It’s a jungle out there!

Posted on September 22, 2021 by E.A. Wickham

bobcat on the patio — This precious kitty was inches from my bedroom sliding glass door.

My husband called to me from the bedroom. “The bobcat is here!”

“Where?” I asked scanning my view past the fence in the backyard.

“Right here.”

Wow. The bobcat was lounging inches away from our sliding glass door. She looked hot with mouth open breathing. But instead of panting, she was scenting her next meal. My cat Olive used to do that when scouting for birds in our backyard — before we moved to the wilds of Arizona.

I called to my sister-in-law to come into our bedroom and we stood fascinated watching our very own “animal kingdom.”

The bobcat nonchalantly grabbed a bird midair and took it behind a potted plant to munch. She climbed a tree and came down with another snack of a baby bird. Another baby bird was hopping on the patio oblivious to the danger. That life ended quickly.

The bobcat moved into the shade and fell asleep on our patio, sated with an afternoon meal.

Climbing into a tree to fetch a baby bird snack.

Arizona desert bobcat — Acting casual before catching a snack.

She looks like she owns the place!

I’m a little nervous to go outside after dark. You don’t know what’s out in those trees or under our patio furniture. It’s literally a jungle out there!

Thanks to my sister-in-law for the amazing videos.

Olive cat the barfly — Here’s Olive our wild cat who is hanging out on the bar.

Morning walk views

Posted on August 10, 2021 by E.A. Wickham

This is my last desert walk for a few weeks. I’ll be walking along a beach instead. I took a few pictures of things that caught my eye, including prickly pears and bunnies. Then it was time to take Olive in to board

This bright green ocotillo was bare and dead looking when we moved in.

The wild lilac in our yard is blooming. It’s also known as purple sage according to my plant ID app.

A few of the dozens of bunnies I saw this morning. We’ve been hearing the bobcat at night climbing up a tree out or window and on our roof.

We’ve made the first leg of our journey to visit my dad. Then it will be another day before we head to Summerland. The weather today is 104 degrees with flash flood warnings. Can’t wait for the beach!

Views of flowering cactus

Posted on June 30, 2021 by E.A. Wickham

I thought the blooms on cactus would be over. But we seem to be having another round. Living in the Sonoran Desert for the first time, I’m learning how each month or week brings new sites and new life.

Our yard is currently a mess. We had a broken pipe in the yard that formed a large pool of water. Then after that one was fixed, another one burst. So we hired our gardener to completely replace the entire system. Our yard is a criss cross applesauce mess of trenches and pipes laying everywhere. It’s been five days, it’s not done, and we are watering plants with a hose or watering can. I think I lost my gardenia plant.

My husband has gone full Bill Murray from Caddyshack. He comes in with hands and arms filled with almost invisible stickers after trying to stop the rabbits and chipmunks from eating our plants. They love to munch on cactus. Who knew it would be so tasty? He’s tried traps, solar zappers and smoke bombs. Nothing seems to help. They not only eat the cactus above ground, they burrow underground and eat the roots. We’re skipping the poison method because we don’t want to kill the hawks or our bobcat.

white blossom on cactus — This blooming cactus is outside our front door.

cloudy desert sky — I was hoping for rain yesterday, but it never happened. Beautiful clouds though.

We’re in full bloom — desert style

Posted on April 7, 2021 by E.A. Wickham

Living in the Sonoran desert for my first Spring, it’s exciting to see flowers and growth sprouting everywhere. Here are some of the highlights I’ve seen the past few days: cactus, flowers, wildlife and grass I bought for our cat.