This year is fascinating with all the blooming cacti and plants. This is my third spring in Arizona and it’s truly amazing. I’m sure it was the rainy winter we had that is encouraging all the plant life to come alive with flowers. Right now the saguaros are blooming, something I didn’t see much of the past two years.
We have a nature’s preserve across the street and it’s gorgeous to see saguaros topped with white flower crowns. They remind me of the floral crowns we swim moms ordered for my senior day for my daughter’s college swim team.
Saguaros topped with white crowns of flowers at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
A saguaro in bloom at a neighbor’s house.
In our back yard.
What unusual plants, flowers or wildlife have you seen this spring? Did you have more rain or snow than in the past few years?
After waiting patiently from January until now for a new solar panel for my Bird Buddy AI bird feeder with a camera, I made the executive decision to take it out of storage, charge it up and use it without the solar panel roof.
I emailed the company and they said I should receive it this month. Until then, I’m enjoying Bird Buddy and have to charge the camera every four or five days.
I’ve written about Bird Buddy before. You can read those posts HERE and HERE if you missed them.
My son works for a crowdfunding company that helped raise money and marketed Bird Buddy. I think it was one of their more successful campaigns.
In one of my prior stories I wrote about my trouble setting up Bird Buddy. There was an awkward small space to plug in the charger or solar panel. I found it frustrating and I had to get my husband to help me. However, when I set up my 91-year-old dad’s Bird Buddy, he cleverly showed me you can plug in the camera before you put it inside the feeder! Duh!
This is a House Finch who can eat a lot of sunflower seeds!
Bird Buddy takes “postcards” (these two photos are examples.) There was an update to the software and now there are videos, too. It works with an app on your smartphone, identifies birds, gives details and you can play their songs and calls.
Here’s a video of a House Sparrow and Cardinal competing for the bird feeder:
Bird fight!
What birds do you have in your neck of the woods? Which are your favorites?
Agave with blooming cactus. I learned the cactus is called Argentine Giant.
Yesterday I met an old friend for coffee. I don’t mean that she is old, but that we were friends for decades. She was a graphic designer that I worked with in Palm Springs.
When I was in my 20s and 30s I worked in public relations and advertising. A hot graphic design firm we used (when I worked in-house for a huge real estate developer) had several talented graphic designers. Something happened at the design firm and the designers I knew went independent. I think there was an issue with getting paid.
I also took the leap and went independent.
It was exciting to start my own business. The camaraderie I had with these amazing women to guide and mentor me gave me the courage. They had experience and advised me of what software to use for bookkeeping, what rates to charge. We referred each other business, too.
The friend I met for coffee yesterday was in this group of entrepreneurial women. She moved to the Scottsdale area 15 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long. She said she thinks the last time she saw me was 20 years ago! Also, she remembered going to my baby shower 30 years ago.
I texted her before we moved and she sent me a list of restaurants, where to grocery shop, all the good coffee shops, etc. At the time, it was during the shutdown so we didn’t get together. Then today I learned her husband had an extended illness and she was the caregiver. So another year went by.
Now that I’m over COVID we finally got together. I’m smiling the rest of the day.
We discovered where the bites of cactus that end up at our front door came from.
I wrote about a mystery in our yard with bits of plants and cactus ending up on our front door mat HERE.
I’ve had a camera on lookout to spot the creatures. I’ve caught a bunny, a chipmunk and a lizard darting by. It was mentioned by another blogger that it could be our courtyard forms a wind tunnel and it’s the wind blowing the bits and pieces to the door.
Ever since I moved the camera from the backyard to the front door, the little presents stopped. I think the problem is the camera’s light. The camera goes dark at night and when movement happens it clicks on video mode with a bright light. We caught one bunny and after that nothing. I think the light has scared away any critters.
The only videos I get of animals are in the bright daylight.
However, I did spot a half eaten cacti in another part of the courtyard in a pot next to a big rock. I believe bunnies climb the rock and help themselves to a cactus buffet.
Another exciting secret I found in our yard is hidden in this Elephant Feed succulent. Also in a pot:
Elephant Feed succulent in a pot by our garage.
Isn’t this exciting? I believe it’s quail eggs. I noticed this because as I backed the car out of the garage close to the pot of Elephant Feed, two quails flew away. I hope they come back!
What treasures have you discovered in your back yard or home?
A yucca in bloom at the entrance to our neighborhood.
On my morning walks, I’ve noticed some beautiful blooms. We had a temperature swing of 30 degrees the past few days and I wonder if the flowers will wilt immediately in the heat? I decided yesterday to take photos to share the blooms while they are here.
A hedgehog cactus in bloom.
The hedgehogs have different colors of blossoms.
I hope all these buds bloom in the next day or two and it’s not too hot for them to make it.
According to my desert plant guide, these yellow flowers are Lemmon’s Ragwort.
I think Spring is my favorite season with all the wildflowers and the neighborhood coming back to life.
We’ve lost three saguaros since we’ve moved here. The fourth one went down last week.
I was sitting by the window in the casita and glanced outside as a huge saguaro crashed to the ground. I was glad I wasn’t standing in the way! That was the first one we lost.
We called a cactus doctor and he walked around our yard diagnosing saguaros.
He found one with a disease and he recommended having it removed or the disease would spread to our other saguaros. That project included not only paying the cactus doctor, but getting a permit from the city. An inspector came out to look at the saguaro and signed off on the permit. Then we had to hire another company to cut down the saguaro and remove it. That was saguaro number two that bit the dust.
The third was in the front yard and one of our only ones with arms. It was turning brown from the base that was slowly creeping up. The cactus doctor told us we’d need to brace it if we wanted to keep it. A neighbor told us that the previous owners had that saguaro treated for something a couple times. One day we walked out the front door and it was down.
Then last week after all the rain and a big wind, this smaller one was laying on the ground. The cactus doctor told us that once they fall they are traumatized and can’t make it if they’re replanted. In spite of his words, I wish we would have tried to replant the first one that fell.
We asked our gardener to try to save this guy. There’s a crack along the crown but we hope it lives.
This saguaro has been given a chance to live.
What special plants or trees do you have that need attention?
That’s me standing next to a giant Saguaro that must be several hundred years old — at least.
Sunday morning we woke without plans except to go for a walk. I suggested going out on the hiking trails at the preserve across the street. It’s been a while since we’ve been out there. That’s because the weather has been literally freezing cold with strong winds.
It was a perfect temperature Sunday, around 60 degrees with clouds in the sky to block our strong sun. I can’t express my joy at getting out of the house, being in the middle of nature. We’ll try to get out on the trails twice a week until it’s too hot and snakes come out.
Here are photos from Sunday’s hike:
A view of a saguaro framed by two distant mountains. Staghorn cactus in the foreground.
I couldn’t believe how green it was. Grass was everywhere thanks to our rainy days.
I think this is a Soaptree Yucca.
The McDowell Sonoran Preserve has signs everywhere so you can’t get lost. They are numbered so if you need help, you can call and tell someone what number sign you’re near.
I wanted a picture of my husband. This was all he agreed to.
We spotted two Harris Hawks checking us out at the top of two Saguaros near the end of our hike.
The trailhead starts and ends near Power Line Trail. Notice the Harris Hawks followed us back to the end of the trail.
When I got home, I stood in our freezing cold pool for as long as I could, then elevated my legs on the gravity recliner and watched the birds in our backyard.
P.S. I changed my avatar photo. My old one was at least nine years old when I started this blog. I felt it was time to update it. The new photo is from last Christmas.
