Tag Archives: wildlife photography

My brain is mush!

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I did it! I got our taxes ready for the CPA. I realized because of my foot surgery late January, I was behind my usual timeframe. I also had a hard time focusing. But powering through Friday, Saturday and Sunday — I did it! But now my brain feels like a bowl of mush.

Consequently, there will few words on this post. I’ll rely instead on photos of mostly Red and one of Mrs.

I like the photo above because of the flower. It looks like Red is wearing a fancy head ornament. I’ve had a few close encounters with Red. I call out to him and he doesn’t flit away like normal. I’ve been a few feet away from him as he waits for me to fill the bird feeder.

Red with a House Sparrow.

Red waiting for his turn in the feeder.

Mrs. on the fence.

More Red photos. He hung out last evening right outside the casita.

My goal for 2026 is to be better organized with the taxes. It’s something I could do monthly, to keep track of my husband’s business and rental home expenses, rather than power through 12 months the following year! But I’m already starting out behind the curve, two and half months behind.

Do you have a strategy for preparing taxes that works for you?

If so, please share and give me some tips!

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?

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?

Birds and More Birds

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I was excited to see these “exotic” birds. The color was so beautiful. I called my husband in to look at them. He told me they were pigeons. Oh well. It’s my first pigeon in my backyard.

Off he goes. I didn’t see them again.

Isn’t the color striking?

I spotted a sparrow enjoying the bird bath.

Then he was joined by friends.

The water was flying. Now they must feel nice and clean.

A mourning dove waited for the waves to chill before taking a turn at the bird bath.

A quail walks by the other side of the bird bath. He was not interested in it.

It looks like Mrs. is having a conversation with her reflection in the camera.

Red keeps an eye out for any intruder at the Bird Buddy feeder.

I’m excited for my daughter to arrive soon! She should be here by 10 a.m. today. We’re going to the farmer’s market in Carefree and cooking dinner together. It will be a short visit because she’s flying this morning then driving our second car back to the Bay Area. She’s gone two years carless and has decided to join the world of driving again.

We recommended she buy our car rather than a used car from a stranger. Our car is in excellent shape and has low mileage. She did ask us for the CARFAX history! There are winter storm warnings through the mountain passes for her to get home. I’m worried about that, but she said she’d stay extra days in So Cal if the storm is still a factor.

What are your plans for the weekend? Can you believe we’re almost through the month of February?

Red Returns

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Finally Red was hanging out long enough for me to get some photos of him. While I’m healing and recovering from surgery, Red was the sight I needed to make my day!

More photos of Red:

We put together the shepherd’s hook to hang the new Bird Buddy feeder. But it wasn’t working right. There was something definitely wrong.

Mrs. waiting for her turn in the new Bird Buddy.

I don’t know why the shepherd’s hook placed the feeder mere inches from the ground. It was low enough for a squirrel to jump on the roof. I was afraid he was going to get stuck inside with the camera. He’s definitely not very bright. All he needed to do was turn around and jump into the tray of seeds.

I hung the feeder on this massage tool which securely hooked around a branch of the tree. But before I could hang the feeder, Mrs. hopped on it to try it out. It worked out well to have the feeder there, but we may want to use the massage tool to get the knots out of our backs!

Voilà! I looked at the instructions for the shepherd’s hook and realized my helpful husband installed the hardware that attaches to the fence upside down.

Mrs. finally got her turn in the Bird Buddy. This movie was taken when the bird feeder was low to the ground.

I didn’t like this placement of the camera because the sun causes too much glare.

Do you have a favorite Red photo?

Do you think there’s any upside to letting my husband know he messed up on the shepherd’s hook? Or do I let him notice on his own that it’s in a new position?

More Birding

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The backyard was strangely quiet. Normally it’s a busy beehive of birds. Especially after I fill the Bird Buddy feeder. But no. Not a bird in sight. Then I spotted this young Cooper’s Hawk on the fence. No wonder the smaller birds were staying away. He’s smaller than my Harris’s hawks. He was far enough away that I wasn’t sure what it was. It looked to me like an overlarge Mourning Dove who looked whitish in the morning sun.

Then I got the telephoto out and had some nice surprises.

Speaking of Bird Buddy AI bird feeders, I splurged and ordered a second one. I ordered my first one when my son had their account and was working on raising money to make the bird feeder a reality. I was an early contributor to the Bird Buddy campaign and I got my feeder at a huge discount. I did have to wait more than a year and a half for it, though.

Once the big birds like Quail and Mourning Doves attacked the bird feeder. The cord that connects the solar panel to the camera was destroyed. It ended up in the wash behind our house. The Bird Buddy people were nice enough to replace it and the bird feeder is still functional — with tape holding it together. It doesn’t like Arizona’s summers that well.

The new one arrived yesterday. It was so much easier than the original one to pair with my phone and set up. It was a breeze. I can also tell it’s a more solid unit. I remember having to work with tiny screws that kept falling into the feeder on the first go around. I almost gave up on putting it together. The new one had no screws to deal with. The camera fit snugly into the bird feeder with a magnet holding it in place.

I don’t have it in the yard yet. I’m waiting for Amazon to deliver a “Shepherd’s Hook” to hang it on. If that doesn’t work, I may try twine to hang it from the fence. I think the birds will be thrilled to have a new feeder and maybe they will fight less over birdseed.

Speaking of fighting over birdseed, watch this video of Mourning Doves in the Bird Buddy Feeder.

Bully Mourning Doves. I enjoy watching the birds in flight in the background.

Any bets if the new camera with be sharper and better than the old one? At least it will start of cleaner and look more in focus!

What are the most exotic birds you have at your home?

Is bird watching something you like to do?

Do you know who is an avid bird watcher? Sam Darnold QB1 for the Seahawks on his way to the Super Bowl.

Finally! The Day has Arrived!

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I took photos over the weekend, sitting at the pool bar hidden from view of my bird buddies. This is a mourning dove. Good news! I had two Red and Mrs. sightings over the weekend. They are back, but I wasn’t quick enough for photos.

While you’re reading this, most likely I’m in a surgery center finally having a procedure done on my left foot. I say finally because I originally scheduled it for May 2025. But when I went in for my pre op appointment, I had an ACE bandage on my right ankle. The surgeon said she’d like to x-ray it — because many times women my age have breaks rather than sprains. Yes, wouldn’t you know it, she was correct. She had me in for surgery two days later because the fibula had a break and was bowed.

So much for my little bunion procedure. After months of recovering from ankle surgery, I finally wanted to move forward with surgery on my left foot. I scheduled it between taking care of my daughter’s shoulder surgery, her pug Waffles and our Hawaii trip. However, the first night I was taking care of my daughter, my son ended up in ER. I waited patiently to find out if he needed surgery. His was scheduled the same week as mine!

So, more delays for me. Then I rescheduled for today. Last Wednesday I had my pre-op appointment and my surgeon told me insurance denied the procedure. They said it wasn’t medically necessary. I said sure, I can no longer take my daily walks and can’t wear shoes. But hey, it’s not necessary!

The good doctor got me approved after a peer-to-peer meeting with the insurance company and right now I’m “under the knife!”

Here are more photos I took over the weekend:

The bully of the birdseed block: Curve-Billed Thrasher.

Another Mourning Dove.

House Sparrow at the birdbath.

Quail!

Have you had any issues with medical insurance?

Which photos do you like best?