Tag Archives: Red

Friday Flora

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Happy Friday! I was excited to see a few plants in bloom. Because it’s so hot — it will top 100 degrees today — I had to snap photos before the blooms wilt. I was especially excited with this red bottlebrush that was attracting multiple bees.

This will be something else when all those buds bloom.

More busy bees on the bottlebrush!

On another note, I was scheduled for a colonoscopy Monday. I had a referral from my primary to a specialist. When I made the appointment, I asked the scheduler about prep. I’ve done this before and there’s more to it than just showing up for the appointment. She said she’d text me the instructions. Well, I was texted the name of the doctor, address and phone number.

I tried unsuccessfully to send a message through their patient portal. It asked for an office location from a drop down menu that said “no location found.” Without that field, I couldn’t send the message.

Since it’s fast approaching my appointment, I called and left a detailed message explaining I never received any instructions for colonoscopy prep. I got a call back. I learned that I was scheduled for a consultation PRIOR to the colonoscopy. I asked why did I need a separate appointment since I my referral spells out the procedure requested by my primary. Consultation cancelled. Waiting for my colonoscopy date in April. Medicine these days!

Here’s the bottlebrush bush from a few steps back. I can’t wait to see this in full bloom!

And a photo of Red to go with the red bottlebrush photos.

Have a great weekend! What are your plans?

Wild Kingdom

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I was sitting at my little table in the casita working on taxes when I glanced out the window and saw a javelina starting at me!

Then I spotted Red at the Bird Buddy.

He spotted me taking his photo. Woosh! Off he goes.

Here’s a video of the Javalina outside the fence. If you’re wondering about the birdseed on the ground, check out the next video.

A Curve-Billed Thrasher is emptying the bird feeder at a rapid speed. The quail gather below to enjoy. I wonder what Mr. Thrasher is doing? Is he rifling through the bird seed looking for grubs or bugs? He does this every time and the feeder is emptied within minutes!

Is it any wonder my taxes are not done while living in the Wild Kingdom?

What are your plans for the weekend?

Photos of My Favorite Bird Buddies and a Full Moon

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Red seems to be around every day. But the only time he sits still for a photo is when he’s at the Bird Buddy feeder! Otherwise, when I try to get his portrait, he flies away so quickly that I’m left with an empty photo.

This House Sparrow knows how to strike a pose!

Papa Quail keeps watch on his brood. It’s almost baby quail season!

A squirrel likes it when I put out a block of birdseed. They aren’t able to access the bird feeders.

Have you noticed the moon this week? I took photos of it over several days. March 3 was the day it was full.

This was taken on March 1.

A friend of mine texted me from Dubai yesterday. She and her husband were traveling for a safari in Nairobi and had a brief layover there. Which turned into four days! I told her to please let me know what they return safely to the United States! We had dinner with another couple over the weekend who were traveling to Israel this week. They have changed their itinerary and are going to Turkey instead. I think I’d rethink that trip, too.

Which photos do you like best?

Would you be comfortable traveling this week to the Middle East?

A Few More Birds

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I captured a few more bird photos that I really liked over the weekend. I like how I caught the dove in flight as it wanted to take over a spot at the bird feeder.

A house finch caught my eye in the Firestick plant. Then it flew to a cactus. I really like the background of the photos. I’m trying to focus on the overall photo rather than just the subject.

Which house finch photo do you like better?

This squirrel found a perfect spot to sit upon a rock.

I cleaned and refilled the bird bath and a mourning dove was much appreciative of my efforts.

Red is hanging out daily immediately after I fill the feeder.

I had a great visit with my daughter. My only complaint was that it was too short. The mountain passes are clear so her drive home shouldn’t be too bad. She motivated me to take better care of myself. She’s on me to ice and elevate more often — as well as continue with my PT for my ankle.

My daughter was impressed that when I go outside the birds arrive and sing. She said, “They recognize your voice! That’s amazing.”

The secret is to keep the bird feeders filled.

Here’s to a good week ahead and getting the taxes done!

Do you have a favorite photo today?

Are you in danger of the storm?

What happens when I fill the bird feeder

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When I fill the Bird Buddy feeder I sometimes spill a bit of bird seed. Then if a quail gets into the feeder, he kicks the seed down to the ground and all his buddies show up.

I mentioned this in a comment to blogger Edward Ortiz and he said he’d like me to post a video of it in action. I finally got a quail to cooperate and jump in the feeder and kick the seed out. As you can see from the photo above the buddies were more than happy to show up for their part. If you want to read some insightful, well written pieces about leadership, history, religion, and current events — check out his blog.

It’s not the best video, you mostly see his topnot bouncing around. But if you wait he’s gives a good kick on the birdseed. It’s interesting that the quail on the ground often use their feet to scratch and look for more food.

Red isn’t one to kick birdseed to the ground — or share!

I’ve got a busy week ahead with some long days. I hope I have the energy! I’m looking forward to Friday when our daughter visits from Berkeley!

What’s on your agenda for the week?

We Got Pink Slipped — Again!

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Not only did we get our second violation, the City of Scottsdale recycling cop came in person and knocked on our door to talk to us.

I wrote about our first offense and our bad, bad neighborhood along with coyotes HERE.

This time we were told we have one more chance at recycling. If we have three strikes we are OUT! The recycling police will take our bin away and we will put everything in the regular trash bin. This time it was plastic bags from the grocery store. I always thought they were supposed to be recycled, so I learned something new. I’m super careful about what gets recycled and break down all the boxes from Amazon that seem to be flowing freely to our house daily. It was a shock to get an in person visit.

On my small walk yesterday, I saw a neighbor had a pink slip on their recycling bin. I wanted to take a peek at what offense they had committed. I walked over to the bin to see what their pink slip said but my husband thought I was being nosy and objected.

On a brighter note, look at how the Christmas Cactus bloom I posted Wednesday looks today!

Here are a couple nature shots I took this week:

Mourning Doves at the bird bath.

The squirrels eat the blossoms on the barrel cactus.

Here’s looking at you, Red!

Have a great weekend! What are your plans for this second weekend of February?

Gilded Flickers, Gila Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves and Red

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This video from my new Bird Buddy feeder begins with a female Gilded Flicker. Then a male, with the red markings on his face, takes over. I see Gila Woodpeckers more than these larger woodpeckers. The flickers have spots while the Gila Woodpeckers have similar colors but a black and white pattern on their backs.

The new Bird Buddy has a longer battery life than my old one. I do have them both up and running, but I have to charge the older one more often — which I did yesterday. The birds seem to prefer the new feeder or maybe it’s the placement? I turned the feeder around because I was getting photos of my neighbor’s house. I don’t know the neighbors to the left of us, but somehow I doubt they’d want me making videos of their yard and posting them on my blog!

This video captures a Gila Woodpecker so you can compare it with the Gilded Flickers above. There are also House Sparrows and Mourning Doves taking their turns. The first two videos are from the new feeder.

These battling Mourning Doves are from my first Bird Buddy feeder. You can notice a difference in the quality of the video. Or maybe the camera needs to be cleaned?

Since I’m in Arizona, I’m keeping track of the missing Nancy Guthrie story. I hope the family gets answers soon!

Red and Mrs.also paid a visit to the new feeder.

What are your plans for this weekend? Are you rooting for the Seahawks?