I’ve taken a few photos I like this week of Red and other backyard creatures including quail, bunnies and javelina. I’m posting some of them here. It’s always entertaining to be surrounded by wildlife and to be able to capture the birds and animals with my Nikon or iPhone.
A papa quail perched in a planter above his family to keep watch.
Seven or eight javelina stopped by Monday night. They were mostly younger creatures including one wee one with a couple adults. The yellow flowers on the ground are from the Palo Verde trees. We had one night of rain and then a big wind and the flowers are down.
I watched a bunny dig a hole next to our tree. Maybe he’s going for roots? Or building a den?
Look at the feet on this guy!
Red with a mourning dove.
A squirrel and quail are sharing birdseed I placed on a boulder.
Happy Wednesday! Which photos do you like best and why?
If it wasn’t for Amazon, I wouldn’t have seen the Mulies in our front yard. Mulies is a nickname for Mule Deer, which are the most common species of deer in Arizona.
I was walking by our front windows, when I spotted a package outside our front gate. I opened the front door and walked outside. That’s when I saw three mule deer. I went back inside to grab my camera. But I had the wrong lens, my macro lens, on the camera body. I watched as the deer left the front yard and meandered along the side of our house, outside the fence. They reached the backyard, and were munching away on jojoba. I realized they were content and not going anywhere, so I had time to change lenses.
They were also snacking on Palo Verde trees, which are in full bloom now with yellow flowers.
At first, I didn’t get any good shots of the Mulies, because of brush and bushes blocking my view. I watched as seven deer crossed our backyard behind our fence to the side yard. That’s when I started taking more photos.
Eventually they made it to the front yard and were walking across our driveway.
One Mulie thought the Bottlebrush bush looked tasty.
The deer didn’t do too much damage to the Bottlebrush.
Here are several deer in our front yard.
Eventually they all crossed the street to continue their neighborhood stroll. I watched as they disappeared in the brush.
All my backyard birds flew away when Mr. Cooper’s Hawk landed in our tree and then moved to the fence. There was a noise like “wooosh” when the quail took off. They sound like jets. I haven’t had many hawk sightings, which is fine with me. I think they are beautiful and the huge Harris Hawks I used to get look so regal. But they prey on doves and quail which I don’t like.
While my husband was out of town on business, this lone javelina stuck his snout through the fence under our bird feeder. I got pretty close to him, since I felt safe on the other side of the fence from him.
Next thing I knew, more javelina came out of the woodwork! In the end I counted seven. It was surprising that so many were hiding out in the brush behind our house.
Eventually they all walked away. You can watch this video and see how javelina seem to use their sense of smell more than their eyesight. That snout is busy moving and smelling me!
I was outside the other evening talking on the phone with a friend who lives close by. I spotted the biggest coyote I’d ever seen. I was sure it was a wolf, but my husband said we don’t have wolves here. I tried to get a photo of him, but he heard me and hid behind a shrub. I was looking for him through the fence and then decided I really should go inside the house and shut the door! What would I do if I found him? What if he could jump over our fence. I’ve seen coyote jump over the wall behind our house onto the golf course next door like it’s nothing. That wall is six feet tall.
Happy Wednesday everyone. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my wildlife. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll have baby quail photos to share!
UPDATE: I googled it. There are wolves out here. Hubby is wrong. That was definitely a wolf I saw. It was twice the size of any coyote and a different shape. Didn’t look anything like a coyote. UGH.
How’s your week going? Do you have anything exciting going on?
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?
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!
I got another visit from my javelina friends. I was taking out recycling when I smelled something nasty and skunky. Then I looked outside the fence and there they were! Yes, they smell. They also seem to use their sense of smell to figure out where I was and don’t seem to see that well. Their snouts are very active!
Now back to my topic: The New Year is a Gift
With January slowly slipping away, I’m making a conscious effort to make the most of it. Each new year does feel like a gift. There’s a chance to be better, make changes to be healthier and focus on new goals.
How am I doing that? First, by re-reading Julia Cameron’s book “Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance.”
From Amazon’s description:
The third book in Julia Cameron’s groundbreaking trilogy on creative self-renewal, now for the first time in paperback. In this inspiring twelve-week program, the third in Julia Cameron’s beloved body of work on the creative process, Cameron offers guidance on weathering the periods in an artist’s life when inspiration has run dry. This book provides wisdom and tools for tackling some of the greatest challenges that artists face.
The second thing I did this weekend was renew my membership to SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators) and downloaded “The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children.”
The guide covers all aspects of the publishing process, including finding an agent, writing a query letter, writing a book proposal, understanding contracts, and more.
I also watched a video of marketing trends in children’s literature which was on SCBWI’s resource page. I have several children’s manuscripts that I’d love to get published. I’m going to give it another try!
One of them is a story about growing up with my mom with her quirky and eccentric ways. I wrote it at least 20 years ago and got an offer from a small publisher. At the time, I was on contract with the Los Angeles Times Kids’ Reading Room to write children’s stories and was published in children’s magazines like Ladybug. I thought the publisher’s contract was too small! Of course, I never got another offer and quickly learned getting published is not that easy.
The other manuscript won first place in a Writer’s Digest competition as well as my local SCBWI chapter. It was also picked up by the most adorable website in the UK called S’mories where young British kids were recorded reading stories. The website was taken down for some unknown reason. Perhaps the parents no longer wanted their children broadcast in public all around the world.
I’m going to start with those two projects and will work on new projects, too.
I was looking through my “bird folder” and found a few photos I really liked but didn’t remember taking. They are from April and May. I brightened them up in Adobe Camera Raw and cropped them.
“All Good Things Must Come to and End” is a line attributed to Chaucer, a 14th century English poet. It seems fitting for my life right now.
First, I decided to no longer serve on the board of my women’s group. Then I learned a few weeks ago that the organization is caput. I believe it lasted for more than 30 years and I’ve been involved for about three. I was in charge of communication for membership and for the public, promoting our work and events. The group post COVID had dropped in membership from 200 to 20. Plus a lot of women are getting older. It just wasn’t feasible anymore.
Next, I decided to resign from the HOA newsletter. I worked on the newsletter for four years. I enjoyed it, but a new board was micromanaging and it was no longer a joyful experience.
Does anyone know what type of bird this is? I’ve only seen it once. I’m glad I got a photo.
I had my last photography class last week for the semester. I’ve really enjoyed it and have learned so much. There are five other students who have taken the class for three to nine years. I’m the newbie and this was my first semester. I thought this was going to be an ongoing experience for me. In our last class, I was the last person to present my final project, which I posted HERE.
Then the professor said he had some business to go over. He said the community college may be discontinuing the class. He won’t know for sure until January. So this too may pass.
A Harris’s hawk taking off.
The class is over zoom and there was complete silence when we heard the news. Apparently a student in another one of the professor’s classes was causing trouble for him. He didn’t go into detail, but said the other issue is low attendance. The advanced workshop is by invitation only. It’s not open enrollment. The group is very cohesive and everyone is talented and open to improving and trying new things.
There’s nothing I can do but wait for the New Year and find out if I have a class or not.
Mourning dove landing on the fence.
What good things in your life have come to an end?
