We have had a true Monsoon week with thunder and lightning storms every few nights and an abundance of rain. Thanks to the rain, we have cactus blooming again in beautiful pinkish red.
Here are a few photos of the buds and blossoms:
Then of course there’s my bird buddy Red:
Red with a mouthful of millet.
Red found a new perch, a little table next to a covered chaise lounge.
Size: They measure 11 to 12.5 inches (28 to 32 cm) in length, possess a wingspan of 19 to 23 inches (48 to 58 cm), and weigh between 4.5 and 6.5 ounces (125 to 187 grams).
White-winged Doves are very common birds in our backyard. The Mourning Doves outnumber them, but White-winged Doves are a close second. Their coloring is either brownish or gray. They have very noticable white tipped wings, bright blue eye-shadow and bright orange or red eyes. When they are in flight, their white wings are more prominent.
Diet: They are frequent visitors to our bird feeder and eat sunflower seeds and millet. In the wild, they eat seeds from desert willows, ocotillo, agave, as well as cacti fruit. They can fly up to 25 miles in the Sonoran Desert to look for water, plus get moisture from Saguaro cactus fruits.
Range: White-winged Doves have been seen as far north as Alaska, Maine and Ontario Canada, but are mostly found in the Southwest.
A White-winged Dove in our backyard tree.
Nesting: A female finds a location to build a nest such in vines, in thick desert brush, a clump of cactus or a tree limb. She builds a nest out of sticks that the male bird will bring to her. They are known to use their nest from a prior year, or they will reuse a nest from another bird. They are not monogamous for life, but more likely to stay together for breeding season.
This is how I’m packaging my cards. However, my folded cards have not arrived yet. This is my first trial run that turned out with the photo on the front and blank on the back. I hope to have my first folded cards in a day or two. Then if I’m happy with them, I’ll order more including Mrs., Poppa Quail and Roadrunner.
I’ve been working on a website, ordered business cards and each day I find a little something I want to change or improve.
Then it dawned on my that I will be visiting my son this week and he has skills and talent to review and improve my projects. How great is that? I asked him for help and he said he’d love to. Also, while we are in the Bay Area, he and his wife are treating me to a day in the North Bay — to visit Sonoma and a quaint town I’ve never been to before.
Another treat is staying at my favorite hotel and taking the kids to Chez Panisse.
I’ve made the executive decision to continue working on this card project, but it’s not going live until our summer vacations are over. I won’t be here to get delivery of cards or do fulfillment if I happen to get any orders. So, I’ll keep working on getting things just right.
A Harris’s Hawk landed in a tree in our backyard. We haven’t had one stop by for months, although I see them soaring overhead. I could hear his call and I spent a bit of time trying to spot him behind branches. The link is to a Youtube video of Harris’s hawks in flight with their sounds. I wouldn’t want to mess with those claws or beak!
This is a compilation of my favorite photos that I took this week.
Papa quail shares the birdseed block with a few of his babies.
A White-winged Dove perches on a flamingo buddy.
Bully bird Curve-billed Thrasher lands on the cactus statue before scaring everyone away from the birdseed block.
An adult House Finch feeds it’s juvenile.
Red watches over the rain meter during a Monsoon week.
House Sparrows are one of the most common birds we have. Their success in the wild is a result of their close relationship to humans. They are found in backyards, cities and throughout North America and most parts of the world. The House Sparrow was introduced in Brooklyn, New York in 1851. By 1900 they spread to the Rocky Mountains. They originated in Eurasia and North Africa.
Here’s a map of their range in North and South America:
This is a female House Sparrow on the birdseed block.
They are a small bird that has an average length of 16 cm and a mass of 24–39.5 g. Females and young sparrows are pale brown and grey, while males have brighter black, white, and brown markings.
They eat mostly seeds but will also eat insects as well as left over fast food from people or bread crumbs.
A House Sparrow visiting our birdbath.
They nest in manmade objects like eaves of houses, light boxes and planters. They also take over other birds nests in trees. A typical clutch size is three to four eggs and they may have several broods per year.
Three male sparrows splashing in the bird bath. House Sparrows are my most frequent visitors to the bird bath.
Plus, we had guests over that I was so excited to see. One of our kids’ friends from club swimming in Palm Springs who lives in Tempe with her husband and six-month old first born baby! We made lunch and they played in the pool.
I also managed to get a few captures of bird photos that I like.
A Roadrunner darted about chasing quail. This clever guy hid himself in a planter at the far end of the yard with only his head showing. He’d jump out “Beep beep!” and go for the chase. Fortunately, he didn’t have success.
Curve-billed Thrasher with fuzzy feathers make me believe he’s a youngster.
This Abert’s Towhee juvenile explored a planter.
More juvies looking for trouble!
A Gila Woodpecker up in the tree surveying the quail spectacle below.
This grown up Curve-billed Thrasher was keeping an eye out for the young one.
Mrs. and Red hung out in the morning before it got too hot!
This is my first card, second attempt. I’m using the app Canva. I was so excited to receive my first test order of “Red cards” yesterday. But there was something wrong. My excitement soon turned to disappointment.
I thought I had created a folded card with Red’s photo on the front, my logo on the back and blank inside so people can write a personal message. What came in the mail was this:
A flat two-sided card that was blank on the back. No logo. No fold. Not what I thought I had created.
I used Canva AI to help with the layout to make sure I had the pages set up correctly. According to AI, it was ready to go and AI even complimented me on my card!
After delivery, I immediately went to Canva’s website to complain that my cards weren’t printed correctly. Customer service was through a chatbot. What a world we live in! No human beings around. The bot told me that I had selected “Cards” when I should have selected “Folded Cards.” I asked where to find it and was told “Go to Home, click on Print Shop, click on Folded Cards.”
But of course. Silly me. Why didn’t I think of that. Instead, I clicked on Templates. Ugh.
Canva was kind enough to give me an instant refund. After finding “Folded Cards,” I was able to recreate the card properly (I hope) and ordered another small test run. (See first photo above.)
In the meantime, while I wait to inspect round two of test cards, I got my business license, I ordered business cards (with my license number) and I’m creating more cards.
One of my graphic designer friends who encouraged me in this project said, “Next comes your website!”
I’ve tried to stay away from AI, but it pops up everywhere.
Are you finding more and more AI in your daily life? Where and do you use it?
Do you have any suggestions for an easy website app that’s not WP?
