the creatures we are most interested in, but that is not a problem. This is a desert and what everything wants is water, and we put out a bird bath outside the front window and have several big dishes of water scattered around the backyard.</p><p>Often the animals walk right up to our windows. The other day a large handsome bobcat came up to a water dish we had in our backyard and spent a long and careless time drinking his fill.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepnd3NweIkqcsn7YXSdri9GBtvyOQ_N5jevh8Ag2QVp5QP0DYOeifuD3Q-NNAggGJ2LA5sRrvTL4eSk0x50ZRMOEPepT7Lzlioq1kKdm52j4Luj41pF_4-vkM6nuxKJk9U4hoiE7RswTXz_jwENCNuXTDQ2zzBdmNdnXabMqTpnnlS4h5wzzYLGns/s1024/IMG_2549.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1024" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepnd3NweIkqcsn7YXSdri9GBtvyOQ_N5jevh8Ag2QVp5QP0DYOeifuD3Q-NNAggGJ2LA5sRrvTL4eSk0x50ZRMOEPepT7Lzlioq1kKdm52j4Luj41pF_4-vkM6nuxKJk9U4hoiE7RswTXz_jwENCNuXTDQ2zzBdmNdnXabMqTpnnlS4h5wzzYLGns/s320/IMG_2549.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Not long before this I looked up from a book I was reading and looked out the front window by our bird bath and three enormous Mule Deer were looking in at us. They looked as tall as horses and each one probably weighed 250 pounds. They show up in our yard every year, only bucks, and usually with their antlers still in velvet. But pretty soon they will start knocking off the velvet and fighting each other <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqujZ8X7YTHvgxbVwixOkdcsBGqJLh_K3CAxpEC9kZp0QTINztcqO3-nOUrsNfWL2Mn5-3WoFc3Nn7zZjRfa2k7gRGRW-iutdCuRj2CAhH3TUgncZCrQvc3oRyG9vv-ovhFqeXmUHybFq9sd5d5HutaqTYgC71sEjVQBjFFuuEcL3iLISC_uZ4Biy-/s1024/IMG_2358%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqujZ8X7YTHvgxbVwixOkdcsBGqJLh_K3CAxpEC9kZp0QTINztcqO3-nOUrsNfWL2Mn5-3WoFc3Nn7zZjRfa2k7gRGRW-iutdCuRj2CAhH3TUgncZCrQvc3oRyG9vv-ovhFqeXmUHybFq9sd5d5HutaqTYgC71sEjVQBjFFuuEcL3iLISC_uZ4Biy-/s320/IMG_2358%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and looking for females. Like the males the females will break off into only female groups, but they will still have their last years' fawns with them, and I think stay farther up the mountain, so we never see them in our yard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When we least expect them, suddenly one or more coyotes come strutting up the yard, and it is fun to see their quickness, always looking like they have a plan, in a flank, for instance, twenty feet apart from each other, hoping to surprise a small rabbit that will veer off from one coyote to run right into another. Before you know it the coyotes have come the distance of our back yard and are now crossing the road in front of our house, and are gone. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzlG40hOWo4wWxjQoOfb8BMGzSEzmgSmmWosRuVoOv0zitXU-wp2PnKb9Zo4QxuMFSawEVh3m41j677BXMsTzZl37TwjnNh6N6bviRetuT0GksHpNr_LvLI5M_vEtPZJCOt_mLTCwvJ0Z6MEXRvpB84QJr-gEW5qtIVgSFd8WBE-9G4XYQdOB46A8/s1687/IMG_0543.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1602" data-original-width="1687" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzlG40hOWo4wWxjQoOfb8BMGzSEzmgSmmWosRuVoOv0zitXU-wp2PnKb9Zo4QxuMFSawEVh3m41j677BXMsTzZl37TwjnNh6N6bviRetuT0GksHpNr_LvLI5M_vEtPZJCOt_mLTCwvJ0Z6MEXRvpB84QJr-gEW5qtIVgSFd8WBE-9G4XYQdOB46A8/s320/IMG_0543.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Here is one trying to dig out a ground squirrel it can hear under the surface.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And though we have the javelinas, our notorious pig-like peccaries, fenced out of our yard because they do so much damage (knocking down our garbage can and scattering the garbage all over is the least of it) they occasionally dig their way into the back yard, usually a gang eight or ten with all their babies with them, and they are such characters we enjoy seeing them anyway.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKlc9upeoiHQ1fEJdZZ7cbyuat-XclCjJ43NB1oWWh72DMRgNT7GlOJF6IFmVbXChKBzhQwgFjwzKfUu6eNZSGc1pzuqNI3I3NnvKOXW_F1o7rrVJoPEAptOSnasMIjcvoa_z-k-xkAf2WLEiB9pNm6DthZcBsChzQnLNo0O3pBl91_FmpWQTpkNA/s1024/IMG_2663%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKlc9upeoiHQ1fEJdZZ7cbyuat-XclCjJ43NB1oWWh72DMRgNT7GlOJF6IFmVbXChKBzhQwgFjwzKfUu6eNZSGc1pzuqNI3I3NnvKOXW_F1o7rrVJoPEAptOSnasMIjcvoa_z-k-xkAf2WLEiB9pNm6DthZcBsChzQnLNo0O3pBl91_FmpWQTpkNA/w481-h321/IMG_2663%20(1).jpg" width="481" /></a></div> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> What I'm getting at is, we love all of the wilds of Tucson, but it is only in our own backyard that we can regularly count on something amazing making an appearance. So maybe we need to sit on our porch and stop complaining.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>walk <br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-40240897912490470222022-10-01T17:17:00.000-05:002022-10-01T17:17:19.776-05:00A Sad Post Script on My Last Blog<p>Our Monsoon season is coming to an end and, as with many other places, it has been pretty disappointing. </p><p>The sky goes black to the east of us, or in the mountains to the north of us, there is some flashing of lightning in the distance getting our hopes up, and then everything fizzles out with at most a few drops. Next morning we meet our friends at Agua Caliente and the conversation is "How much did you get?" "Well, .006." "That's what we got too."</p><p>The other day it started in the usual way. Cheryl with her excellent hearing said (from inside the house) "it sounds like it's raining." I, with my lousy hearing, said "I don't hear it." But when I took the garbage out a moment later I could see big splots of rain spreading on the ground, and a splitting sound of thunder hit so close I rushed back in the house for shelter. A sudden wind came up, and instantly it was raining so hard we couldn't see across the back yard. Cheryl said "I'm going out to enjoy it."</p><p>Our porch along the back of the house is open on the outside, but has a roof, so we could sit out on it and keep relatively dry except when the wind struck us with a gust of rain. Every few seconds there would be a flash then thunder sounding like it was directly overhead, and I actually saw a bolt of lightning go into the ground across from us. It was all so intense, and we were enjoying it so much, we were afraid any minute it would turn off like a spigot, but it kept going at full power, and it was wonderful, the first real storm we had experienced this year.</p><p>Well, it did stop, and the air cleared. But that wasn't the end. We looked off in the distance, and saw a plume of brown smoke rising. Lightning had started a fire somewhere. We didn't know where it might be, but our daughter-in-law sent us the news that night that it was Agua Caliente, the lightning had struck some of the 50-year-old palm trees and started a blaze in the dry leathery <br />leaves. They had put out the fire quickly but damage had been done. That was bad enough, but there was even worse information: The park would be closed for a month while they cleaned it up.</p><p>What would we all do?<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWIp_Wvx-kFO4ihtc0XFR5IP4bp9em7FMyLswgE56LF-N2hunFFkCkoxcfe1OImvxMjs95yOS-peNnbfRhJEO-hbJKvSx_TCzHrOLPsUg-l4WvHC4F_N4DhLJxMNjACnrD1okuw7UsBADfFHmKHFdKC1OvZBJxo12Pn4BjOG8NZ9kGz--ID9Qcrue/s1024/IMG_2648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWIp_Wvx-kFO4ihtc0XFR5IP4bp9em7FMyLswgE56LF-N2hunFFkCkoxcfe1OImvxMjs95yOS-peNnbfRhJEO-hbJKvSx_TCzHrOLPsUg-l4WvHC4F_N4DhLJxMNjACnrD1okuw7UsBADfFHmKHFdKC1OvZBJxo12Pn4BjOG8NZ9kGz--ID9Qcrue/w495-h330/IMG_2648.jpg" width="495" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-3552110908449922122022-09-22T12:53:00.000-05:002022-09-22T12:53:02.541-05:00Agua Caliente Park<p> We live just off the Catalina Highway. We can get on the highway in minutes, and be heading up the winding road some 8000 feet to the top of Mt. Lemmon. The scenery is stupendous as we climb up through life-zone after life-zone from the flat desert at the bottom to the coniferous forest at the top. But it is more than visual: It is our dial-a-climate. At this time of year when we we have day-after-day of 100-degrees we can watch the temperature in the car fall to whatever temperature we want as we reach higher altitudes. By the time we are at the top it has dropped down into comfortable 70s. </p><p>There are wonderful mountain trails to walk, and we were originally looking for one for a suitable place for a daily walk, but many are steep and rugged, and at our age sometimes you want something easier going. That's when we discovered Agua Caliente Park. "Agua Caliente" means "Warm Springs." It's an astonishing place, an oasis in the midst of the desert, from water welling up. The vegetation outside the park is cactus and cholla; inside the park it is aquatic grasses and hundred-year-old date palms. At the entrance to the park you come to a big lake followed by a chain of smaller lakes joined by smooth, level paths. We only had to walk around the paths one time before we looked at one another and said "This is it." The clincher was, it only took us eight minutes from our house to get there. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdnQqaqPOJ9Vr0jDLm-WKAxca3oDAbBlaPuh99Wdh2Z_gSKKgpC-eXA6tWPOT_vdmXimh08a8e1eW0h7kRva3Iq3xMt2fDVVfPOaATxKz8DhyygG-0kx8Q46wA07J9vgO8pE0csDZly4pj59SbeiNnh19jw1LVox3bVDvIsjSx1z2kM7QwgG0FXc4/s1280/P1030471.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1280" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWdnQqaqPOJ9Vr0jDLm-WKAxca3oDAbBlaPuh99Wdh2Z_gSKKgpC-eXA6tWPOT_vdmXimh08a8e1eW0h7kRva3Iq3xMt2fDVVfPOaATxKz8DhyygG-0kx8Q46wA07J9vgO8pE0csDZly4pj59SbeiNnh19jw1LVox3bVDvIsjSx1z2kM7QwgG0FXc4/w528-h314/P1030471.jpeg" width="528" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> Nature is encouraged, and when we arrive we are always watching to see what new birds are passing through. But in general people come there to walk their dogs, and dogs like their walks daily, and following a daily routine, and so the dogs' owners are forced into the same routines. We don't have a dog but this is a friendly place. Everyone on the path has a friendly "Good morning," and their dogs, wagging their tails, pull on their leads to come over to you to have their ears scratched, and that is followed by a discussion about what kind of dog and so on, and when you come the next day and see the same person with the same dog you have already the makings of a new friend. Pretty soon you know all the regulars and their dogs, and they know you.</p><p>Since you are not climbing the mountain, the daily heat needs to be handled another way: We get up at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning (this is now every day, unless there is some necessary interruption) and drive straight to the park without breakfast, and try to get all our exercise-walking done (by about 830) before it really begins getting hot. The trick is to get it done, and still get a chance to chat with our growing accumulation of friends.</p><p>You see, living out here on the scattered edges of northern Tucson, as most of us do, we have protected ourselves from Covid by avoiding the downtown crowds and either staying in the bubbles of our families, or walking in this wide open airy park. As to the people, the dog-walkers, this is our society, in fact it is our social life. And this seems to be enough.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BPYzpsDFFMXvAbDbMV8zQNVQogXtnV9CDWiwHmQrbxN-vKK0PVAcxrNxjSm9LgXwHEREeojgvDMBFPPH0C_S1bj1V9Xb7DJLthjTcP9yuAwSs4RakPcPnQ-7X6HayW03q2fuvFttQKFkFn0_bFCPYY-EH9NV898GJxZS1kJ2YpXg165AFdsOsFm3/s1280/N%20at%20Agua%20Caliente..jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BPYzpsDFFMXvAbDbMV8zQNVQogXtnV9CDWiwHmQrbxN-vKK0PVAcxrNxjSm9LgXwHEREeojgvDMBFPPH0C_S1bj1V9Xb7DJLthjTcP9yuAwSs4RakPcPnQ-7X6HayW03q2fuvFttQKFkFn0_bFCPYY-EH9NV898GJxZS1kJ2YpXg165AFdsOsFm3/s320/N%20at%20Agua%20Caliente..jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ltpXnKoiZWNvcAaHOd0FcxJKvedXF0THG_1vBcSKCdXNOVXGo0vZ4iRDDESigzHMhBokIVzWW_FPCDiSuWaOZxaIzDeHQsAd8HMkYBHMb75fChiE-hn3K7yAxbpIxxgpxN9iEMxzQxMsY2XZY7EpMcFx44pxh_TTT8v0nAozeeLO2N7l5iahIZgU/s1600/PXL_20220905_133817765.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ltpXnKoiZWNvcAaHOd0FcxJKvedXF0THG_1vBcSKCdXNOVXGo0vZ4iRDDESigzHMhBokIVzWW_FPCDiSuWaOZxaIzDeHQsAd8HMkYBHMb75fChiE-hn3K7yAxbpIxxgpxN9iEMxzQxMsY2XZY7EpMcFx44pxh_TTT8v0nAozeeLO2N7l5iahIZgU/s320/PXL_20220905_133817765.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ebtOqRIIudNIQyWuwdkJIccI4pmTfRIuIgUczPm9MFPT6A5noJDD8J_GOSJUi81n7en5SbGI5L77IZe-nGwlcn3T-h5XsJOl6nMRCQENFLljlcoqFhbrgW6A-CT1FF9YJuwG3QXbHARYp09glyEcIFaMMQJ8SgpVzX-MopXdDv-m9_Bi8-3NsRD5/s4032/PXL_20220914_144208339.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ebtOqRIIudNIQyWuwdkJIccI4pmTfRIuIgUczPm9MFPT6A5noJDD8J_GOSJUi81n7en5SbGI5L77IZe-nGwlcn3T-h5XsJOl6nMRCQENFLljlcoqFhbrgW6A-CT1FF9YJuwG3QXbHARYp09glyEcIFaMMQJ8SgpVzX-MopXdDv-m9_Bi8-3NsRD5/s320/PXL_20220914_144208339.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Zq6j5mxDLJwxmGRay3-UMqz-1xhSOZCrXrEVJci4Qze3sD1-EG6C1UKCkXwjha72nJh5Q3cPi09Z2uemUIy7dcOHoqbuh-saYDiAGEHuB_n7Mx3bhSD9eAH5F7Wt-bNFGCzJUk65ChaSew0sINh7kG3ekrHFHmyHYcaDVbMr8yLKjiIDbwUa5NfY/s1280/P1040088.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Zq6j5mxDLJwxmGRay3-UMqz-1xhSOZCrXrEVJci4Qze3sD1-EG6C1UKCkXwjha72nJh5Q3cPi09Z2uemUIy7dcOHoqbuh-saYDiAGEHuB_n7Mx3bhSD9eAH5F7Wt-bNFGCzJUk65ChaSew0sINh7kG3ekrHFHmyHYcaDVbMr8yLKjiIDbwUa5NfY/s320/P1040088.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFyuNOu4Jv0fvMppqnRFxUML1kH4bwQj2uEky_-qOyK8ORJeH_V4vDczLrsYxQkyoXe5pxTFWnwxUnH3LiE7qbcDMybMwcYmZIpscPA_GUJtaiUtBe0WXzFTWkWgae_Wr440qKu-7Rbk9Kndt0itYQw96ZYo0DLK1ZzxDGseTAY143G7YBpVd-eI2/s1280/P1020607.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1150" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFyuNOu4Jv0fvMppqnRFxUML1kH4bwQj2uEky_-qOyK8ORJeH_V4vDczLrsYxQkyoXe5pxTFWnwxUnH3LiE7qbcDMybMwcYmZIpscPA_GUJtaiUtBe0WXzFTWkWgae_Wr440qKu-7Rbk9Kndt0itYQw96ZYo0DLK1ZzxDGseTAY143G7YBpVd-eI2/s320/P1020607.jpeg" width="288" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGZqerKeMuBJsZXZVfUCbgsoWkTnyK7Rr1HNiJtS1Dz17gj4lgFcBNKlHmBmzw0LJOvp74Z5uqSQQd2spwNxNsQD8RZ37OiJZmzCX_AB7kDmps7sbw8Vy9MRsmL6JjPpCQto7rj2gKNQJevpOPRHAdOCagzFNiN9v_x1Fq5mICgoWU8m1H6IV6P8t/s1280/Vermilion%20male.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGZqerKeMuBJsZXZVfUCbgsoWkTnyK7Rr1HNiJtS1Dz17gj4lgFcBNKlHmBmzw0LJOvp74Z5uqSQQd2spwNxNsQD8RZ37OiJZmzCX_AB7kDmps7sbw8Vy9MRsmL6JjPpCQto7rj2gKNQJevpOPRHAdOCagzFNiN9v_x1Fq5mICgoWU8m1H6IV6P8t/s320/Vermilion%20male.jpeg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><br /><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-68326203285694782312022-08-13T13:32:00.000-05:002022-08-13T13:32:31.482-05:00Black-headed Grosbeak<p> We usually see the Black-headed Grosbeak in the mountains, with only an occasional visitor to our yard, But some years they come down here in numbers, and we always stop what we are doing to watch them. They are quite striking (I am describing the males, the females are plainer)with their black head and heavy two-tone beak, with their black and white wings, their deep orange body, and the comic postures they get into as they twist around to watch us. Especially the comical postures. <br /></p><p>This year they surprised us, quietly insinuating themselves into our notice, and now they seem to be increasing: a Black-headed Grosbeak year!</p><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzbYH8pNsgHDycI948qCxmy9ItnT8wQ8TBSxL08DLRETFQ21RSOCN5gX3mTQiK6C1VIaDdI0fwM9ZRhmEzFhBKaVZsVw-1BV4xvEn4Z5eFpBc7VtGnOTr-fP_pcHy1mDu0mqNuhOjasgXHCahZUFOI8p90Cg9tgtGjxRxSt91HIBqAJUJDBaslU--/s966/IMG_0970.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="966" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZzbYH8pNsgHDycI948qCxmy9ItnT8wQ8TBSxL08DLRETFQ21RSOCN5gX3mTQiK6C1VIaDdI0fwM9ZRhmEzFhBKaVZsVw-1BV4xvEn4Z5eFpBc7VtGnOTr-fP_pcHy1mDu0mqNuhOjasgXHCahZUFOI8p90Cg9tgtGjxRxSt91HIBqAJUJDBaslU--/s320/IMG_0970.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2n_DLE_zmT2ij5M1JqMNfnQ-ECHBZ1Vttssmz-aFAsdjZZ5mfd7BZiKo7ODZ3igDl4tPCs2msYHvPsgL1rQCBb7mLdg9C8ZWeCpS5QH0GlWUlWno2L8tZQL3l3rtvFn2zJLExIadQbZuPdQ1fk1IhHgr1vkKckT7DDWkOeVeNyns6EsKg9tR2DLhu/s1024/2R7A7058.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgng2-qWJ4lRg-DH8SO2FKuayTeW1UMwoQSC4919l3-WP4eZs4UPSJIN3rMUwr-GTpRVG8dr92yAM3TcbANAA27U06UOYfnOh_w5Rye3OdRGu0X0E-V_EcWgFi7Trpi9ncRyYhnunJgztM6Raa1xKHiqKnRTjEzeangfJ56rDRo0t-s_8rtGrA59gcZ/s1191/IMG_1038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="943" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgng2-qWJ4lRg-DH8SO2FKuayTeW1UMwoQSC4919l3-WP4eZs4UPSJIN3rMUwr-GTpRVG8dr92yAM3TcbANAA27U06UOYfnOh_w5Rye3OdRGu0X0E-V_EcWgFi7Trpi9ncRyYhnunJgztM6Raa1xKHiqKnRTjEzeangfJ56rDRo0t-s_8rtGrA59gcZ/s320/IMG_1038.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><p></p><p>They often seem to look at you out of the corner of their eye.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWI9zLrx9LZit5C3QlsEz2dRWddWU1XyqUADtugbbc2EBrbbolN4cjqrHl2qvxv8w668OsEvHsgWnS4UXESO6wdqFImm7da-R6983v4Ziznt2YOFI_hLL4xFkRsJ1qwX83ZjMNto21BakU811mve5Vn8Ehy2WxtG9Z1QvGppNL0_uPAIEmVCjB3Bn/s1024/2R7A7054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1024" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWI9zLrx9LZit5C3QlsEz2dRWddWU1XyqUADtugbbc2EBrbbolN4cjqrHl2qvxv8w668OsEvHsgWnS4UXESO6wdqFImm7da-R6983v4Ziznt2YOFI_hLL4xFkRsJ1qwX83ZjMNto21BakU811mve5Vn8Ehy2WxtG9Z1QvGppNL0_uPAIEmVCjB3Bn/s320/2R7A7054.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fTUk8hhHmrtvz7G-kBBIw5ItpVC9HF7znxOudU3LYyzb8WfH0J2IYUDLVIFyDNYVuYuQfmf6rkGt4W3iH9sm7J2zjBPJTdmqv8xCPsGZ71t0GW1a_wihXUOQGKBmbGfQqRcUWngDYlFzX-Q_8fmNyQCs9Pwn4AN9gfxhkhYtVSdI2D3zO_YeiWyd/s1024/2R7A7055%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1024" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fTUk8hhHmrtvz7G-kBBIw5ItpVC9HF7znxOudU3LYyzb8WfH0J2IYUDLVIFyDNYVuYuQfmf6rkGt4W3iH9sm7J2zjBPJTdmqv8xCPsGZ71t0GW1a_wihXUOQGKBmbGfQqRcUWngDYlFzX-Q_8fmNyQCs9Pwn4AN9gfxhkhYtVSdI2D3zO_YeiWyd/s320/2R7A7055%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmwoDK_Ps1a5BW9D_htxz3kUvNkJNOLhI8D2NS64rwqkzFFaAv4awV_I_9Fv9iUKhWF0speJh5_XbtDTwpT6Z-lXfc-P75FBtZeexKOwa-d0pjBwLZ01GtKwTqrZdT69yHh9C1jQBsMMfxHEWNH5us6yinxq-vVcT0DuqoAVZYmFwF19dUKMZvv25/s1145/2R7A7083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmwoDK_Ps1a5BW9D_htxz3kUvNkJNOLhI8D2NS64rwqkzFFaAv4awV_I_9Fv9iUKhWF0speJh5_XbtDTwpT6Z-lXfc-P75FBtZeexKOwa-d0pjBwLZ01GtKwTqrZdT69yHh9C1jQBsMMfxHEWNH5us6yinxq-vVcT0DuqoAVZYmFwF19dUKMZvv25/s320/2R7A7083.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>They can look impressive and commanding.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wLB-ninAi1tPqSn_Cj-Su5ohpzwfvepbceNQQ6y_S46lCOK5ed7_RE7zetTNZ1f4cd49o7VajwWfkYuDiMMmz9y1JvTeWVBJ7lHyNO7JevP0FuBC9Rgj6btt8kKZJt0Id1U8l_izrTDqTdj20pNga6Fq3EX44RJbIuXMkFHddEVWhxamglCm80Kc/s1578/2R7A7090%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9wLB-ninAi1tPqSn_Cj-Su5ohpzwfvepbceNQQ6y_S46lCOK5ed7_RE7zetTNZ1f4cd49o7VajwWfkYuDiMMmz9y1JvTeWVBJ7lHyNO7JevP0FuBC9Rgj6btt8kKZJt0Id1U8l_izrTDqTdj20pNga6Fq3EX44RJbIuXMkFHddEVWhxamglCm80Kc/s320/2R7A7090%20(1).jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p> </p><p>Then turn around and look silly again.<br /></p><p>Half the things they do look noble, and then they ruin it. For instance</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYDeqIOODApT2ggCAjGBVInRQz0gIC-PhAAGH8gNOxkQ5YxZdtEh1lAqpHDJYiGf_y7xKeXcIpaBHMJ8aFV_AspJG2l_LKWyC0ZKFPyq8vTDVRczd0uQFhZYxi4twZ2fvAZVylha-wivzklanLIFZOCcQKPStDUnY2WmICCbYpVy0yAYgyzO4k2q8/s1350/2R7A7274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYDeqIOODApT2ggCAjGBVInRQz0gIC-PhAAGH8gNOxkQ5YxZdtEh1lAqpHDJYiGf_y7xKeXcIpaBHMJ8aFV_AspJG2l_LKWyC0ZKFPyq8vTDVRczd0uQFhZYxi4twZ2fvAZVylha-wivzklanLIFZOCcQKPStDUnY2WmICCbYpVy0yAYgyzO4k2q8/s320/2R7A7274.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>here is a female black-headed on top of a log of tasty food we put out for the birds. She would like to get down to the choice fodder, but look how she goes about it. Here is a dove watching her.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNajB-xKSQQGxsXHpQ3lEn5B1d5Me1Xn3yjEc8dX1Yj2w3mjDfJFW1XUlux93nSZK5-F2Ck6hcJf0j9G-ZXB7zo1EbyxCLz7YVWT4Pw49szdZd2vu9twhSvlDj5UpIenOtomr7chTAdaz0PQzFP2EHAoAKzh04x6xAYv-AlLdpEcl0aegOHUUwM7jH/s1024/2R7A7285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1024" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNajB-xKSQQGxsXHpQ3lEn5B1d5Me1Xn3yjEc8dX1Yj2w3mjDfJFW1XUlux93nSZK5-F2Ck6hcJf0j9G-ZXB7zo1EbyxCLz7YVWT4Pw49szdZd2vu9twhSvlDj5UpIenOtomr7chTAdaz0PQzFP2EHAoAKzh04x6xAYv-AlLdpEcl0aegOHUUwM7jH/s320/2R7A7285.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rjpVzma80980TfBSxaiyAAjnwVegV8ajA_FAUB5Ue_b_SSbD0OvkTaoQhTT824kFioQzv9mre1Wwu2sSp3kB_OZTA_KPsY680yd7_K1XrY8v_GVvWhpOBhqK0rhIL68uRcrPnrr7LqXq2P_es88vpbVbRHCLKgY-MO3Tq0wEcXO05cB6BHWZByAM/s1024/2R7A7287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1024" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rjpVzma80980TfBSxaiyAAjnwVegV8ajA_FAUB5Ue_b_SSbD0OvkTaoQhTT824kFioQzv9mre1Wwu2sSp3kB_OZTA_KPsY680yd7_K1XrY8v_GVvWhpOBhqK0rhIL68uRcrPnrr7LqXq2P_es88vpbVbRHCLKgY-MO3Tq0wEcXO05cB6BHWZByAM/s320/2R7A7287.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>She's dived in head-first and the dove can scarcely believe it!</p><p>Well, I shouldn't make fun of her. She' a handsome bird, </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR-3bqoIph-GVf_NGcHcEmTGrbZ9fw_hYuJoovAxD2x866h_qgpYN_evTPsqEdjj9_Y_u-U16xSIHakOXvQGNNSq4mGOB2KtlSRbbTfKJVBXhryke-q2b3-8qVFpaMGfo7RMkQJbfHkK7zXfbhGxRM8wKtGoVdxcqvN8MApVcZ-KovUqnJhGlq17v/s1472/2R7A7343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrR-3bqoIph-GVf_NGcHcEmTGrbZ9fw_hYuJoovAxD2x866h_qgpYN_evTPsqEdjj9_Y_u-U16xSIHakOXvQGNNSq4mGOB2KtlSRbbTfKJVBXhryke-q2b3-8qVFpaMGfo7RMkQJbfHkK7zXfbhGxRM8wKtGoVdxcqvN8MApVcZ-KovUqnJhGlq17v/s320/2R7A7343.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p> and all the other birds like her.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklOGZIBoaFZz40qxKOR-ijO_-xWq5H9eCm70wW-6Vos7pGDYH3qU_ZVMBZal0p0Cnfr8GIhBSECX8l3I_cA3lDFx2j8olpnihxksPX_oxkshfhwXs3rRhJ8CUm51ogoO0Qk-43ptxGJCSsIweda6Fd8URrD8PDVSwFA9hXdIhV5lUMWH3P6pepRYz/s1224/2R7A7349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklOGZIBoaFZz40qxKOR-ijO_-xWq5H9eCm70wW-6Vos7pGDYH3qU_ZVMBZal0p0Cnfr8GIhBSECX8l3I_cA3lDFx2j8olpnihxksPX_oxkshfhwXs3rRhJ8CUm51ogoO0Qk-43ptxGJCSsIweda6Fd8URrD8PDVSwFA9hXdIhV5lUMWH3P6pepRYz/s320/2R7A7349.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3147" data-original-width="2807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDaB1BQYa-2TUUr5icxM5dyPDaMThAk6z4JTPdZy_kB_WdHgmXftxkdOmH_EbVuSa69hGB3Z4auKz8pCt1hElgKLTdLCHRhtTXQGRHO6FCyXSKbZdviSL7wj2_kbiRAcJD7AXbivqxo7WaVP12XfuxahZZRcva3YPAUnuyhlc9Z9smr_fkUBrxjj-Y/s320/2R7A7084.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-xGwdeAsyzXdMhMbNJ43hjgBIp9Q3VvLWbA6n5J7_icxu3mwxlNGenU79UQRaavdYowsMkIMc2BEEQSTJCsopvvIXMi0m578lvzAyrytiwqKCgpOG_9dvSj1QVJUtYThwnfOafOajKjnBiH06uJ4ZMfb9amtzpcs48qF3Bp4yMGn6g5Eqb-B2Gie/s1456/2R7A7089.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-xGwdeAsyzXdMhMbNJ43hjgBIp9Q3VvLWbA6n5J7_icxu3mwxlNGenU79UQRaavdYowsMkIMc2BEEQSTJCsopvvIXMi0m578lvzAyrytiwqKCgpOG_9dvSj1QVJUtYThwnfOafOajKjnBiH06uJ4ZMfb9amtzpcs48qF3Bp4yMGn6g5Eqb-B2Gie/s320/2R7A7089.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhtdwpr67iG7zDci5uqrnZghAcHG8CqFMUjTM-Gl53MywwN8TE_cgddqyrV6n7tNywZp6Mzf8x8PQtXDl8a2nyWPbqaDJ1MLDkX8sWTEd69BZE_M38c31Z_muhjqpwOyJVJKwJ0lboydY-cKxjRuFu3sP4epSMI2RNXT8g10ZqkqEKeFRyil-4Q0L/s1024/2R7A7054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1024" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhtdwpr67iG7zDci5uqrnZghAcHG8CqFMUjTM-Gl53MywwN8TE_cgddqyrV6n7tNywZp6Mzf8x8PQtXDl8a2nyWPbqaDJ1MLDkX8sWTEd69BZE_M38c31Z_muhjqpwOyJVJKwJ0lboydY-cKxjRuFu3sP4epSMI2RNXT8g10ZqkqEKeFRyil-4Q0L/s320/2R7A7054.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-7331767628796580612022-07-15T14:31:00.000-05:002022-07-15T14:31:14.564-05:00A Visitation<p> </p><p> </p><p>Once a year since we have lived here, we have looked outside and been startled to see from two to ten Black-tailed (or Mule) deer wandering through our yard. They are the largest and heaviest animal that has ever appeared in our yard, and by comparison to the usual bobcat or coyote or javelina, they look enormous with their big bodies and long legs, moose-sized practically. This effect is increased by the fact that they are virtually all adult males with full racks of antlers (usually in velvet). And they are made even more impressive by the fact that they are often standing just a few feet outside or front window, having come there (by memory?) to drink at a small birdbath.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWOZc2eHM94zkHNtWEaErCfy6s-_GNeemkEDnEQHtTW9Fvh8ITacDbCr-GY9UTwU8wB58hT7hjMkuE7cIS0ynAGutiZRI8psePYwzOMDHbyadll-NcKqrjsVl82yCFxY12c9fcgINCxx2jN2aqUqQWEyiY1FekdIXYTVAlbTQTnCpTb8-TAc1ChCh/s1024/IMG_2358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWOZc2eHM94zkHNtWEaErCfy6s-_GNeemkEDnEQHtTW9Fvh8ITacDbCr-GY9UTwU8wB58hT7hjMkuE7cIS0ynAGutiZRI8psePYwzOMDHbyadll-NcKqrjsVl82yCFxY12c9fcgINCxx2jN2aqUqQWEyiY1FekdIXYTVAlbTQTnCpTb8-TAc1ChCh/s320/IMG_2358.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Here is one of the three that appeared yesterday. We have no idea where they came from, but we assume they came down from the mountains. Everything about them is a mystery, For instance, they dependably come once a year, but it is never at some special time. They have appeared at scattered months throughout the year. They are almost always only adult bucks, only occasionally a doe. They are almost always in velvet but you could see that when their antlers have fully grown they would be immense. Sometimes they appear skinny and emaciated and mangy, sometimes, as now they are full and prime.</p><p>Often they hang out in a far corner of our yard for a few days, then drift away, and when we walk through the place where they were we are stepping on piles of their droppings.</p><p>We'll be looking forward to them next year.<br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-58089906090105134862022-07-08T11:34:00.000-05:002022-07-08T11:34:56.757-05:00Orioles<p> When we moved here to Tucson a couple of years ago I began photographing the wonderful wildlife around us, the bobcats and wolf-sized coyotes, the javelinas, the mule deer, the Gila Monsters, the Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes, the tarantulas, the scorpions. It's how I got in touch with them, how I learned to really see them.</p><p>Birds are a special case. They come in discrete containers, and so can receive priority attention depending on their charisma. So it was no surprise I began with hummingbirds. First of all, there was their amazing flying, and their brilliant colors they suddenly flashed just by turning to look at you, and their tameness so you can photograph from just inches away. In the past I had lived in places that only had one or two species; suddenly I had half-dozen species to sort out by age or sex, and that was my first bit of business.</p><p>And of course I spent great time on the raptors, who lived their savage lives in front of us, plucking their prey with snow-storms of white body feathers.</p><p>This year suddenly we had orioles. Cheryl began putting out little tubs of grape jelly, and the sweetness is bringing bring them up close to the house and my camera. I knew they were colorful birds but I hadn't realized just how photogenic they were. Like the hummingbirds, and the raptors, they vary with age and gender.</p><p>Here is the female Hooded Oriole. It is the plainest form, darkish on the back and wings and tail, yellow below. It is the commonest species here in Tucson. The name is because the male appears to be wearing a yellow hood over its neck (other oriole species are dark on the head and neck).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6fMX47fAE-slOKgPrvy6L9mBJ44xWsU7GJilJdllWhqWEMGIShR_JxaFjUnLElbEt364LRyD6Jl0xafr8AiSuvEWmskwPrBqAJaa32IMMNbx2jFIbbR-I2DR2Lx1Ocho4IIgu6Qe1nwtrRxvp_0yfCWUgdHJoF166Xq5D-RYPFhM2z5M-5Q-ktjG/s1024/2R7A7671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1024" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6fMX47fAE-slOKgPrvy6L9mBJ44xWsU7GJilJdllWhqWEMGIShR_JxaFjUnLElbEt364LRyD6Jl0xafr8AiSuvEWmskwPrBqAJaa32IMMNbx2jFIbbR-I2DR2Lx1Ocho4IIgu6Qe1nwtrRxvp_0yfCWUgdHJoF166Xq5D-RYPFhM2z5M-5Q-ktjG/w523-h340/2R7A7671.jpg" width="523" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the immature male. It differs by having a black chin and black breast.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsURm-dxS2xeQdOKN5TYXBprBqr79DlUZafYlJYmaLz1os1-sSpDZr-Kne0kX6Y7SJ2NfSqpOHfoGKBT42ZKK8Gp2Q8W6BpmAj1OY_L_cQbxUO2ZLgz8cQVk_Gvza3W7baR3FbCiWKjeCT4ek9BpRPnXZlP4O8qM7KEX2_JEN_-V0vpILM-tI50nLQ/s1185/2R7A7670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1024" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsURm-dxS2xeQdOKN5TYXBprBqr79DlUZafYlJYmaLz1os1-sSpDZr-Kne0kX6Y7SJ2NfSqpOHfoGKBT42ZKK8Gp2Q8W6BpmAj1OY_L_cQbxUO2ZLgz8cQVk_Gvza3W7baR3FbCiWKjeCT4ek9BpRPnXZlP4O8qM7KEX2_JEN_-V0vpILM-tI50nLQ/w390-h451/2R7A7670.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><p>And finally, here is the adult male, going to a beautiful orange and black.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAczPj0j5NE_pXFwQNrCyjlNLoILIPfWZsVynsKjzjKJqM3qVUjmUzbGqoakxjuLz5UhkzIP76A5eD8DuJ3jZY7rvZAznbUqEQdDONht5RWU76FLKO92RvogQjn_y_C7FCuZYCbFNW03vv-prmHF1Cs-TAR-0m2ov1eqZg92_O7S7is4QpeBj8sUfs/s609/2R7A5349%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="609" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAczPj0j5NE_pXFwQNrCyjlNLoILIPfWZsVynsKjzjKJqM3qVUjmUzbGqoakxjuLz5UhkzIP76A5eD8DuJ3jZY7rvZAznbUqEQdDONht5RWU76FLKO92RvogQjn_y_C7FCuZYCbFNW03vv-prmHF1Cs-TAR-0m2ov1eqZg92_O7S7is4QpeBj8sUfs/w432-h396/2R7A5349%20(1).jpg" width="432" /></a></div><p> And as a bonus, if we hadn't been observing the hooded orioles so carefully, I would have missed out on another species, looking exactly like the hooded, except it didn't have a hood, but a black head and back, and this one was a <span></span>Bullocks Oriole, a species I had never seen before.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvo0EgBQWD0qgpOjGArX2_W4l-gDAXRYwjT2o4PuSQXHpr3g6EHgworQZtcXxsJveaQSRVHVz3l6KZJZ0NpeoLJB4MmZhsL569ZybKjYdm59pkxdKgHUpMjIakUFZatnedDoaeG3rVpDkRD0aVQIGOt5_GkTSmrXXkt5jzth1MmUQVxJycPXTDwKj/s5760/2R7A7042%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvo0EgBQWD0qgpOjGArX2_W4l-gDAXRYwjT2o4PuSQXHpr3g6EHgworQZtcXxsJveaQSRVHVz3l6KZJZ0NpeoLJB4MmZhsL569ZybKjYdm59pkxdKgHUpMjIakUFZatnedDoaeG3rVpDkRD0aVQIGOt5_GkTSmrXXkt5jzth1MmUQVxJycPXTDwKj/w535-h356/2R7A7042%20(1).jpg" width="535" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-68607335449981559522022-06-26T12:49:00.000-05:002022-06-26T12:49:21.279-05:00Lizards taking over<p><br /> Meal worms are costing us a fortune, but they are our magic potion to tame the smaller animals on our porch. A creature comes up on our porch a first time, then when we come out to greet it it timidly rushes away. But by the second time it comes it realizes all that happens is a scatter of delicious worms appears at its feet, and it doesn't ask any more questions.</p><p>For instance we had a pair of roadrunners for going on three years coming up on the porch for handouts and they ended by nesting in our front yard and raising young. They weren't tame in the sense that we could pet them or touch them, but they would walk around at our feet and snap up the meal worms we tossed among them. We already had blocks set out for the quail, and half a dozen feeders for the hummingbirds. And now whatever birds were in season began getting in line for the worms, And then, a surprise, we soon had a row of lizards lined up in the vegetation on the edge of the porch that would dart out and grab a worm then race back into hiding.</p><p>That's where the trouble came. You see, we loved our roadrunners, but we quickly came to love our lizards too, and roadrunners eat lizards, and it seemed our lizards were disappearing. We didn't know quite how to handle this, but this year the roadrunners seem to have moved over to an adjoining yard, and suddenly our lizards are returning. And amazingly the roadrunners almost instantly stopped coming, and one by one the lizards began reappearing.</p><br /><p>This is one of the first to come back, the Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister). They are often brightly colored with golden scales (and often a purple square on their backs), the males all swashbucklers, standing sideways to each other, making their chests as deep and masculine as possible, and doing their pushups. The biggest ones dash in for the most meal worms, and sometimes they get into real battles.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4beggVISUopeD-gIejUstfEj7Ksf-SlNdxyG81cdZPJSew5tALEOTEVsRnhZn1E61thEk3pvvvX7_Bfib8CXXppvuWUg0w83Hisa2xQ6mu4Yx8Wc7_Psv2nt9XmWULf78FtgvsVBiU8iT85oqvlqk6yJQ8kM4G8l9JfScDMfkN612-WG7UtMre-kU/s1024/IMG_5587.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1024" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4beggVISUopeD-gIejUstfEj7Ksf-SlNdxyG81cdZPJSew5tALEOTEVsRnhZn1E61thEk3pvvvX7_Bfib8CXXppvuWUg0w83Hisa2xQ6mu4Yx8Wc7_Psv2nt9XmWULf78FtgvsVBiU8iT85oqvlqk6yJQ8kM4G8l9JfScDMfkN612-WG7UtMre-kU/w643-h281/IMG_5587.jpg" width="643" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2i_36tBx0BiCXWJ4ziFgF_xPwbBmc42LfBdJwDTqHPaA9DSxKlxn4s4aGqw8Fn1eqn68BRaS0FPEEdtBxSs3C3zCoOhhmVV0Zl2FVsM_fUORntDe4QboCBGC8CxDGFbAk3OtH_7EiuM81VvSCwD-5sszpr82-ldvkEdsz_GzwNzDNwSEcmWVlWO8/s1044/IMG_5573.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1024" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2i_36tBx0BiCXWJ4ziFgF_xPwbBmc42LfBdJwDTqHPaA9DSxKlxn4s4aGqw8Fn1eqn68BRaS0FPEEdtBxSs3C3zCoOhhmVV0Zl2FVsM_fUORntDe4QboCBGC8CxDGFbAk3OtH_7EiuM81VvSCwD-5sszpr82-ldvkEdsz_GzwNzDNwSEcmWVlWO8/w367-h374/IMG_5573.jpg" width="367" /></a></div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's one making its chest look larger. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are several lizards in the "Spiny Lizard" complex. The next most common is Clark's Spiny Lizard, which is separated from the "Desert Spiny Lizard" from the fact that it has four or so black bars going around its forelegs, which I sometimes have a difficult time recognizing, and find a better mark in the fact that it is often a greenish color.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMNvutSp0NCdWq66FsU527bEBRsyUIAUW4aGmqRQwRC44oJ3vlUd4ukC-9E8SvAxP5bnZuAMAOehZsaCGYiHFb5xukibUjtCBzzrHW0UXv9yQ-eNk87IZ8ZiQBy5doU4XDTBlBzi6ELp7XIyzyr9xjF6E9yoyhphgOruo3zR8Bv22AJxDFfm0k-bW/s1280/Clarks%20Desert%20Spiny%20Lizard.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMNvutSp0NCdWq66FsU527bEBRsyUIAUW4aGmqRQwRC44oJ3vlUd4ukC-9E8SvAxP5bnZuAMAOehZsaCGYiHFb5xukibUjtCBzzrHW0UXv9yQ-eNk87IZ8ZiQBy5doU4XDTBlBzi6ELp7XIyzyr9xjF6E9yoyhphgOruo3zR8Bv22AJxDFfm0k-bW/w519-h391/Clarks%20Desert%20Spiny%20Lizard.jpeg" width="519" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div><p></p><p>Once they have determined which males are the fiercest, the males notice all the females and then instead of looking fiercest they try to look their handsomest, showing bits of the blue on the underside.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjW_tIDH3TQ13oXB4j9waUAIAbyoxzKOCaV02BjG8Xx0D9ORiej2auUdeAdpmxV1KiJr1-n-1glNzQ8p1DDVVIpTcR458QXk5_KJFlKI9QZ3mV6aWZymC1FIi6SgPjkEOorjsELsm1wVHkwmUAKMIsQqx2ZsORGjNKsxlkoSvV_sDWOmmMtO0cYyc/s1024/IMG_2257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="1024" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjW_tIDH3TQ13oXB4j9waUAIAbyoxzKOCaV02BjG8Xx0D9ORiej2auUdeAdpmxV1KiJr1-n-1glNzQ8p1DDVVIpTcR458QXk5_KJFlKI9QZ3mV6aWZymC1FIi6SgPjkEOorjsELsm1wVHkwmUAKMIsQqx2ZsORGjNKsxlkoSvV_sDWOmmMtO0cYyc/w471-h326/IMG_2257.jpg" width="471" /></a></div><br /> And when the female sees a man she likes (females generally have reddish coloring around the head) they get close together with the male and begin going around and around in a tightening circle.<p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrLt81TY30qusjx2elVtmDcWJIJXhEFBYBkW04u6a2_pC93owza5Uker6eZTaQl0v1aCBngw_x4u9KyE4dUXpDrOCrystGizjJWFq3JPJcD2tRFxxXgHELHJyyx03xenbGByejWrj1M10az4_oiDKrz3MmDlJAB4EbU3b95inOxFs-dZkDaPmD14f/s1024/IMG_2305%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1024" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrLt81TY30qusjx2elVtmDcWJIJXhEFBYBkW04u6a2_pC93owza5Uker6eZTaQl0v1aCBngw_x4u9KyE4dUXpDrOCrystGizjJWFq3JPJcD2tRFxxXgHELHJyyx03xenbGByejWrj1M10az4_oiDKrz3MmDlJAB4EbU3b95inOxFs-dZkDaPmD14f/w483-h371/IMG_2305%20(1).jpg" width="483" /></a></div><p></p><p>They can end up being as violent as they were competing for meal worms.<br /></p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6s67DLkzaC0SokxO3pkoPO4-S0EItE3WAsfY-bVN4r-L7fRo9QxBVhqeS6a0_SdaMe5aeeW_rkcIdwAW_NAmp8kUn0dA29I01PN9b7MG2G9rsdiGN_cbfWhHliUrDgNz4aeqsOW-AXZNa2GkAtuqeQxluP18nEzeQMmQS4Ci1verPAN7e_8WoOLEt/s1024/IMG_2307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1024" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6s67DLkzaC0SokxO3pkoPO4-S0EItE3WAsfY-bVN4r-L7fRo9QxBVhqeS6a0_SdaMe5aeeW_rkcIdwAW_NAmp8kUn0dA29I01PN9b7MG2G9rsdiGN_cbfWhHliUrDgNz4aeqsOW-AXZNa2GkAtuqeQxluP18nEzeQMmQS4Ci1verPAN7e_8WoOLEt/w640-h430/IMG_2307.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NrPg3PfniSfUweOsTddgiMdJsGH4o7IcSUOv-gsOp1TRfADUkLcVBNmDUSrtSWgRzLERehY4kdAgEmCuJ_F8DmCD5sEy8O_aUKRd0i1DTn4rqIfR5nw12Sku29mR3vQsCgMuT3Twz9TA-iWFmLB4WHz7wBcPNQ5Wy9hXMm_cScBWJc5NqqATHeAk/s1024/IMG_2310%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1024" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NrPg3PfniSfUweOsTddgiMdJsGH4o7IcSUOv-gsOp1TRfADUkLcVBNmDUSrtSWgRzLERehY4kdAgEmCuJ_F8DmCD5sEy8O_aUKRd0i1DTn4rqIfR5nw12Sku29mR3vQsCgMuT3Twz9TA-iWFmLB4WHz7wBcPNQ5Wy9hXMm_cScBWJc5NqqATHeAk/w640-h598/IMG_2310%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But then peace returns to the land.<br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmweeJN0Gyo9KS_9k5P9z9VgYYY0U_WCeQfdTNSk1bK1JnlpneBGFTAKXrZtV4SWDFlMtQNHMTzuJ-B15rzpwDBi0ZGeUkfBUVyRlUED5afEaiPvMmlcNd8muO3ehn52VRKC4V5GS0GaitonhIDNn3XgibYkh1mLTqEiIFTGtuUjCnq_CGeEWy4qTa/s1024/2R7A7652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1024" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmweeJN0Gyo9KS_9k5P9z9VgYYY0U_WCeQfdTNSk1bK1JnlpneBGFTAKXrZtV4SWDFlMtQNHMTzuJ-B15rzpwDBi0ZGeUkfBUVyRlUED5afEaiPvMmlcNd8muO3ehn52VRKC4V5GS0GaitonhIDNn3XgibYkh1mLTqEiIFTGtuUjCnq_CGeEWy4qTa/w640-h395/2R7A7652.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-10747156457485621932022-05-16T13:47:00.000-05:002022-05-16T13:47:07.685-05:00The Porch at Night<p>On these perfect evenings we like to sit out on the porch in the darkness and listen for whatever life might be present, crickets mostly, or a neighbor's dog barking (we like to imagine it's responding to the scent or sound of a creeping mountain lion). There's a weak light bulb on the porch that we turn on so we won't miss a big spider or some other such creature coming out into the open. It was how we discovered last year that we had a little colony of pocket mice on the porch. But last night the dim lighting turned up the most dramatic creature we had seen.</p><p>Something about the proportions of a smallish mouse slipped by virtually between our feet. I shouted for Cheryl to keep sight of it while I raced into the house and came out again with a glass jar to plop over it and put a note-card under it to close up the top. Cheryl turned the jar up level again and we looked inside. A creature was leaping about inside, most impressively crashing its impressive jaws at us so that we were glad they were inside the glass.</p><p><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMnQdqKH2xz8Qa5v90P4-gCsNyXIY71c40BszvmQIhSDxPHRBuWYuWo34N9KYCt-LS1_0cUttm48z4ll1pmmQ1_bYPHsMj9HSqs4MV0yYEx6HGnSeX1qICsw11zL2DrTZdnW-uFXPzci2l2Dmphi6-WiaLoZLbbwq54fVT3tOsEUo77F8YAzkQdOc/s1280/IMG_2195%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMnQdqKH2xz8Qa5v90P4-gCsNyXIY71c40BszvmQIhSDxPHRBuWYuWo34N9KYCt-LS1_0cUttm48z4ll1pmmQ1_bYPHsMj9HSqs4MV0yYEx6HGnSeX1qICsw11zL2DrTZdnW-uFXPzci2l2Dmphi6-WiaLoZLbbwq54fVT3tOsEUo77F8YAzkQdOc/w406-h268/IMG_2195%20(1).jpg" width="406" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We examined it in the light. The colors cadaverous, it looked rather
like a dead maggot, but its eight legs showed relationship to spiders. It also had an extra, thicker pair of legs in front, which were not for walking, but for sensing things that it touches. Note the fat round head. Near the top of it is a tiny, touching-together, almost imbecilic pair of eyes looking straight up in the air. No wonder it needs sensitive forelegs. The front half of the head is divided into two bulging lumps which are in fact massive muscles for clamping down with their jaws which are, for their size, the most powerful jaws of almost any creature.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a Wind Spider, a Solifugid (the name means that it "runs from the sun"), and indeed they can run so fast they are difficult to see. There are about 200 species in North America, though not much is known about them. A couple of years ago I kept one as a pet (a different species) for about a year, which is about as long as they live. Anything I put into its aquarium it tore to pieces and devoured. I haven't got this one to feed yet, but I hope I can eventually, so I can keep it for a while. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 40px; text-align: center;"> </div><p></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-26388000082891877472022-05-02T19:45:00.000-05:002022-05-02T19:45:50.982-05:00The Monster's Return<p> When we bought our house here in Tucson a few years go we could tell by looking at it it would be wonderful for wildlife, and it has lived up to our expectations, bobcats, wolf-sized coyotes, Javelinas, rattlesnakes, huge tarantulas hunted by huge wasps. There was one creature we hoped we would get to see, but didn't think there was much chance of it: the Gila Monster, the brightly-colored slow-moving poisonous lizard. They stay underground most of the year only coming out for few months in the summer to do all their feeding (they eat small mammals) and mating. Most people in Tucson, we are told, have never seen one. So we were delighted in our first year here when we began to see them crawling around the backyard. </p><p>We guessed we probably had five or six living here. We took careful photographs of every one we saw, because it appeared that each one had an individual pattern, so all we would have to do is count how many different patterns we had, and that would tell us our population. Well, we looked as carefully as we could, and could only find two patterns, meaning we only had that many.</p><p>And now they appear every year, usually around the end of April, and each time it is those two. </p><p>Well, we rearranged parts of our backyard last year, doing a lot of digging, and we were a little afraid we might have disturbed them while they were in their underground phase, and we wouldn't see them anymore. But at the very last minute this year, April 30th, one appeared. We got out all our past years' photos, and we could tell it was one we had seen regularly since 2019.</p><p>Below is a picture from 2019.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU8WkmHp6F3BEyGxI-sRXcgIMaEOh7RgLDc5WqxqJyYWOj8Jid3Auj6js6lXj-kd8mCuYbD5JhquoiHA5de_sjeeZ7gJ1qEBLDmggmrRDsVjHD98pc6XMZFIxWEh67w0D2S5dY6U54cLOkQFtGBIW8FxwYDHxERCh29zC6tuHmnWZK1Vw-PuEPDJ7/s5546/IMG_7163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2726" data-original-width="5546" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtU8WkmHp6F3BEyGxI-sRXcgIMaEOh7RgLDc5WqxqJyYWOj8Jid3Auj6js6lXj-kd8mCuYbD5JhquoiHA5de_sjeeZ7gJ1qEBLDmggmrRDsVjHD98pc6XMZFIxWEh67w0D2S5dY6U54cLOkQFtGBIW8FxwYDHxERCh29zC6tuHmnWZK1Vw-PuEPDJ7/s320/IMG_7163.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Here is a picture from 2022. Notice on the 2019 the lower-case letter "g" on top towards the back and the same mark on the 2022 photo. (Their patterns are so complex the easiest thing to do is to look for something very distinct in the pattern.)<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRhMw5rsAtMrF5HAh48xl3xlK7pWnMYkxCZqtc9koCy-0UxNDHei8eNgdGu5_718FNHBRf9uJAz9myOBWxuD7GGYZ4govdPugTRcgGt1Vz737taaWVHABq_ZNCO0yX21ehmI35r3NAQe4-WQlIEB1WJr0PfjgKTioiUP5qlc1oHCDM9EPC628sIlK/s4525/IMG_2145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2431" data-original-width="4525" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRhMw5rsAtMrF5HAh48xl3xlK7pWnMYkxCZqtc9koCy-0UxNDHei8eNgdGu5_718FNHBRf9uJAz9myOBWxuD7GGYZ4govdPugTRcgGt1Vz737taaWVHABq_ZNCO0yX21ehmI35r3NAQe4-WQlIEB1WJr0PfjgKTioiUP5qlc1oHCDM9EPC628sIlK/s320/IMG_2145.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Below is a picture from 2019 from the other side showing, around the middle, a "3." <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnyMBls8xcS9_mQVYXvweLkpsxOtpKJtzaQCC6kfeZXODbdxf6QZYb57Ka_H2Md5ito29BmJ5Be7TA1GyH79zVw4Lmy7SVKTm9Ogzc3exEvKoEQjOEwjLdM8j7-PeWHuHv3FX6eAr22nneZ14ZQkBvPJK6F0VjsQDL9XX65Br2ixhrAYp09bQBnWV/s4702/IMG_7165%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3123" data-original-width="4702" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnyMBls8xcS9_mQVYXvweLkpsxOtpKJtzaQCC6kfeZXODbdxf6QZYb57Ka_H2Md5ito29BmJ5Be7TA1GyH79zVw4Lmy7SVKTm9Ogzc3exEvKoEQjOEwjLdM8j7-PeWHuHv3FX6eAr22nneZ14ZQkBvPJK6F0VjsQDL9XX65Br2ixhrAYp09bQBnWV/s320/IMG_7165%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Here is a picture from 2022 showing the same "3".<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAHu_LLGnRHm9zhZeTqhWWevdsYWMiuTuYjPa2kcgEzS5Z07uskWJLBYFu70OvP9oQ2KYCbaGd9Alyeuej6nUBh1zsVIdK3TKDtDrMSw8aIJrLd3sn0nxdn-ozEEiWtnrrsAWzco7owBN2FIuSXAc99IZwXmg85o6gvQJR-d-6Oncc5snb4tZfayc/s4139/IMG_2147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2570" data-original-width="4139" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAHu_LLGnRHm9zhZeTqhWWevdsYWMiuTuYjPa2kcgEzS5Z07uskWJLBYFu70OvP9oQ2KYCbaGd9Alyeuej6nUBh1zsVIdK3TKDtDrMSw8aIJrLd3sn0nxdn-ozEEiWtnrrsAWzco7owBN2FIuSXAc99IZwXmg85o6gvQJR-d-6Oncc5snb4tZfayc/s320/IMG_2147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Now we are waiting for the second monster to show up, or, even more interesting, a completely different, third individual.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-91966246606276201062022-04-08T14:10:00.000-05:002022-04-08T14:10:53.935-05:00Filming the Great Purple Hairstreak<p>We have a Mesquite Tree in front of our house that is doomed, in fact it is already more or less dead. The killer is hanging from all over the tree. It is a parasitic mistletoe that attaches to a tree at several points and drains it dry.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-ckGItmRgAUuRgnpGeOCis45pRWxKkFktfrTcG4jE3CZilDZ_Yo8n-oHln-eWTMzQgYtWCMv54HNj0R_pNkyNW96D07_BAak4jD2R1QbP0Tf0i1CA1hjVBr-cyZD99BQH1smL_5LVfVAp0g3ahXM-qHcfUmu-Vh1RUIDjXjeu50WDEPWu2N9VtNQ/s5760/2R7A6968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-ckGItmRgAUuRgnpGeOCis45pRWxKkFktfrTcG4jE3CZilDZ_Yo8n-oHln-eWTMzQgYtWCMv54HNj0R_pNkyNW96D07_BAak4jD2R1QbP0Tf0i1CA1hjVBr-cyZD99BQH1smL_5LVfVAp0g3ahXM-qHcfUmu-Vh1RUIDjXjeu50WDEPWu2N9VtNQ/s320/2R7A6968.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> The mistletoe has a saving grace, however: it is the foodplant of one of the most startlingly beautiful butterflies we have here, The Great Purple Hairstreak. The butterfly finishes its larval and pupal stage about the first of April, and then drops down to a hedge of Little-Leaf Sumac below it, just as that plant begins blooming.</p><p>If we can remember in time, we go out and try to photograph it. The problem is, it is a very tiny butterfly and very nervous and you need to get very close to it, and exactly at right angles. And you need to photograph it almost the first day it comes out, because its wings and elaborate tail are fragile and subject to tearing. After two or three days it is a wreck.</p><p>You have to photograph it at right angles because that is the only angle from which your picture will show the finest details of the colored scales on the wings. The unhelpful butterfly gets on a bloom and then slowly walks around in a circle on it, so that you constantly lose the right angle. The only thing you can do is take lots of pictures hoping some of them will be in the right place. </p><p>Let's see how I just did.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SaKETv-ycCxSXbdy10LXUyVcMxauDqSEBNijH-ZXnYxlCZSl9CMVV0REJxwqcTkLsDux92MAZnYO_c_PTn0MzJD_xkcHDi1Ql4KjXlIGV2IPkLxBbvn4HLQakPsuU4vtYapVZIbNe97sWipS_Q4Y0M90JIUZnjNcfZxw0uoE95k3-L0ALh0lzQMv/s6000/IMG_2063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SaKETv-ycCxSXbdy10LXUyVcMxauDqSEBNijH-ZXnYxlCZSl9CMVV0REJxwqcTkLsDux92MAZnYO_c_PTn0MzJD_xkcHDi1Ql4KjXlIGV2IPkLxBbvn4HLQakPsuU4vtYapVZIbNe97sWipS_Q4Y0M90JIUZnjNcfZxw0uoE95k3-L0ALh0lzQMv/s320/IMG_2063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vA17tOFZhPhluZT4Cmn7ffse5Ji48gaJOA1vcfLmGACyxGmCHzt3zAvWcEYJu4p5nYbHa3qQ7o9c8uYGzLxauel24EcBDwqrdSDtzg6gjhFvfbnQPKK2NRFMokaXg7m0vLDu2GHoG68URRjYipwJe99jAzXphj1SGoCwJ_oOeyle_p1nImwSMBd7/s3337/IMG_2084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3337" data-original-width="2795" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vA17tOFZhPhluZT4Cmn7ffse5Ji48gaJOA1vcfLmGACyxGmCHzt3zAvWcEYJu4p5nYbHa3qQ7o9c8uYGzLxauel24EcBDwqrdSDtzg6gjhFvfbnQPKK2NRFMokaXg7m0vLDu2GHoG68URRjYipwJe99jAzXphj1SGoCwJ_oOeyle_p1nImwSMBd7/s320/IMG_2084.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvqgbrltOB3mZfISjciB4IhE8G-rfzxempdO5QrFBpX1_LTdsCDymFIDD-RI2A42N3NkVoA8f3-wjy-idFvef3RsNdPtP4Ktzh4gqyqnP7uIsTNi0CveLqwLBrl1jrOVpUN_JdzzqM_d4fIR1erBG9wYQXsGdBORiaG89yZVf-_8z_S7DFkLEg53S/s4153/IMG_2087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3535" data-original-width="4153" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnvqgbrltOB3mZfISjciB4IhE8G-rfzxempdO5QrFBpX1_LTdsCDymFIDD-RI2A42N3NkVoA8f3-wjy-idFvef3RsNdPtP4Ktzh4gqyqnP7uIsTNi0CveLqwLBrl1jrOVpUN_JdzzqM_d4fIR1erBG9wYQXsGdBORiaG89yZVf-_8z_S7DFkLEg53S/s320/IMG_2087.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p>Well it looks like the head in the top picture is in focus, but the tail isn't.</p><p>The middle picture is twisted around, and the tail is messed up.</p><p> And the bottom picture finally has everything in place.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-5632473342709984932022-03-10T13:35:00.001-06:002022-03-10T13:35:27.552-06:00PART TWO: BIRDS AT THE FEEDER <p>Birds at the Feeder</p><p>(Southwestern) Cardinal </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwBpr7nGvp_IoANYB6cI2tRgBsjlm4Pj4ahqdjSPjvri8MF0TdtRkoFrQFTYi3oJmaqPZwt6nxCfJIt6w-DwhlrN8IeOOpsZ64Ny7xCcg43cwA4SDqV2ozLQfx3FM3bPg4SKeo33iQj9qzSTUdJ6BkT8BMwue9lQwwmyVmUpz4pe28i0sBlJFWbwaq=s2750" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2529" data-original-width="2750" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwBpr7nGvp_IoANYB6cI2tRgBsjlm4Pj4ahqdjSPjvri8MF0TdtRkoFrQFTYi3oJmaqPZwt6nxCfJIt6w-DwhlrN8IeOOpsZ64Ny7xCcg43cwA4SDqV2ozLQfx3FM3bPg4SKeo33iQj9qzSTUdJ6BkT8BMwue9lQwwmyVmUpz4pe28i0sBlJFWbwaq=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>This bird, common at our feeder, looks like the common Cardinal seen throughout the east, but it may not be. Look at this picture below, which I took in Arkansas. It is the eastern Cardinal, an overall bright red, a modest crest, and black all around the mouth. The upper picture, taken here in Tucson, is the "southwestern" Cardinal. Note the taller, bushier crest, the overall paler red, and reduced black around the mouth. The song is also somewhat different. There are enough differences that some ornithologists think it is a different species, a Southwestern Cardinal.<br /></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv--z-L2gCEgmn0ZB5IyHI6zzZLv1183_9pUNKXSk5s3npb_Fvs3sZByP0e93Z8qDheLriku7yg3HXfw661r4wH9em5bOd4T34IwazVn-Uq9kR0O9GUaAU7z5QreSo0D7hgFZLHkBw_2AKWEeieDTquznbZBRwwooBM8PNhFYwc2nyXXE4Istoh5IB=s2986" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2583" data-original-width="2986" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv--z-L2gCEgmn0ZB5IyHI6zzZLv1183_9pUNKXSk5s3npb_Fvs3sZByP0e93Z8qDheLriku7yg3HXfw661r4wH9em5bOd4T34IwazVn-Uq9kR0O9GUaAU7z5QreSo0D7hgFZLHkBw_2AKWEeieDTquznbZBRwwooBM8PNhFYwc2nyXXE4Istoh5IB=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /> To complicate things we have here also a close relative of the Cardinal: the Pyrrhuloxia. It is as exotic as its name.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUamSbCl3fXNVl9Di8zZDH1YtL0YUTIt2LbAtBNz28GNdYT38kwGWs9wvZ3vbB4RmIruhrH6sHZ8oiSES0ImRRi69QnkQcDGtOrhD1JDNvfYhs7Pwu52d487Nz-alqudN1OzuFaKHXdqr701cgO0MFSIGGDfbdDNqI-07Qw-8K_BZKwAPGXqqqeCKM=s2946" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2946" data-original-width="2647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUamSbCl3fXNVl9Di8zZDH1YtL0YUTIt2LbAtBNz28GNdYT38kwGWs9wvZ3vbB4RmIruhrH6sHZ8oiSES0ImRRi69QnkQcDGtOrhD1JDNvfYhs7Pwu52d487Nz-alqudN1OzuFaKHXdqr701cgO0MFSIGGDfbdDNqI-07Qw-8K_BZKwAPGXqqqeCKM=s320" width="288" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_7AQmaiAIN5avApbCz9gkdD4dW_HPDmyjTjBQEsCXoA4qdoYrd-REpWWy_YaseKZzxYrE_Qcego1pqKgdY2rc-NSB3q315lTJJDhTWjEBSXjBgNCTHLM42Fkum7LiWX5uazQEs4urZ9cejazOpLBgYfJdnpErH2g_b8jBvC17HJEwWZyAXQPJ7EXM=s2578" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2359" data-original-width="2578" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_7AQmaiAIN5avApbCz9gkdD4dW_HPDmyjTjBQEsCXoA4qdoYrd-REpWWy_YaseKZzxYrE_Qcego1pqKgdY2rc-NSB3q315lTJJDhTWjEBSXjBgNCTHLM42Fkum7LiWX5uazQEs4urZ9cejazOpLBgYfJdnpErH2g_b8jBvC17HJEwWZyAXQPJ7EXM=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>You might not think so from these close-up pictures, but this species is sometimes tricky to tell from a Cardinal. The best thing to do if you are trying to separate the two species, is to pay attention to the bill. An immature cardinal has a black bill, which slowly becomes red with maturity. So a black bill, or bill with any red on it, is a cardinal. The Pyrrhuloxia has a shortened almost rounded bill which is yellowish or grayish in color.</p><p>END OF PART TWO<br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-79572885139490196492022-03-04T13:23:00.000-06:002022-03-04T13:23:27.123-06:00Birds at the Feeder<p><br />I decided I have not been giving enough attention to the ordinary birds at our feeders, so that is what I am going to try to do here. </p><p>We have a porch that goes along the back of our house and gives a view out along our back yard, the land sloping away from us, so that the porch overlooks the scene from above. Immediately below the porch is a flat area that has a pole standing up about eight or ten feet tall with a cut-out of a bird on top, and a short arm on each side. On one arm a little cage full of peanuts is hanging, on the other a block of suet. </p><p>Gila Woodpecker: <br /></p><p>There is no time of day we can't see or hear from one to eight Gila Woodpeckers dominating all the feeders. They are there first thing in the morning, sitting on some aluminum thing on the roof and giving it a quick drumming to be sure we are all awake. Then they come sweeping into the feeders, bossing all the other birds away from them and calling out deafeningly their repeated Pow! Pow! Pow! like bullets striking garbage can lids. If another bird doesn't get out of their way instantly they begin jabbing it in the stomach with their heavy woodpecker bills. They are gray on the underside except for a bright yellow belly, and from neck to tail on the back they have a "ladderback" marking.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjm_EEEIv8ESLE77pggzDz9fsEN0fkAmuttnB_aAWgb2J_QYOkuMaOCPXWfUAfwq_zn1-J0VsCeykDm82ivdlFuU6FSRv5PtOLpI4HFwBPE3wH2GPOUAwx-zlGEduWBSN2yHy5nHMdcdhkuMxQZpob48ddF8AhWHaHfGh3WRyGwbQMSNh4InwBu77Z0=s3362" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3362" data-original-width="2601" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjm_EEEIv8ESLE77pggzDz9fsEN0fkAmuttnB_aAWgb2J_QYOkuMaOCPXWfUAfwq_zn1-J0VsCeykDm82ivdlFuU6FSRv5PtOLpI4HFwBPE3wH2GPOUAwx-zlGEduWBSN2yHy5nHMdcdhkuMxQZpob48ddF8AhWHaHfGh3WRyGwbQMSNh4InwBu77Z0=s320" width="248" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgGe9AWZoSEnkDVt1_jFRqoFIH5ng0j6nZRrRiSsrJVrD01f8sxChSk04JF-F19swIp4b1znEcsAyKIejEHoW8b-iytJtq5YwvBJIns7QoLOsiVkdOiS9E8hJOd8cvGLnHYy49Voii5p7GYgCLUhPgu2t26jdnenzdZbOvCxEN9JXH73fmZPO_Ld-Y=s3152" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3078" data-original-width="3152" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgGe9AWZoSEnkDVt1_jFRqoFIH5ng0j6nZRrRiSsrJVrD01f8sxChSk04JF-F19swIp4b1znEcsAyKIejEHoW8b-iytJtq5YwvBJIns7QoLOsiVkdOiS9E8hJOd8cvGLnHYy49Voii5p7GYgCLUhPgu2t26jdnenzdZbOvCxEN9JXH73fmZPO_Ld-Y=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Ladder-backed Woodpecker:</p><p>This second bird, also very common, and also having a "ladderback" pattern, is much smaller than the Gila and much more demure and peaceful, and in addition to its smaller size it has a black line on the back of it neck. On this species the very attractive male has the whole top of the head red, on the Gila (I didn't show a male) only a small circle on top of the head is red. The female Ladder-back has no red and a very noticeable black line on the back of the neck. Some men working in our yard recently wondered if the bigger ladderback (the Gila) was the mother, and the smaller was its child.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcb33PZj-ue7SwInWLRntIZnbtlCEtbRxzhVCjgw-XfDN8EhP6HcKj2uw_bqL8jEr_mlLyUIvVoI1nBCXGd67JEPJvjzX34wSKaik0XKhKyXBXfhz4_hT2uXpDsW6-eNI9uScbWWzlxvZ6sSvvX1EYWkU0GAxrgS0HkCjTNqeSmrirtwhYCXxS68Ag=s3175" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3175" data-original-width="2608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcb33PZj-ue7SwInWLRntIZnbtlCEtbRxzhVCjgw-XfDN8EhP6HcKj2uw_bqL8jEr_mlLyUIvVoI1nBCXGd67JEPJvjzX34wSKaik0XKhKyXBXfhz4_hT2uXpDsW6-eNI9uScbWWzlxvZ6sSvvX1EYWkU0GAxrgS0HkCjTNqeSmrirtwhYCXxS68Ag=s320" width="263" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEmRJXYazA99P7TBll8wbiEA0KuLTe5STm4y0pe25EjXx_mc3I0nZCv9I5zWFD1BJw6-dJTTs3TewsBzBbv509NEZBR1fZ70VM9y_q6fPX_mJPPz1P6u7hf1v0v-qHER1VWb9De0NcoKFvW1GpzqVt56NUgvu8-Qywno8K9XjLFiei7rupHyj4NNWZ=s2307" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2307" data-original-width="1974" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEmRJXYazA99P7TBll8wbiEA0KuLTe5STm4y0pe25EjXx_mc3I0nZCv9I5zWFD1BJw6-dJTTs3TewsBzBbv509NEZBR1fZ70VM9y_q6fPX_mJPPz1P6u7hf1v0v-qHER1VWb9De0NcoKFvW1GpzqVt56NUgvu8-Qywno8K9XjLFiei7rupHyj4NNWZ=s320" width="274" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>These two woodpeckers are with us all year. Very occasionally we see a flicker here. Otherwise no other woodpeckers at all.</p><p>In the summer we have Lucy's Warbler here as a common breeding bird, but as I am writing this (the beginning of March) they have not arrived yet. We haven't lived here long enough to work out if there is a regular migration of warblers passing through the yard. But we have two species of warblers that stay with us through the winter, usually only one or two of each.</p><p> Orange-crowned Warbler:<br /></p><p>The Orange-crowned Warbler is a quiet yellowish bird with a sweet tooth, that comes to grape jelly feeders that are put out for Verdins and Orioles.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXk9jTr8bS7l_PnoJrrm_1f1M6GVRwLIyaIbudIN69S413ijG3FAG9FZe5uTIhzmAhlCbbfGN2VA5iDaE-QJ5P_kfltT6NIut8M4L_UMT70XGPvP0nWbX-GHfLGEK93d4nr0OxfwnbBmNZxwiz4RGYfycQ_9LFiRYDyhTkz69Yw6UJzBSxyfmwqaHV=s2010" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1905" data-original-width="2010" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXk9jTr8bS7l_PnoJrrm_1f1M6GVRwLIyaIbudIN69S413ijG3FAG9FZe5uTIhzmAhlCbbfGN2VA5iDaE-QJ5P_kfltT6NIut8M4L_UMT70XGPvP0nWbX-GHfLGEK93d4nr0OxfwnbBmNZxwiz4RGYfycQ_9LFiRYDyhTkz69Yw6UJzBSxyfmwqaHV=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Yellow-rumped Warbler</p><p>Or better known as Butter-butt, this species remains farther north in winter compared to other warblers. Most warblers feed mainly on insects and so couldn't remain in the snowy insectless north, but the Yellow-rumps can make do with berries and the suet cakes bird lovers put out for them. Usually their pattern and plumage are immaculate. This one I found to take a picture of unfortunately is a little bit rumpled, but he's still quite handsome.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYL0rzHAuOG8J0i8aFgHAebfqt--KdDSORLtXsHHxf1WRD1nmNkKpIpKInBqIRYlTkRUzKcGKt00zT1wY7L0u6KZf2E5bgyLD1pZ0-eL2zGO8V47rRNDqzW83BvCsZDUFnu2BxhpMv6w12kCWbbiIdrBYysvtJ2PH8RxJieFI4MSsHau4qCI8mv4jV=s2609" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1902" data-original-width="2609" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYL0rzHAuOG8J0i8aFgHAebfqt--KdDSORLtXsHHxf1WRD1nmNkKpIpKInBqIRYlTkRUzKcGKt00zT1wY7L0u6KZf2E5bgyLD1pZ0-eL2zGO8V47rRNDqzW83BvCsZDUFnu2BxhpMv6w12kCWbbiIdrBYysvtJ2PH8RxJieFI4MSsHau4qCI8mv4jV=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGklhgUN8XBtZ6UIqD8FoiMwDAvxp5j8KCsRIzUI27fuAhApZg6WeWinyUpvm0vRo2ZDZ53rKALjdd6Zu0J-K5z69c7fBXRkSqdcqeUclpfgbmKuKSDxgY2Bn4Z_v1oBtXNbSO2IyufDvnix_Di8eEFIfA9ATbTP4cwriL1uIXc7oW8O327_Ke4fA7=s1342" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGklhgUN8XBtZ6UIqD8FoiMwDAvxp5j8KCsRIzUI27fuAhApZg6WeWinyUpvm0vRo2ZDZ53rKALjdd6Zu0J-K5z69c7fBXRkSqdcqeUclpfgbmKuKSDxgY2Bn4Z_v1oBtXNbSO2IyufDvnix_Di8eEFIfA9ATbTP4cwriL1uIXc7oW8O327_Ke4fA7=s320" width="318" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrX1T_wnAH4z_mYAYf1de2BlmPEsrGD5VNPBORGK_qGre_Tv-jCpJFseVOs6pWcc4uFGbirHupf8Kh8qHamvWqXS_XcizBbzcg0dkcATGIu7F39O0z-0LGlqBIM8l02Dj-VoMS_Lhb8hRVd3A2chYErQ4rE8_HdkAnyljxOGrHoA3hNC6to7qx_Nji=s1422" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="1289" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrX1T_wnAH4z_mYAYf1de2BlmPEsrGD5VNPBORGK_qGre_Tv-jCpJFseVOs6pWcc4uFGbirHupf8Kh8qHamvWqXS_XcizBbzcg0dkcATGIu7F39O0z-0LGlqBIM8l02Dj-VoMS_Lhb8hRVd3A2chYErQ4rE8_HdkAnyljxOGrHoA3hNC6to7qx_Nji=s320" width="290" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUmr6fqtsOqDYyH-GFLcgggAKs6cN0IzjvJMZrt0G5mbnOOCEPrux7ys-ZvOGQCzhJLjQ-fDnBom6Rs5ADP9__PZsKC4sPr1vS4uDhcejMP8tId6ANhMTxTyeAp8N1G0x34HFu6CxA1NVMlHhpJl59AVoRKHWKVQxGd7al43iBo75youn53cEe-Zme=s1422" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7IkgoUnN3vCtE6TLFkRWWA3Tq_ztqp-sNT3DRYiy30YPySEbkdM5QrfUD-Xx5GOM-AjlZjrtmKqqiGUt-1vZvNzIbr8h3U1lTmlmBYiyEPh3f7ScqnOXTxsQUtgZ_BVkGqIIJR823dbvtN97O2mjgSXQjp2ooDXIkdKfIrRr4BTixR1tMEBuE-SEi=s1562" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1562" data-original-width="1189" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7IkgoUnN3vCtE6TLFkRWWA3Tq_ztqp-sNT3DRYiy30YPySEbkdM5QrfUD-Xx5GOM-AjlZjrtmKqqiGUt-1vZvNzIbr8h3U1lTmlmBYiyEPh3f7ScqnOXTxsQUtgZ_BVkGqIIJR823dbvtN97O2mjgSXQjp2ooDXIkdKfIrRr4BTixR1tMEBuE-SEi=s320" width="244" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><p>END OF PART ONE<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-46783506795348122392022-02-19T12:59:00.000-06:002022-02-19T12:59:15.869-06:00Centipedes<p>One day recently our son and his family arrived at our house for a visit. He parked in the open space in our garage and his son (our five-year-old grandson), got out of the car first and came trotting in through the back entryway. The first thing he said was, "You've got a centipede inside your ceiling light." (this tells you something about the way he is being raised.) Cheryl and I had just come through that entrance way a few moments before and hadn't noticed any centipede (and we pride ourselves on our sharp eyes) and we ran out to see it, and sure enough there it was just a few inches over our heads. We raced for cameras because we had not previously seen a centipede among our house wildlife.</p><p><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://youtube.com/shorts/URBuAb50JV0?feature%3Dshare&source=gmail&ust=1645228372785000&usg=AOvVaw1KXnSPImmc5hn-zw_Na483" href="https://youtube.com/shorts/URBuAb50JV0?feature=share" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/shorts/<wbr></wbr>URBuAb50JV0?feature=share</a></p><p>But once it was catalogued, I didn't want it falling out of the light and then walking around in the house where someone might accidentally step on it with bare feet. When I was a little kid I picked up every bug I saw and that was how I learned that a centipede has a bite like a controlled bolt of lightning. It wasn't the only creature I "experimented" with back then. I still remember from those days picking up a bright red and black furry insect that I now know was a velvet ant and getting my worst sting ever. I can describe it as being like a sliver of glass shoved deep into my hand and then shattering. It goes on and on. The first time I was in a Central American tropical forest I encountered a swarm of army ants. I was quite thrilled to see them and reached into the swarm and plucked one out to examine. I held it carefully by the sides of its thorax so it couldn't bite me with its powerful jaws, and that was when I learned that they can also twist their abdomen around and jab you with their painful rear end stinger. There are other stories, getting my worst spider bite, and on, and on. I finally had to conclude I was just really stupid, but instead it turned out I was just ahead of the wave. You see, there are some scientists around now who are making their reputation by intentionally getting themselves bitten by every insect or other arthropod they can find that has a reputation for a painful bite or sting. Justin Schmidt for example has spent the last few years developing the Schmidt Pain Index. When you or I, for instance, visit the jungles of Central America and we are climbing around in the dense vegetation, we are warned not to casually grasp a stick or branch to balance ourselves, because we might accidentally grab a Bullet Ant which happens to be walking there. The Bullet Ant is the most famous pain producer. It is a 4 on the index, which is as high as it goes. Schmidt knows this by picking one up. In addition to a number, these nutty scientists sometimes give almost poetic descriptives. For the Tarantula Hawk (that's the big wasp with orange wings that tangles with tarantulas), instead of saying its sting is like an electric shock, it is "like dropping a turned-on hair dryer into the bubble-bath."</p><p>Anyway, I don't think our centipede is one of the serious biters (maybe a 2 or 3), and anyway I thought a new generation should be doing the testing, so with my acquired wisdom I let my son balance on a stool while he took down the light fixture and released the centipede outside with no one getting nipped.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIU1j-YhcP17EVldOmadZ1UrMePp3DMYFCG9ypMxdZbYLwXC51s1_956ceZeBapZ36gt_E-zwkRFQOPTVw8REbmXfwY2-o_qZs_M658sgTfzAVCJVk2lp6oqi4OC517JEspNRjHoQfwrSZqug1Dz9EIBtLMtcRkbDKdvlDaXa80pvXsGdTqndXzQgm=s3854" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2887" data-original-width="3854" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIU1j-YhcP17EVldOmadZ1UrMePp3DMYFCG9ypMxdZbYLwXC51s1_956ceZeBapZ36gt_E-zwkRFQOPTVw8REbmXfwY2-o_qZs_M658sgTfzAVCJVk2lp6oqi4OC517JEspNRjHoQfwrSZqug1Dz9EIBtLMtcRkbDKdvlDaXa80pvXsGdTqndXzQgm=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> <br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-12114776375047618072022-01-28T15:22:00.000-06:002022-01-28T15:22:55.047-06:00Costa's Hummingbird and its (often) Frustration<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQr3DGra4HDaEnlpavP9IWOmJk5tWNINzfacU8NVLNyEbPKvcvZEvxiDnrzT4FWmYE72mv1N_W2vj6eP4LTwkO8FbUnHaCkN77uuh6vcouz2PFBW8_dZzaAewj1AWYwrH8UhwDoUUDSxPfKQ1aghBIxqW0apgPg6k3DwusmM5Ug7eRffTdrAIqalCT=s3455" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2989" data-original-width="3455" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQr3DGra4HDaEnlpavP9IWOmJk5tWNINzfacU8NVLNyEbPKvcvZEvxiDnrzT4FWmYE72mv1N_W2vj6eP4LTwkO8FbUnHaCkN77uuh6vcouz2PFBW8_dZzaAewj1AWYwrH8UhwDoUUDSxPfKQ1aghBIxqW0apgPg6k3DwusmM5Ug7eRffTdrAIqalCT=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> The Costa's is one of our most spectacular hummingbirds down here in southern Arizona. The problem is, it's practically impossible to photograph in such a way as to show it. Right now (in mid winter creeping towards spring), the male is in its brightest plumage. Here is an example of a photograph of a prime male. It's a perfectly nice bird, but that is all you can say about it. The top of the head, and the throat are dark, but sort of purplish underneath. But if this were the real bird in the flesh that you were looking at, here is the experience you would have: First the bird would appear more or less black on the throat and crown, then it would glance towards you and the color would suddenly flash up brilliantly. Then it would turn away, and the color would dull down again. <br /><p></p><p> Now, I think two things are operating. First of all, the bright colors on a hummingbird's throat are not real colors (not, in other words, created by a pigment). They are created by narrow microscopic ridges which from a certain angle split up their basic colors into a prism as oil does when its individual colors break up in water or ice crystals in a rainbow. When you are looking at the bird's feathers from just the right angle they shine, from any other angle they are likely to show up as black.</p><p>Now if it sounded like I didn't know what I was talking about there, I <i>really</i> don't understand this second part. Someone recently explained to me why, when you take a photograph of a rainbow, or a brilliant fiery sunset, it comes out so disappointing, with all the color washed out of it. Well, <i>that's</i> another reason it's hard to get a picture of a Costa's that does it any justice, and apparently you can do something or other to overcome the failing, or maybe it takes a special kind of lens, but I don't remember.</p><p>But I've taken so many picture's of Costa's Hummingbirds that some of them have got a little color into them. Much of the color on them is on phalanges that stick way out on either cheek, and the rest on the throat and crown.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRHcu02_4CkmP_17r6Q-qSsnrjNrb8NRIq2rYh_9_jMdj2_POYRT3P94Tg9Ykx1fNMz9XfBeQV0_X623blFVyUu8stsb7pOBuR-bXPva_-w4XFgspidh7GWn8ZtdYwBbo4jZ7mTQA2W0SvB5tm7YK3iQ539-dJz2hPCCEZkl8358pFPcVJtEUfYx8w=s2380" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1927" data-original-width="2380" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRHcu02_4CkmP_17r6Q-qSsnrjNrb8NRIq2rYh_9_jMdj2_POYRT3P94Tg9Ykx1fNMz9XfBeQV0_X623blFVyUu8stsb7pOBuR-bXPva_-w4XFgspidh7GWn8ZtdYwBbo4jZ7mTQA2W0SvB5tm7YK3iQ539-dJz2hPCCEZkl8358pFPcVJtEUfYx8w=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi45D_tHOv_IfrYGqvZmOd4imuEzHAhzuj1k4_4xGrDsjDArd85pAOrRI2SPuak7-kmZIdlW5gLMqplUFySTRjs7qiiQLLS1TTCvwD_otN2DHJErVoztO0SKD7IXtmt5i_0fA9XG7KBT2rOsf_zlxnOekcD7aiMVf0GkTspXndvzuqUVKKkm9vAE7Gr=s2134" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="2134" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi45D_tHOv_IfrYGqvZmOd4imuEzHAhzuj1k4_4xGrDsjDArd85pAOrRI2SPuak7-kmZIdlW5gLMqplUFySTRjs7qiiQLLS1TTCvwD_otN2DHJErVoztO0SKD7IXtmt5i_0fA9XG7KBT2rOsf_zlxnOekcD7aiMVf0GkTspXndvzuqUVKKkm9vAE7Gr=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The first picture here shows some color, the next one from nearly the same position, show the color reduced to black. Note the famous "ear flaps" on these.<br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1kUNarMjqolPRqG-4R4vp6WzSSRhJ8MOe6-GmtKnnnCGjcIaaPAFNeP9ZepKGJvKZswc7amUl7epdboB6NsNy2Hnk5ypUlsx6No97QVKN0pid4LPx3V4ydKPdN99Z2PgUPJ-TogmbAmTp7Pyd5l5MV1_1xQTIPfOH8Wk-dJH1Wq5bHUNyy4N6P8Zg=s3436" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2260" data-original-width="3436" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1kUNarMjqolPRqG-4R4vp6WzSSRhJ8MOe6-GmtKnnnCGjcIaaPAFNeP9ZepKGJvKZswc7amUl7epdboB6NsNy2Hnk5ypUlsx6No97QVKN0pid4LPx3V4ydKPdN99Z2PgUPJ-TogmbAmTp7Pyd5l5MV1_1xQTIPfOH8Wk-dJH1Wq5bHUNyy4N6P8Zg=s320" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikCahVmsRJXO-mXxAt9zrcNkBitsLHW_GbO5LRdlyyfsXVwOI_qsgQ1t_ipwbQir0dPGF0II9E1pPfw7GyX5uBjZo3xd6AUxI4QPAyHfuxfipPi4mldUAMUtPc7vvPlZbNL6Uu7NahJY-_3mDH8jkdmRBDMAVIDlMh91fk1EMuQFGOrenhPpdvDmOI=s2448" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="1683" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikCahVmsRJXO-mXxAt9zrcNkBitsLHW_GbO5LRdlyyfsXVwOI_qsgQ1t_ipwbQir0dPGF0II9E1pPfw7GyX5uBjZo3xd6AUxI4QPAyHfuxfipPi4mldUAMUtPc7vvPlZbNL6Uu7NahJY-_3mDH8jkdmRBDMAVIDlMh91fk1EMuQFGOrenhPpdvDmOI=s320" width="220" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6tdTch7Qq3HMGZ9hERw90NfC0Dp6xN_fsyMd-tWC1isYLkrIjZyCC0osXu2uFhZboaeDRapgckSDS7L2vBjgJKysTzzSDq0556Drgv76aEp7D4JQIvKKFiWEPjt1iyoF9c6qlbMQHGeS0s1ud42er_dfQ9hJdLExgJYo7mlLfSKjpnX2X5aMpj1lK=s2891" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2698" data-original-width="2891" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6tdTch7Qq3HMGZ9hERw90NfC0Dp6xN_fsyMd-tWC1isYLkrIjZyCC0osXu2uFhZboaeDRapgckSDS7L2vBjgJKysTzzSDq0556Drgv76aEp7D4JQIvKKFiWEPjt1iyoF9c6qlbMQHGeS0s1ud42er_dfQ9hJdLExgJYo7mlLfSKjpnX2X5aMpj1lK=s320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTDe_awkqJnF-6-BvZdjLLhxGv3vUAfj9tJC9CK0ju8WCKxDSUQYQYrIw9O8vYnNW85it3xuL8ww981LgVd4LlM8_lXpQWh6vERh7xhvkbYle9L0VZAxgZaypW8PfPBGPHFd_PGWE-8U9UzJEtG8OG56ZPX-oobAOsxQgKQtvhqyDcJyYydxADiKQF=s1784" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1784" data-original-width="1655" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTDe_awkqJnF-6-BvZdjLLhxGv3vUAfj9tJC9CK0ju8WCKxDSUQYQYrIw9O8vYnNW85it3xuL8ww981LgVd4LlM8_lXpQWh6vERh7xhvkbYle9L0VZAxgZaypW8PfPBGPHFd_PGWE-8U9UzJEtG8OG56ZPX-oobAOsxQgKQtvhqyDcJyYydxADiKQF=s320" width="297" /></a></div><br /></div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr6PjnkZMNpVPuAXdHTM6En_1-rtYD25NZNt6xowN8SW296FWUGABCjpJ22gxOIQiIpZB4_ntCKeS4xvsLCWSfJHQB4fWbX510HPP4knoxrOMz7ocmdKFx-77EI26lEypghrSZu0U8rYLlByTDfzLxMzNSm7VE2VDDlovS7mUgk-0k-wGwZXiwx2hE=s2262" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1467" data-original-width="2262" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr6PjnkZMNpVPuAXdHTM6En_1-rtYD25NZNt6xowN8SW296FWUGABCjpJ22gxOIQiIpZB4_ntCKeS4xvsLCWSfJHQB4fWbX510HPP4knoxrOMz7ocmdKFx-77EI26lEypghrSZu0U8rYLlByTDfzLxMzNSm7VE2VDDlovS7mUgk-0k-wGwZXiwx2hE=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC_rej9n1F_t0v8yeh8J1CdYnRuHbYzkkxJLroTSWlSopYdlJCwGWmlLk0xi7oh24l1ibELpCyH_-yeN0Dkgr_vhysU_hn0XUegRFOMw-Kpl-BKPaWJDnlwkd8K3fhDG-6C-5WivK7XGlOUQZy1P0p9ExImp7HV-FPc1khOSiBJh-ln_ofke29sOzb=s2059" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1393" data-original-width="2059" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC_rej9n1F_t0v8yeh8J1CdYnRuHbYzkkxJLroTSWlSopYdlJCwGWmlLk0xi7oh24l1ibELpCyH_-yeN0Dkgr_vhysU_hn0XUegRFOMw-Kpl-BKPaWJDnlwkd8K3fhDG-6C-5WivK7XGlOUQZy1P0p9ExImp7HV-FPc1khOSiBJh-ln_ofke29sOzb=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>And here is the female Costa's, pretty in her own way <br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-83663821141007130622021-11-22T12:59:00.000-06:002021-11-22T12:59:45.531-06:00A Timely Appearance<p> We live on a cul-de-sac just off the Catalina Highway. Our acre of fairly untouched desert is on land beginning to rise up towards the 8000 foot peak of Mt. Lemmon. This is in a good position from which to write a nature blog. Just when I'm thinking it's about time to write a blog, I can count on something appropriate to pop up for me to write about.</p><p>For instance, once or twice a year mule deer (black-tailed deer) appear in our yard. They don't seem to appear at any particular time of the year (these times over the years: 22 May, 23 June, 22 August, 20 November, 23 November). There might be one deer, there might be several; they might stay one day, they might stay several (in which case they bed down at a distance from our house and pile up droppings), and the one rule is, they are all adult bucks, either in velvet or with enormous racks of antlers. We've never seen a doe. We don't know why they come, or where they come from. We assume they drop down from the higher elevations, but we really don't know.</p><p>At any rate one appeared the other day, looking healthy and well fed. As always it's a sudden surprise, and they always look as big as a horse. Of all the animals that occur in our yard, they are the largest and heaviest. </p><p>And this one gave me to an opportunity here to speculate about them, and now my blog is written.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWequbcGjbpa95doYwA3gehIhppLmp4ErK3N81UB4O5eJs1sANTmKpud3E-31ts2l5zUbBzxA_sFFrow7m9iRZ_8ntHI27D4X3R8IgG1Yj5uNIq3HNVTZwRxnFBKEW673ak4J-vqtOoe4/s2048/IMG_2006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1928" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWequbcGjbpa95doYwA3gehIhppLmp4ErK3N81UB4O5eJs1sANTmKpud3E-31ts2l5zUbBzxA_sFFrow7m9iRZ_8ntHI27D4X3R8IgG1Yj5uNIq3HNVTZwRxnFBKEW673ak4J-vqtOoe4/s320/IMG_2006.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><p></p><p>To round things off, we then a much smaller creature, one that we had never seen before, and which caused a bit more consternation.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-64035475442682313912021-11-13T13:43:00.000-06:002021-11-13T13:43:20.497-06:00Male Anna's Hummingbird Changes into Adult Plumage<p> Autumn changing into winter is not my favorite time of year. You can scarcely complain about the weather here in southern Arizona now in November, day after sunny day, the temperature a mild 80, but things are closing down, you can feel it. This past summer, for instance, we often went out after dark on our back porch as the evening cooled off, enjoying the nectar-drinking bats swarming around us and draining the sugar water out of the half-dozen feeders we put out daily for the hummingbirds. But by now our bats have returned to Mexico for the winter, and the porch is empty. And anyway the air is getting too nippy for us to go out at night.</p><p>All through the year we had been watching another gradual change, the hummingbirds (we have five species) giving over the rather plain plumage they started life with to don (the males, anyway) the startlingly beautiful breeding plumage they will put on to win the females with. That change is at its peak now. Let me show you step by step what one species can do. Here is the male Anna's Hummingbird in sub-adult plumage.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmJURVnuYfYLPOFl24rXVjdokRMEvcRXZVsrL61o77LE3V0r-fAQcnyNZlpl6PY1_M6f3sY3p-Qpt5WK9dQb7Fa2jrXQbpkySvcHzZHHGdGP2yXaRXSoD8wROPhTQ1PrOQAq9yTlZoNM/s2048/IMG_7990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1931" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmJURVnuYfYLPOFl24rXVjdokRMEvcRXZVsrL61o77LE3V0r-fAQcnyNZlpl6PY1_M6f3sY3p-Qpt5WK9dQb7Fa2jrXQbpkySvcHzZHHGdGP2yXaRXSoD8wROPhTQ1PrOQAq9yTlZoNM/s320/IMG_7990.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>This is a totally plain hummingbird with almost nothing to distinguish it. But notice the black spot on the side of the throat; there is also one on the other side. That is what it starts with.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH5mL3ESnKNAE78aOEA69sB8WpoNTpgNPnYL4PMk7SK-onuzw3N6XePzgB_9C_Gcs-NJ0Sp4DBIdly949J0hK9GpXBlj6zFY5H_iJrl9hWJ4lAv-aVwNOlqsDj1Wot6f9gSuBIw8XLiw/s2048/IMG_7998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1950" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH5mL3ESnKNAE78aOEA69sB8WpoNTpgNPnYL4PMk7SK-onuzw3N6XePzgB_9C_Gcs-NJ0Sp4DBIdly949J0hK9GpXBlj6zFY5H_iJrl9hWJ4lAv-aVwNOlqsDj1Wot6f9gSuBIw8XLiw/s320/IMG_7998.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Now note the spot again. When you look at the spots from an angle, they appear black, but when they are exactly opposite to the observer, they shine up bright red. That "black" spot is actually red, and you can see that some other spots are beginning to appear on the throat, and you can see that they're going to be red too. Some black spots are also appearing on the back of the head, and they also will prove to be red.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5c190OA-LoV9so9hIn3m4JPjLV04BbInurhEHBVH4iKNCGNbFCydr1qd5aBzVOSOSyZUUKtT2pWaLg76CIQEHjgr8k6s6mm0PRqU0Jv5_x836zHHJczmMpP2bWbgV6t3mVcu11vEzes/s2048/IMG_7995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1681" data-original-width="2048" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5c190OA-LoV9so9hIn3m4JPjLV04BbInurhEHBVH4iKNCGNbFCydr1qd5aBzVOSOSyZUUKtT2pWaLg76CIQEHjgr8k6s6mm0PRqU0Jv5_x836zHHJczmMpP2bWbgV6t3mVcu11vEzes/s320/IMG_7995.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-MRUZgei9FuaSQJ9F0D7KYCvn45c6XkrEvr9FnlW65cwY0LGBNMWaqjxYPQWc3aUUsWBIV4trfDJ5Khy7H4lu2Zowq76YP4xqf0Tu4cV47fnXyzFUXOvILdB6KQD6s5j2KrAWWNarUlU/s2048/IMG_7991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1987" data-original-width="2048" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-MRUZgei9FuaSQJ9F0D7KYCvn45c6XkrEvr9FnlW65cwY0LGBNMWaqjxYPQWc3aUUsWBIV4trfDJ5Khy7H4lu2Zowq76YP4xqf0Tu4cV47fnXyzFUXOvILdB6KQD6s5j2KrAWWNarUlU/s320/IMG_7991.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> The red on the throat is gradually expanding.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAHX3bbmPRniQP-RRLTwlvhE68CEluZL5im0JFRhiiS7_VhpXEy6-TR37AU7PdvyNRhloFWOZS0ds1V7c4-whk4ttNGy9FcZIM6EldujAYjouQQ6KEv9xI_oXFBzSxunbXJXsgnNHknY/s2048/IMG_8013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="2048" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZAHX3bbmPRniQP-RRLTwlvhE68CEluZL5im0JFRhiiS7_VhpXEy6-TR37AU7PdvyNRhloFWOZS0ds1V7c4-whk4ttNGy9FcZIM6EldujAYjouQQ6KEv9xI_oXFBzSxunbXJXsgnNHknY/s320/IMG_8013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Suddenly the entire head and throat (except for a white area around the eye) is bright red (though from this angle the crown and throat appear black). Note how what started as a small spot on the side of the throat has thickened into a flange which is beginning to stand out from the throat.</p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-4v9Uz2WQP8uhi46YKFCiqxaiJMoUMPkLWQv7tu8SBLpqOEQy6XYS7nF5tSy6wLqT1VCOKw0qIFOOpkPLTcYxv0I7jDMtJDVl8_jGwGUzedzAtQtnUF1qwVoq4vKjmIqqH1nia8O2RU/s1710/IMG_0301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1710" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-4v9Uz2WQP8uhi46YKFCiqxaiJMoUMPkLWQv7tu8SBLpqOEQy6XYS7nF5tSy6wLqT1VCOKw0qIFOOpkPLTcYxv0I7jDMtJDVl8_jGwGUzedzAtQtnUF1qwVoq4vKjmIqqH1nia8O2RU/s320/IMG_0301.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p></p><p>Here is how it would appear from a slightly altered angle.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2lFmQra_Lx-As6b7OFEzTxL2y_Tr3h-j72EXH-AXpcwBjNb36kvUAWKQ4draFs3NBaPwnwgHfLk4XfgVMGoRrkeXkaRFeN7IV36SM5VPN4xhYuZZMaXOko7tXugAiZCH5buDikDBzmQ/s1802/IMG_0379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1802" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2lFmQra_Lx-As6b7OFEzTxL2y_Tr3h-j72EXH-AXpcwBjNb36kvUAWKQ4draFs3NBaPwnwgHfLk4XfgVMGoRrkeXkaRFeN7IV36SM5VPN4xhYuZZMaXOko7tXugAiZCH5buDikDBzmQ/s320/IMG_0379.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>And here finally is the fully adult male Anna's Hummingbird. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-84091700464958362052021-10-14T18:01:00.000-05:002021-10-14T18:01:40.544-05:00The Rattle Trap<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbQ3ONOrq3S3HHnH_mo7l-OG3Rdl0m-nIP2C6CrtHaBljtY1J6YjVRRBoXrS5wJ52LUsgVIkteaNGSC3dQe1j2ZboKoXCTCIP_VIjkcDipg6f8RJw7Z4RqqfHxYb6gm8bFsLIOnkwszA/s2048/IMG_1729.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2012" data-original-width="2048" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwbQ3ONOrq3S3HHnH_mo7l-OG3Rdl0m-nIP2C6CrtHaBljtY1J6YjVRRBoXrS5wJ52LUsgVIkteaNGSC3dQe1j2ZboKoXCTCIP_VIjkcDipg6f8RJw7Z4RqqfHxYb6gm8bFsLIOnkwszA/s320/IMG_1729.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> I have recently done some blogs about packrats, saying that there is nothing ratty about them, but that with their big eyes and their big ears they are really rather attractive. But then going on to say they are notorious for getting into the wiring of your car where they can cause very expensive damage. Since when they move into your house, usually it is your garage they move into, there is no tolerating them; you must get rid of them.</p><p>We are getting quite efficient at this. The previous owner of our house, knowing I would have problems with them, left with me a Havahart live trap, which catches them easily, and leaves us with no blood on our conscience. We then carry them down to the bottom of our yard and release them, and that seems to be far enough that they won't immediately return. I bait the trap with a spoon-full of peanut butter and their nose is so sharp the smell on the trap never goes away for them, so I never have to bait the trap again after that first time. I would check around the floor of the garage where they usually came in and look for fresh droppings or other signs they might leave behind, and if I found any trace, I would set out the trap.</p><p>Then I thought I would make things even more efficient if I simply set out the trap permanently, then all I would have to do would be to glance at the far side of the garage every day and see if the trap was sprung. The problem with that is, the longer it stays out, the more unintended creatures end up getting caught in it.</p><p>Here, for instance, is what I expect to find when I inspect the trap.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkRmjQysXd7JNiw9QUHj094aA5cShE4MaqwNqY48N7_FmIaeP9W8aOPkuQRlUBYSohfosLp58aDpa_LHTpbEsBKbi_41tv3kdnNaN6yGnJAVmTal1D3f8jHjp8jiQooWpJL7chQiP3xY/s2048/IMG_1185+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkRmjQysXd7JNiw9QUHj094aA5cShE4MaqwNqY48N7_FmIaeP9W8aOPkuQRlUBYSohfosLp58aDpa_LHTpbEsBKbi_41tv3kdnNaN6yGnJAVmTal1D3f8jHjp8jiQooWpJL7chQiP3xY/s320/IMG_1185+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>Here is what I found instead the other day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqTOIISalizHS4C1Y2JrqN7hGJLBP9voyxV3_ZLVwXLBrijouhhB0m39GOJj_byIEG1d5n46aV5FRnlXAVpBcJ_XvQAWOdkzoNrR8eapzZcPDLewcEOSyKagnpVgEJYzW24viWcqLpy8/s2048/IMG_1848.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqTOIISalizHS4C1Y2JrqN7hGJLBP9voyxV3_ZLVwXLBrijouhhB0m39GOJj_byIEG1d5n46aV5FRnlXAVpBcJ_XvQAWOdkzoNrR8eapzZcPDLewcEOSyKagnpVgEJYzW24viWcqLpy8/s320/IMG_1848.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>It might be a bit hard for you to make it out. It was hard for me to see what was in the trap, or rather, to believe what I saw. It proved to be a four-and-a-half foot long Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (the rattle is easily visible in the lower right corner). <br /></p><p> </p><p>I have no idea what the snake was doing in the garage, or what prompted it to enter the trap. Perhaps it was attracted, not by peanut-butter, but by the lingering odor of a juicy packrat. Whatever the explanation, there it was. I told Cheryl and she came out and the two of us regarded it grimly, both of us thinking about the difficulty of shaking a packrat out from the complications of the tricky corners of the trap, especially getting the doors open without risking a bite from the rat. From a rattlesnake it would be more than a bite. We decided to leave the snake in overnight while we tried to think about it.</p><p>Here is what we came up with.</p><p>The trap is quite ingenious. Everything works by gravity, one thing falling making the next thing fall, and it is designed so that each step only works in one direction and so can't be undone. Here is the trap set with the overhead door open. The animal walks in and heads to the rusty-looking baited platform at the end, steps on it which pushes down the hair-trigger which allows the door to swing shut. As the door goes down (in an instant) the sort of mouse-trap like tang (?) that hangs from the outer edge of the door opening slides down following it until it is caught on the flap in the middle of the door.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAsFGJJyjz8QWGbSGn8gdHXbsTKATIurJ8yPdERCwqWRHgglwXFUNTHNihvrogjVs-MISA1rOzf4-8Pt4atYESMebAy_Tqnti_PteLFk5BU3FtHl4CBNYdJRoNnXZ7qjDTM5j3uie5Fg/s2048/IMG_1865.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAsFGJJyjz8QWGbSGn8gdHXbsTKATIurJ8yPdERCwqWRHgglwXFUNTHNihvrogjVs-MISA1rOzf4-8Pt4atYESMebAy_Tqnti_PteLFk5BU3FtHl4CBNYdJRoNnXZ7qjDTM5j3uie5Fg/s320/IMG_1865.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> Here is how it looks.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKebL4Mh4cJ2AmsqBZvJIcIYnlPBClEAwLCHOLJCngZiis5WGndHZMm7uwqO9awhyphenhyphenTQOB0eRYtp68WrPBoddROByeNdFTnw1G9Cf5hRnet4JETyKw327aRfDxLS-4WYqPwv3AkNP30HQ/s2048/IMG_1864.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKebL4Mh4cJ2AmsqBZvJIcIYnlPBClEAwLCHOLJCngZiis5WGndHZMm7uwqO9awhyphenhyphenTQOB0eRYtp68WrPBoddROByeNdFTnw1G9Cf5hRnet4JETyKw327aRfDxLS-4WYqPwv3AkNP30HQ/s320/IMG_1864.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_G5YQHt1iygmg9CH-DlTL44zPn25eMmmy0TN1_-2e2kxkYWDknHqT4Tk3Ndq5AabeQmaL_E2cANh79TuXnivdN144JqTnjXWfO-oN0_gbYD1UAdTd29GEEsb06W-pPM_a_lyglggxXJk/s2048/IMG_1867.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_G5YQHt1iygmg9CH-DlTL44zPn25eMmmy0TN1_-2e2kxkYWDknHqT4Tk3Ndq5AabeQmaL_E2cANh79TuXnivdN144JqTnjXWfO-oN0_gbYD1UAdTd29GEEsb06W-pPM_a_lyglggxXJk/s320/IMG_1867.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The door, which is hanging down by gravity, is not attached at the bottom, so the animal could easily just push its way out except that the tang fell down (by gravity) and locked itself into that flap.</p><p>Now, when we carried the rats we caught down to the bottom of the yard. it was very complicated trying to lift the tang up and hold open the door while we tried to shake the animal out, and that was just what we didn't want to do with a very poisonous and perhaps angry snake.</p><p>But suddenly we saw that the solution was right there. We carried the trap by the handle very gingerly a distance from the house then set it on the ground and used a stick to turn it <i>upsidedown.</i> Cheryl jiggled the tang to stop it from hanging up, and from that side everything that had been down was now up and the tang released itself and the doors all fell open (by un-gravity?) and the snake, just as relieved as we were, went racing out of there, and we never saw it again.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-NsdTPVIF_h2UWzc_R178Y93uCwaPRLvdwC2IqdHfp9AVH11SP2qvtV1HAXM7FEDafGmyaZ7NVNlDNU3IXPPQp0mTxlypB_Gv4FxS6-zed80GFYpHJSNeBKpwb7SGagguHp33PPmhzI/s2931/IMG_6179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="2931" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-NsdTPVIF_h2UWzc_R178Y93uCwaPRLvdwC2IqdHfp9AVH11SP2qvtV1HAXM7FEDafGmyaZ7NVNlDNU3IXPPQp0mTxlypB_Gv4FxS6-zed80GFYpHJSNeBKpwb7SGagguHp33PPmhzI/s320/IMG_6179.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-25758615075082074322021-09-25T10:16:00.000-05:002021-09-25T10:16:29.641-05:00Post Script<p> In the blog I just sent I showed some pictures of a Tarantula Hawk carrying a paralyzed Tarantula to a spot where it was going to put an egg on it then bury it in a pre-prepared hole. This battle between these mighty opposites, I am sure, has been going on for millions of years, the fiercest wasp, the largest spider. Cheryl and I were lucky to see this dramatic action that very few people have seen, and after I sent the blog I was afraid I had not done it justice, the pictures had not given it sufficient strength and, I think, beauty.</p><p>I think perhaps I just didn't make the pictures large enough. Let me try again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0OteOPB1GNkdmHvQnKWuIAoScn8lOpSnVIRTsiEJl-d3sbhhruXCESfzJu-eYRGJzSNZwIWs4oysVtJDMP5pFOhIjCEzt4BRfKGVy4W5C6JAYPu7TAIq9i7WhfsXb3RBnnxxdiag1B4/s2048/IMG_1756+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1721" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0OteOPB1GNkdmHvQnKWuIAoScn8lOpSnVIRTsiEJl-d3sbhhruXCESfzJu-eYRGJzSNZwIWs4oysVtJDMP5pFOhIjCEzt4BRfKGVy4W5C6JAYPu7TAIq9i7WhfsXb3RBnnxxdiag1B4/s320/IMG_1756+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3lyBAnLohZxFWHEzHV5DExTviYoGBXusgWiV4gVNWXhVybePmzB9Daf0vMPgOFgubbonvpaj8UtoxbZi5sLUocFIlmBZ_-scEDIA0vcejn4kw6IBIcTw3yuCBv82zWvAks_T-7Z6LD0/s2048/IMG_1764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1700" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3lyBAnLohZxFWHEzHV5DExTviYoGBXusgWiV4gVNWXhVybePmzB9Daf0vMPgOFgubbonvpaj8UtoxbZi5sLUocFIlmBZ_-scEDIA0vcejn4kw6IBIcTw3yuCBv82zWvAks_T-7Z6LD0/s320/IMG_1764.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8Bq8-WrQH5Cb9jIni65y_hAmt-T1hdE2gj5u84b_VC9lP2fu8VK5ce01qvZULBLTWwFVR_Dr4o8kO7ZKBqkJE_txaIyp4PLEfRAGnsstZACg6GkOMCrJRBE-c4MP2g1Ot0MWmWmjmvg/s2048/IMG_1770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1591" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8Bq8-WrQH5Cb9jIni65y_hAmt-T1hdE2gj5u84b_VC9lP2fu8VK5ce01qvZULBLTWwFVR_Dr4o8kO7ZKBqkJE_txaIyp4PLEfRAGnsstZACg6GkOMCrJRBE-c4MP2g1Ot0MWmWmjmvg/s320/IMG_1770.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-54053905783335384972021-09-24T13:36:00.000-05:002021-09-24T13:36:10.808-05:00Tarantula and its Nemesis<p>Not long after we moved into our house in the desert (this is two or three years ago now), we were sitting in our breakfast room looking out over our backyard when Cheryl saw a commotion about sixty feet away and said, "There's a tarantula and a wasp fighting."</p><p>We had been eating our lunch, but without saying another word we dropped our silverware, grabbed our cameras, and tore out of the house. This was entirely reasonable behavior for people like us who were heavily into nature photography. What Cheryl with her brief sentence had described was a Tarantula Hawk, a large and ferocious wasp with the most painful sting of any wasp in the country, which was in the act of attacking a tarantula. This creature hunts down tarantulas, stabs them into paralysis, then lays an egg on them so that the larval wasp can feast on its still living flesh. Photographing the battles between these formidable creatures is one of a nature photographer's holy grails and there it was right outside the door.</p><p>Well, yesterday history seemed to be repeating itself. I was looking out the same window at almost exactly the same place, and I could pick out the bright red wings of a Tarantula Hawk, and when I put my binoculars on it I could see that it was rolling over the limp body of a tarantula. It had already paralyzed its prey and was carrying it back to its pre-dug hole (you can see the hole behind it that it is backing into) to bury it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHj5pXbptbzCBA-_cTPYsWCd5Sn9guP2tWwMvhveVfZNQcGGqWPOOAHNe0J8Wg4ZolQJhxF-tW1evcwzm6-tOyNQ_x7mEZG27Hnfn7WVXzwPR3WmU2RECkEwVPklIhTwBp30xVlXQ8wYk/s2048/IMG_1764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1700" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHj5pXbptbzCBA-_cTPYsWCd5Sn9guP2tWwMvhveVfZNQcGGqWPOOAHNe0J8Wg4ZolQJhxF-tW1evcwzm6-tOyNQ_x7mEZG27Hnfn7WVXzwPR3WmU2RECkEwVPklIhTwBp30xVlXQ8wYk/s320/IMG_1764.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The first thing it did was crawl down inside its hole, and try to pull the spider under, but the spider wouldn't fit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnz0vQ5s49wInao8lVzP0iGl9q4v4zNXZrPCUQyROUbjsIRqhU7V7-EkSNyABIdW9wdz9tCUVDIF4flfMgvxetm_cLoJIHSIGKk9aez6F4V63wOzk0ZDsjNbrAxElPmd3PiI7ek4mhIQ/s2048/IMG_1757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1886" data-original-width="2048" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjnz0vQ5s49wInao8lVzP0iGl9q4v4zNXZrPCUQyROUbjsIRqhU7V7-EkSNyABIdW9wdz9tCUVDIF4flfMgvxetm_cLoJIHSIGKk9aez6F4V63wOzk0ZDsjNbrAxElPmd3PiI7ek4mhIQ/s320/IMG_1757.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>So it came back up and got another grip.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjY_6ChyphenhyphenFNgY9X7a5uGCiiIt2NRse9fs-Vq-j4ncyzxMjVoFgYJWtRjLrtUX15giL4x5QrM_Lbh8hEcTNAyiZrsUJLLdPiYTWBLd5c6SwSMqFzDgvpJL7sghdKhOC8OZVRas937z2UmSs/s2048/IMG_1770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1591" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjY_6ChyphenhyphenFNgY9X7a5uGCiiIt2NRse9fs-Vq-j4ncyzxMjVoFgYJWtRjLrtUX15giL4x5QrM_Lbh8hEcTNAyiZrsUJLLdPiYTWBLd5c6SwSMqFzDgvpJL7sghdKhOC8OZVRas937z2UmSs/s320/IMG_1770.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Now it's got a better grip and it is trying again to pull it down into the hole (on top of its head.).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjg5Rwr7cL4dQmOs-1CRzPT2cr9vj9JZd2OBSjeb1AmBMD6I1WPHVwRqG3OGKFC6igdcb9tvc0Hr9Y2LLoDKU-LBeJx3-hoNI4N2tds0LIDRnkJldgI_W7O1nfKwZi5aVsRFXT-RXv5qg/s2048/IMG_1771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1655" data-original-width="2048" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjg5Rwr7cL4dQmOs-1CRzPT2cr9vj9JZd2OBSjeb1AmBMD6I1WPHVwRqG3OGKFC6igdcb9tvc0Hr9Y2LLoDKU-LBeJx3-hoNI4N2tds0LIDRnkJldgI_W7O1nfKwZi5aVsRFXT-RXv5qg/s320/IMG_1771.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>And now it is gone.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rsplzcPbZ8CMFjKxK_rCnamP3f6zX6_UA2wtwO-bpIGlOjDuEII0adHXkHpW0d9Ox-fu5NyTqzFXHL6BqnhX0Jh2BNDw3nOzMA8XfwGQ9f8ab4pP6pZxzxVgH62jNT76M_XJgVojim0/s2048/IMG_1773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1593" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rsplzcPbZ8CMFjKxK_rCnamP3f6zX6_UA2wtwO-bpIGlOjDuEII0adHXkHpW0d9Ox-fu5NyTqzFXHL6BqnhX0Jh2BNDw3nOzMA8XfwGQ9f8ab4pP6pZxzxVgH62jNT76M_XJgVojim0/s320/IMG_1773.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The larval wasp will continue developing inside the tarantula's body while the wasp mother flies off to find another tarantula, to repeat the whole process.<br /></p><br /><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-22214681591332850762021-09-11T12:08:00.000-05:002021-09-11T12:08:14.853-05:00What is happening around here<p>Well, what is the most fun right now continues to be our bats. We have four hummingbird feeders hanging along the front of our porch which we have freshly topped up with sugar water. About 7:00 in the evening it is completely dark, and we turn on the porch light, a weak light but strong enough to illuminate the activity. Suddenly the bats are coming in waves, and when we go outside these sturdy little creatures seem like they are barely missing our heads. We try to estimate how many we have, but they are coming so fast, appearing out of and disappearing into the darkness, it is impossible, but we think at times we have seen up to ten at once.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJMaMUkUIPbRBeXYUMTJ3jPGBeotLQCsCSyOQ-WELRhnyvVJ-XDb51wJtIkXU9HXLtnyMt2JuPZfViwJtZuRZOCr1LiEn3xtzxYV75HQ96VICnJIdjcUhvgLhoJhtdTuCXCeFtVyOtjM/s2048/IMG_1642.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJMaMUkUIPbRBeXYUMTJ3jPGBeotLQCsCSyOQ-WELRhnyvVJ-XDb51wJtIkXU9HXLtnyMt2JuPZfViwJtZuRZOCr1LiEn3xtzxYV75HQ96VICnJIdjcUhvgLhoJhtdTuCXCeFtVyOtjM/w400-h266/IMG_1642.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7whllcyDe5gJdi7ajzNecv_e0EAqu_UI2EroeC43EQr4eQSe3lKhHOhS_ncEMryjh478vHHQafijPjMi3DhDr3w16L5_yyP1vby5mugAS1cbQhfl7QTyZSC_w9UUvenMV6Szz-lfvfPo/s1280/P1010405.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="1280" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7whllcyDe5gJdi7ajzNecv_e0EAqu_UI2EroeC43EQr4eQSe3lKhHOhS_ncEMryjh478vHHQafijPjMi3DhDr3w16L5_yyP1vby5mugAS1cbQhfl7QTyZSC_w9UUvenMV6Szz-lfvfPo/w640-h254/P1010405.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p> These are Mexican Long-tongued Bats visiting us at this time of year from farther south. They are not the bats that use echo-locating to catch insects in flight; these are nectar-drinking bats, designed for drinking from flowering cacti, but if hummingbird-lovers want to set out sweets for them that's okay with them too. It's true many people are exasperated when they get up in the morning and find all their hummingbird feeders have been robbed and are totally empty, but we try to re-educate those people to show them how much fun the robbers themselves can be. We and our guests often sit out on the porch on a cool evening to watch them for an hour or so. And fair play, they do feed from flowers too. Here's a picture of one showing its long tongue, and notice its fur is yellow from pollen, from the flowers it has rubbed up against.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sW6p3FqOqFoM6TzEYq0YgUahX1G8icqcgkuZulxvZC76TwtJKH50Y0Bhx7JElCEC6bAXXOMTN0xU92vlgVl5xiO5agW8C5voRgG9SpNLGxRIrsV7uTDX-DsEK9M_OTfIQi-2T1wn6O0/s2048/IMG_1643.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1749" data-original-width="2048" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sW6p3FqOqFoM6TzEYq0YgUahX1G8icqcgkuZulxvZC76TwtJKH50Y0Bhx7JElCEC6bAXXOMTN0xU92vlgVl5xiO5agW8C5voRgG9SpNLGxRIrsV7uTDX-DsEK9M_OTfIQi-2T1wn6O0/s320/IMG_1643.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The second event here for the last few weeks, more on the exasperating side, less on the entertaining, is that this is a "Snout year." Snouts (see Cheryl's photo) are small rather drab butterflies whose only distinguishing features are long extended palps (like snouts) that still would scarcely make them noticeable if it wasn't for their propensity to explode their population, often into millions in a small area. That is exactly what is happening right now, which is making people who drive above twenty miles an hour on narrow rural roads feel like mass murderers, the movement of the car stirring up a tide-line of corpses. If you walk by a bush which for some reason is attractive to them you can slap it and they will fly up in clouds. At its peak one day we looked up into an open stretch of sky and it was filled with butterflies from top to bottom, all traveling in one direction. I had often read about snout years; this is the first I have witnessed.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnj_CuE0CnupYrbJkZCmYScKEsgcTcd7SVUgxcjKxv8ruVWqIRsTG9_31-5oPwU3u2WVukBTReoj_5rBF-2sTHH2GeyEV9HrJ1i8X8MXmlE9qun6s915kU_4H36YM4B8jz95denrFZlE/s1280/American+snout.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnj_CuE0CnupYrbJkZCmYScKEsgcTcd7SVUgxcjKxv8ruVWqIRsTG9_31-5oPwU3u2WVukBTReoj_5rBF-2sTHH2GeyEV9HrJ1i8X8MXmlE9qun6s915kU_4H36YM4B8jz95denrFZlE/s320/American+snout.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>The third event, and you have to live right for this one, you can sit at your breakfast nook table looking through the window to the porch where a very handsome young bobcat is standing about six or seven feet away, paying no attention to you.</p><p> </p><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj76JPouByyhAkk1XJA03d7QYT8qK5C0DtSRZn5iLzo9z8pxolJMzPJdaB7tKsQRx9LTnsfwnkP8jyRIV3Tot-euWWOYZynSmi2NGN1qTXJSh0ARv-Wmy_IyIhY_nTNvb4SNUEzr1jCdE/s2048/IMG_1691.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="2048" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj76JPouByyhAkk1XJA03d7QYT8qK5C0DtSRZn5iLzo9z8pxolJMzPJdaB7tKsQRx9LTnsfwnkP8jyRIV3Tot-euWWOYZynSmi2NGN1qTXJSh0ARv-Wmy_IyIhY_nTNvb4SNUEzr1jCdE/w483-h343/IMG_1691.jpg" width="483" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br />Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-63298358762540704602021-09-01T19:06:00.000-05:002021-09-01T19:06:38.313-05:00The Porch at night #3<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well. here we are, trying once more to write a blog about the bats, and instead writing about every other thing on the porch. I was explaining all the tricks I needed to use to get even a not-very-good picture of a fast-moving bat in the dark. And in the meantime Cheryl walked up to the hummingbird feeder, held up her camera, went click quick, and look at these amazing pictures, the best I have ever seen of these creatures in the act of feeding.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzByEki0ud5fi2cNR_cTN4GDdRXMHVv_erWVCMfguwcQV_3_f-ul9qOKsLdhHM8oaoubY6Br7P_UBaXKdMllRID0YFixVuLv4x3U1g-fSTWEOaGdkLugcshQHQPUxRfrQ6sA-vpe1KyCw/s1280/P1010238.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzByEki0ud5fi2cNR_cTN4GDdRXMHVv_erWVCMfguwcQV_3_f-ul9qOKsLdhHM8oaoubY6Br7P_UBaXKdMllRID0YFixVuLv4x3U1g-fSTWEOaGdkLugcshQHQPUxRfrQ6sA-vpe1KyCw/w398-h299/P1010238.jpeg" width="398" /> </a><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7ABSyNZF6c_3pynSpC6iUODSPnSophdBcbpcx0KpvWxVcMGmePtaZbXZcm2c0hETjiICpGqhLsb0UXy2jiOWsyU6FBhK18JuCVcYhcI37JUNsyiJ4yeZ1zAowa0jEWqNZ1WMN_XSrDk/s1280/P1010260.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7ABSyNZF6c_3pynSpC6iUODSPnSophdBcbpcx0KpvWxVcMGmePtaZbXZcm2c0hETjiICpGqhLsb0UXy2jiOWsyU6FBhK18JuCVcYhcI37JUNsyiJ4yeZ1zAowa0jEWqNZ1WMN_XSrDk/w400-h300/P1010260.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYwjLQ9mkasEeSCa1N_dtXpz51I_-3w1yAHiRTNQkFwwAwiZomTWjDKOuV4GSV8P9PfLvcfYFApG72rFJBgZx79P3MBGYnovpyIeB4CZVGGaa5mEmU7V9fM5-3acQ-M5uAyKYlosT9YI/s1280/P1010260+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1219" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYwjLQ9mkasEeSCa1N_dtXpz51I_-3w1yAHiRTNQkFwwAwiZomTWjDKOuV4GSV8P9PfLvcfYFApG72rFJBgZx79P3MBGYnovpyIeB4CZVGGaa5mEmU7V9fM5-3acQ-M5uAyKYlosT9YI/w381-h400/P1010260+%25281%2529.jpeg" width="381" /></a></div><br /></div></div>I had wanted for a long time to write about pack rats, because they are so astonishing, and next the long-tongued bats, because <i>they</i> are so astonishing. Now I've finally done something on both of them. I almost feel like retiring, except I know I am sure to discover something else astonishing.<br /><p></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5599718143523312204.post-13990432728862854712021-08-31T17:32:00.000-05:002021-08-31T17:32:12.799-05:00Our Porch at Night (part two)<p>In the previous blog (Our Porch at Night [part one]) I was talking about our bats, and how we entertained dinner guests and ourselves sitting in the window that gave onto our porch with the outside light on, watching the bats streaking by emptying our hummingbird feeders. It looked like a close-in bombing raid, in a sinister way rather like the attack on Pearl Harbor, especially with the distant thunder rumbling. I had always wanted to get a good photo of these bats in flight, though it seemed impossible, but I made some progress this time, and I will make another try tonight.</p><p>But what I'm writing about here is that once we came outside in the dark to try to photo the bats, we were quite astonished at the variety of life we found on the porch. We took our big flashlight and flashed it against the back of the porch, in other words, the outer wall of our house, and the first thing we saw was a red-spotted toad, unexpected so far from any water. And right next to it, not unexpected, but certainly<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx1oBTIFoE74Yfu_KXd59UMBX1mxg1PbH4UJ8nl299yRVvW8eGwSkbXzldMhraqVNsGHuyZU_nOiVwvdzUW74Bdm_cnXKnUKl73dRujWHqL8ja1a5GfX6l0MHstk9OatpY-Mvbfyoghg/s2048/IMG_1225.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="2048" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx1oBTIFoE74Yfu_KXd59UMBX1mxg1PbH4UJ8nl299yRVvW8eGwSkbXzldMhraqVNsGHuyZU_nOiVwvdzUW74Bdm_cnXKnUKl73dRujWHqL8ja1a5GfX6l0MHstk9OatpY-Mvbfyoghg/s320/IMG_1225.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p> making us take notice, was a Bark Scorpion, the most venomous of the scorpions. It's true I kept one briefly as a pet, but that was contained within an aquarium, not wandering free to climb into our shoes before we put them on in the morning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtuujYqaUwH6Gj5HspEcrm066SykAq-H-DvzwdzDgLk24z67uijAZcnCuNTsV57LAXi9c3Xb7lkPjKyHNRzc_MHsHBHA4CcnHw6jZR9iLCh2k8fzmQYG252HZAQXnyf_Uss9Ut15dGmY/s2048/IMG_1224.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="2048" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtuujYqaUwH6Gj5HspEcrm066SykAq-H-DvzwdzDgLk24z67uijAZcnCuNTsV57LAXi9c3Xb7lkPjKyHNRzc_MHsHBHA4CcnHw6jZR9iLCh2k8fzmQYG252HZAQXnyf_Uss9Ut15dGmY/s320/IMG_1224.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Next was a Mediterranean Gecko, not a surprise, as they must be in everybody's home in Tucson, but usually this introduced species is found inside the house. These exotic creatures are always welcome.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfioii4uMCCc6rj_spqAhSvc5KuUwKVUBEzBtzDLKqEqECF9oAqnuT6fbSgFBUTEBCuSrbxcb55LYQorBOKCnKYDEcgV2swJ3zWhkWD1eOhKiPzFZQUakxH0QTjsD1AM8Jbm-SrhNbEm8/s2048/IMG_1226.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1444" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfioii4uMCCc6rj_spqAhSvc5KuUwKVUBEzBtzDLKqEqECF9oAqnuT6fbSgFBUTEBCuSrbxcb55LYQorBOKCnKYDEcgV2swJ3zWhkWD1eOhKiPzFZQUakxH0QTjsD1AM8Jbm-SrhNbEm8/s320/IMG_1226.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br /><p>Most fun was to find the porch was teeming with Pocket Mice. These tiny creatures resemble miniature Kangaroo Rats. In fact I believe they also, at least occasionally. walk upright on their hind legs.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6Bsjfn0b6sTjdrQrBfK5PBPuCZ2VMzX4Kds4VU4RoRVrYSZTE1mJ7f8htVbcYSXX5AcCHLG5ygGBeK-f-FTPrETxNiZ3F_573K2nsn2kqhHW5fvFmh8TOVChK0JfFFEH9saNDTJ9c5A/s2048/IMG_1227.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1683" data-original-width="2048" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6Bsjfn0b6sTjdrQrBfK5PBPuCZ2VMzX4Kds4VU4RoRVrYSZTE1mJ7f8htVbcYSXX5AcCHLG5ygGBeK-f-FTPrETxNiZ3F_573K2nsn2kqhHW5fvFmh8TOVChK0JfFFEH9saNDTJ9c5A/s320/IMG_1227.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>And finally, and most dramatic, an enormous jet-black tarantula.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXY3WbYieWsBBvUWzv8MNV1-NhkAgkspEcPgrpx8l2OvA2XzS4NXXm2-YmIwTLmUz2DtFpcCs-iybH9I_ddXj9Jd13xhhvfKSl8GzTwZ5RbrazzCc7pgyoLNkptX3EtQ22GYq0wuscrV8/s1989/IMG_1264.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1845" data-original-width="1989" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXY3WbYieWsBBvUWzv8MNV1-NhkAgkspEcPgrpx8l2OvA2XzS4NXXm2-YmIwTLmUz2DtFpcCs-iybH9I_ddXj9Jd13xhhvfKSl8GzTwZ5RbrazzCc7pgyoLNkptX3EtQ22GYq0wuscrV8/s320/IMG_1264.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>During the day the porch is generally inhabited by more "normal" creatures, round-tailed ground squirrels, three or four species of lizards, two or three dozen species of birds, an unending line of harvester ants, an occasional rattlesnake, most of these attracted by the meal worms we throw out, and the hummingbird feeders we refill after the bats have emptied them.</p><p>And at the very moment I wrote these words about the daytime inhabitants of the porch, a brand new species appeared there for the first time. We saw what we thought was a large swallowtail butterfly out the window, and, looking to identify which swallowtail it was, we could see it was dark with almost no visible markings. We grabbed our cameras and rushed outside and saw it wasn't a butterfly at all, it was an enormous moth: a Black Witch. In our experience, these big day-flying moths appear out of nowhere, can be seen in the yard for a few days usually flying at tree-height, than go on their way, enwrapped in the mystery their name suggests.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDugB5q8GW4GnpuKt73dL_waO7qN9UnxjrHjAoUGG5tEg48Qu3YHXwRV1s28RMG3J_ddlvyS-5z_JAX_wJACu47_lbvhVi_1IHuAdMRO378AUe0M87XUEuTXoqx7vVhdGHcOELw2qLnHE/s2048/IMG_1278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1486" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDugB5q8GW4GnpuKt73dL_waO7qN9UnxjrHjAoUGG5tEg48Qu3YHXwRV1s28RMG3J_ddlvyS-5z_JAX_wJACu47_lbvhVi_1IHuAdMRO378AUe0M87XUEuTXoqx7vVhdGHcOELw2qLnHE/s320/IMG_1278.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Norman Lavershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03858392619661363160noreply@blogger.com0