Now that I’m back home and have my camera, I’ve been taking photos when something interesting pops up in my backyard. From my cardinal couple, quail, finches and roadrunner, there’s been lots of action. Throw in a few chipmunks and I’ve taken a lot of pictures!
I’m impressed with this chipmunk’s balance on two legs.
I think this sweet bird is a female house finch?
This roadrunner actually laid down in our yard, waiting for prey. He had his eye on the chipmunk but left without any luck.
Mrs. staring at me taking while I took her picture.
Red found himself fending off quail to get a bite of birdseed.
Another shot of the roadrunner. Isn’t he beautiful?
Do you have a favorite of my backyard buddy pics? If so, which one?
This beauty is a Western Tanager. I’ve seen them a few times, but I haven’t been able to get a photo until this weekend. He stopped by to drink from our bird bath.
I love the way the light goes through the Cottontail’s ears. We have an abundance of bunnies this year all around the neighborhood.
This Roadrunner loves our planter that has water in it. So do bunnies and doves. I spotted the roadrunner in the tree outside the casita, but as I reached for my camera, he flew down and ran through the fence. Then I spotted him in a tree outside the fence in the wash. But I couldn’t get a good view of him. I was thrilled to spot him back in the yard. I got a second chance at photos!
No day is complete without a few Red sightings. He sang his heart out up in our tree!
I have a busier than normal week ahead. Physical therapy, an HOA board meeting to attend for my newsletter, friends in town, a wedding in Northern California in a Redwood Forest. After getting used to a quiet, healing pace, I’m trying not to get too stressed out!
Do you have a slow or busy week ahead? What activities do you have planned?
Yesterday I got some new photos of Red. He seems to have made friends with my Costco pink flamingo. But every time I’ve tried to get his photo, he flies away. Yesterday I was successful.
Red’s been super friendly. He’s no longer ignoring me like he did when I was on the knee scooter, walker or wearing the boot. I must have looked pretty scary to such a tiny guy. Now when I go outside, I hear him singing. I took the trash out and he landed a few feet away from me on the wall. I just went to our backyard to go in the pool, and he landed in the tree above our chairs, singing his heart out.
Earlier yesterday, I saw him land on a rock on the backyard. I think he was waiting for me to feed him. I opened the casita door and he flew high into the tree.
I called out to him, “Hey Red!” in a chirpy voice. I put out some “Cardinal Seed Mix” and he didn’t fly away. I was able to get some more photos while he munched. Mrs. came and joined him, but she stayed in the shade and her photos were too dark to fix with Photoshop.
One of my lunch bunch friends who I worked with 30 years ago in Palm Springs asked why Red always faces left. I hadn’t noticed, but she’s a graphic designer and probably more in tune to things like that than I am.
I’m learning Photoshop for my photography workshop that starts in the fall. So I used PS to flip Red to the right!
A few more visitors this week:
A Desert Spiny Lizard doing pushups on the rock.
A Harris’s Hawk landed on the fence yesterday. I pounded on the window to get him to take off. I really wanted a photo of him in flight. But no luck!
I snapped this photo of Red in a tree. I’m happy with it, especially the background, which I have no clue how it turned out this way!
I have noticed now I’m driving myself to Physical Therapy, that the maps app on my phone doesn’t work. Yes, I know the way there, but I like to check for traffic and the best route.
Then I turned on my Hallow App for the drive — and guess what? It didn’t work either!
My phone kept trying to connect with the car. Too much tech for me. So I turned off WiFi on my phone and thought it would use cellular data — and I’d get maps and Hallow. No luck. My phone is a brick when I leave the comforts of home.
Yesterday morning I left the house for a walk, listening to a podcast and the phone went dead once I was out of home WiFi range. I went through settings a million times and finally noticed my SIM was turned off. I entered what I thought was my SIM code. Next message said SIM locked. Enter PUK. What? What’s a PUK?
I called the customer service carrier number and my call failed. My phone was worthless.
What’s a PUK?
A PUK code, or Personal Unblocking Key, is an eight-digit security code that unlocks a SIM card when the PIN has been entered incorrectly too many times.
When you set up a PIN for your SIM card, it acts as a password to protect your phone’s cellular services (calls, texts, data). If you enter the wrong PIN too many times (usually three), your SIM card will lock, and you’ll need the PUK code to unlock it. From AI Overview
I used my husband’s home office phone and got a PUK from the carrier. I reset my SIM code. So far so good. I’ll find out when I’m out and about if my phone is more than a brick. At least the camera works!
What tech issues have you had lately? Do they make you crazy too?
Chipmunks like the birdseed, too. They especially like corn.
No surprise. Red is at the top of my list. I was getting a little worried. Mrs. and Red didn’t show up for most of the week. I sent my husband to the hardware store for sunflower seeds. Their favorite. Voila! They both arrived, although separately which makes me believe there is something going on in the nest.
Mrs. made a few appearances. The sunflower seeds did the trick!
Red sharing his favorite rock with a quail. Did you notice I caught a bird in flight? It’s a blur in front of the saguaro.
A male quail keeping watch over his family. Momma and baby below the bench.
A Cactus Wren on a cactus! This is the state bird of Arizona.
What a surprise. Yesterday two cacti bloomed.
Aren’t these gorgeous flowers?
This cactus is next to our driveway.
I had to get photos of the flowers because they only last for a day.
We planted a few bougainvillea. This one is purple and the others are pink. I can’t wait to see how they grow throughout the years
The bougainvillea add such a nice touch of color.
One more favorite photo of Red.
Do you have a favorite photo? If so, which one is it?
Any exciting plans for the weekend? We’ll be celebrating our 40th anniversary!
Red has been hanging out on a consistent basis with Mrs. That’s a relief after he left our yard for the better part of a week. I’m still looking for little Reds, but so far we haven’t spotted any. I sit outside in the early morning cool weather and I think he likes to see me outside. I spent two full weeks without being able to venture outside. That’s when Red disappeared. My husband jumps in the pool in the evenings and said Red flys into a tree overhead and watches and sings.
I’m waiting for the day I get cleared to get in the pool!
Red is my favorite model to photograph, so I’m glad he’s back hanging out in our yard!
This photo of Red and a sparrow make me think of Bonnie Raitt’s song “Something to Talk About.”
Then there’s Mrs. full of spunk.
Here’s Red across the yard on the yellow planter.
This photo surprised me because I noticed the quail but not the lizard when I took it.
Here’s Bonnie Raitt’s song “Something to Talk About.” I’m laughing to myself remembering when she won her 2023 Grammy for “Just Like That” and a headline read: “Shock as Unknown Blues Singer Wins Song of the Year!”
