Skywatch Friday: Finally it Rained!

Thunderstorm in Sycamore Canyon 7-14-10 2:09 PM MST

Drenched Costa’s hummingbird 7-14-10

Skywatch Friday!

Today in Sycamore Canyon

Today in Sycamore Canyon the sun continues to blaze. At 1:30 PM MST it is 102F degrees. However, this Mourning Dove has figured out how to stay cool. But the need for water drives the birds to desperate measures.

 

My succulents have been stripped of their juicy leaves…

… the leaf debris is scattered on my patio.

Out front my newly planted purslane is being gobbled away.

 At the tip of a slender stem a tender bud struggles to survive.  When I first moved here I often wondered why all the plants have thorns and spines.  I now know why: because if you don’t, you get eaten!

I should have done this long ago but today I am finally fighting back.  I do not know if birds or beasts are eating my purslane but I am trying to save it. We shall see what happens.

  Meanwhile, even the pyrrhuloxias are desperate for food. This young female is trying to break free some seed from the seed block. Food is scarce in the desert now. We are all waiting for rain.

A Rainy Birthday in Sycamore Canyon

Gila Woodpecker eating bark butter 2-22-10

A rainy day always brings the birds out to feed. Before the storm rolls in the hungry birds gather at my feeders. They particularly like this new bark butter feeder I purchased with a gift card from the Wild Birds Unlimited store on East Tangue Verde. I did not even know this store existed here in Tucson until I was given a gift card and looked it up online. Since then I have been back three times. The birds really seem to like this bark butter, which is a combination of suet, ground peanuts and cornmeal. You can spread it directly on the bark of a tree, but I happen to like this little feeder. I have seen woodpeckers, wrens, and finches all feasting form the feeder and my only complaint is that they eat it up so fast! However, on a cold day like today, I know they need this extra fuel to stay warm.

Gray skies over Mt. Fagan 2-22-10

When I lived in the northeast I would get tired of the gray skies in the winter, but here they are a welcome relief and I am enjoying this stormy winter birthday. It is a perfect time to stay inside and drink a cup of tea from the mug my sister sent to me for my birthday. It was a total surprise when I received it in the mail this weekend, but it is especially significant because of the bird on the mug. My grandmother loved cardinals and my mother has carried on the tradition of using them as a theme in Nana’s house where my mother now lives. I knew my sister liked cardinals also and so I sent both her and my mom kitchen towels and potholders with cardinals on them for Christmas. I kept a set for myself so we could all feel connected so far away. To have her send me this cardinal mug is just one more thread in our family fabric and I am enjoying steamy hot cups of Earl Grey Tea on this cold and blustery day!

To add to the fun of my birthday, my sweet husband bought me this wonderful birdbath/fountain that I have been coveting ever since I first saw it at the Wild Birds Unlimited Store. Right now it is sitting on my kitchen counter while we decide where it will go, but I am hoping it will be a great attraction for the birds as well as a soothing sound for us when we are outside. Yeah, it’s a fake stump, but I like it!

Lesser Goldfinches in mesquite tree 2-22-10

The lesser goldfinches huddle in the naked branches of my velvet mesquite tree trying to decide if it is safe to drop to the feeders. They appear as bright yellow blossoms against steel colored skies here on this rainy birthday in Sycamore Canyon.

A Note from Kathiesbirds: Come back tomorrow for a My World Tuesday Post about Cienega Creek Preserve. I spent the day with Jeff and Dawn Fine there on Friday and what fun we had. Many thanks to Dawn who taught me how to use Windows Live Writer which should make blogging so much easier for me than before. This is my first attempt at using it. I hope it works!

Alert: Robins and Rain in Sycamore Canyon!

American Robin in backyard mesquite tree 2-3-10

Over night a gentle rain fell. I stumbled to the kitchen and went to open the drapes but stopped. Was I dreaming? Was I really seeing this? I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my bins. I could see the orange breast, but perhaps it was a bluebird. We've been seeing lots of those this winter, though none in Sycamore Canyon. But no, this looked like a Robin. It is a robin! A robin in Sycamore Canyon! Wow! I have never seen one in Tucson, never mind Sycamore Canyon. That makes it species number 86 on the Sycamore Canyon Bird List which you can see by scrolling down the side bar. While robins are common in every other state I have lived in, for me, they are a rare bird here! I have only seen one one other time in this state, and that was November 6, 2007 in Madera Canyon.

I watched the pretty thing perched in my bare mesquite tree with gray skies and steady rain. I open the door a crack and thrust my lens out. Snap, snap! I hear it chirp! However, it doesn't sound cheerful, more like a question. The robin flies up higher in the tree and turns its back to me. I watch through the patio door and turn on the tea kettle and the light over the stove. Apparently the light frightens the bird and it flies away to the north. So, if you live in Tucson be on the lookout, a robin is headed your way!

For now, we have Robins and Rain here in Sycamore Canyon. I plan on spending the day blogging. It's time to get my Big January Wrap-up posted.

And that's....

My World, Tuesday!

Drenched

Male Costa's Hummingbird in mesquite tree 1-22-10

Yesterday it rained buckets. The birds flooded my feeders and yard seeking shelter from the store and food for their bellies.

Soaked Quail 1-22-10

Drenched female Northern Cardinal 1-22-10


Lesser goldfinch seeking shelter from the storm 1-22-10

How many hungry Gila's can you count?

(click to enlarge)

With my feeders full of birds...

...and Snow on Mt. Fagan this morning 1-23-10

...it didn't take long for this Cooper's Hawk to show up for dinner!

1-23-10

All of these birds would qualify to be counted for the Great Backyard Bird Count if it were happening today. Get your binoculars ready, because it is coming soon! Click on the link or the button to learn more. There are special links and activities for children. This is how I became an active birder. Until I participated in the GBBC I use to just watch the birds that came into my yard or to my feeders. If I went someplace new, I was aware of the birds around me, but I never actively went out in search of birds. The GBBC changed all that for me when I first participated about 10 years ago. It's a great family activity and a fun way to learn about birds and birding. You do not have to be an expert! You just need to be willing to learn. Every bird list counts and it all helps the birds!

Skywatch Friday: Hope in the Desert

Hope starts
With the first drop of rain.
In the desert the dry ground
Sizzles
And it’s gone;
But then another drop follows,
And another,

Until the fragile shower
Has become a raging torrent
Racing down desert washes
Filling empty pools
Until ponds and rivers form
Where once the earth lay
Bare-breasted in the baking sun.

And in these muddy waters
In the creosote scented air
As night falls
The mating calls
Of poison-skinned desert toads
Are sure to follow.

~Kathie Brown (8-24-09)

For more amazing skies visit

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

These photos were taken Saturday as the rains came down. I did not see any toads this weekend but I did finally hear them calling wildly in the night after last week's rain. So, there is hope for the next genereation after all.

All of today's photos were taken by Kathie with the Nikon D80 and the 18-70mm lens set in Programmed Auto. Except for the toad which was photographed 7-3-09 with the 70-300mm lens set in sports mode.

Skywatch Friday: Summer Rain

Storm clouds over the Santa Rita's 8-13-09

We awoke to gentle rain on Thursday morning. After weeks of temperatures in the 105 range, this morning it was 71 and oh so cool and fresh! I immediately shut off the Ac and threw all the windows open wide. A cool breeze wafted in until I felt so chilled I needed to don a sweater! By late afternoon the sun broke through and the temperature rose to 91, but I left the AC off and the windows open. It was a fine day here in Sycamore Canyon.

Sycamore Canyon 8-13-09

To see more amazing skies click on the link below

Skywatch Friday

(All photos click to enlarge.)

Skywatch Friday: November Gray (part 2)

I awoke this morning to the sound of rain. It dripped like silver jewels from the twigs and tiny leaves of the acacia tree.

It fell like liquid diamonds from the eaves.

The heavy clouds obscured the mountains in a blanket of lead.

And the blossom of the canna lily sparkle with sequins even as its petals have withered and faded.

The once in every 10 years Thanksgiving storm arrived as predicted. Somehow for me it set the perfect mood for the day. Now it feels like November with this November gray.

Note: My original post, November Gold will publish in a few hours. but when I woke up to the pitter patter of rain this morning and saw the skies I couldn't resit taking these photos even though I'm suppose to be baking a turkey and some apple pie. I hope you enjoy these views of November Gold, November Gray. Happy Thanksgiving once again.

View more photos at Skywatch Friday.

Gotta go! It's time to get cooking!

A Damp Night in the Desert: the Rat Saga Continues

It is 75 degrees and moist this morning when I step out the back door onto the patio. A shelf of clouds obscures the morning sunrise, a remnant of yesterday’s afternoon thundershower. It is only 6 a.m. and I decide to take a walk and clear my head from the events that transpired late last night. But the story really started on Sunday Morning and yesterday’s rain only exacerbated the problem.

Late in the afternoon on Tuesday another thunderstorm rolled in from the southeast. It started with the rush of wind like a train sandblasting the house. The rain soon followed in a downpour that turned the road into a river. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as water poured out the downspouts of the roof the covers the patio. The water drained into the corners where the drainpipes caught it and carried it away. The birds in my backyard often take refuge from the storms here and I saw this little goldfinch hiding in this piece of driftwood upended against the block wall behind the mesquite tree. I’m sure it didn’t care to know that this piece of driftwood came from Wilson Pond near Moosehead Lake in Maine. He only cared that he had found a refuge from the storm.

As evening fell and the storm tapered off the sun set behind a bank of storm clouds. It became a golden orb sinking into a sea of watermelon and blue. Soon the dark night settled upon us and just before bedtime, around 10 p.m., I decided to turn the patio lights on and water my plants and fill the saucer with water for the birds who would arrive early in the morning before I awoke. I wandered beneath a star studded sky enjoying the damp desert night. The scent of creosote bush, so prominent after the rains, wafted in the cool night air. As I drew near the corner where the sitting wall and the stone wall meet, to fill the saucer I use as a bird bath and waterer, I was surprised by the sudden stench that assaulted my nostrils. My first thought was that there couldn’t be that many bird dropping to raise such a stink. Then another whiff permeated my brain and I knew what I was smelling.

It was the smell of decay. I didn’t want to believe what I my brain was telling me was true. Here in the corner where I am attempting to fill the bird bath and water my Lily of the Nile plant is also the corner where the drain is: the drain that leads to the drain pipe the rat was living in. We disposed of the rat on Sunday and thought our trial was over, but now I knew what I dreaded was true, she must have had a nest inside and the stench of dead rat offspring is rising with a vengeance!

I dropped the hose and hurried inside to find Gus, who was busy empting the weekly trash. When he was finished with that task he came outside and we pondered how to solve this newest problem. With the help of a hose, a flashlight and a shovel, we spent the next hour or so in the dark under the star studded skies of the desert flushing a rat’s nest from the drain pipe in our patio. Eventually all the debris floated from the end of the pipe. I could not bear to see it, so I manned the hose while Gus used the shovel to get the dirty stinking water to drain away from the house. We even dumped a box of baking soda down the hole to freshen it up. It was after 11 when we finally came inside. This morning the only sign that we had done anything last night is the newly dug trench that leads from the exit hole towards the decorative drainage block in the block wall that encompasses our yard.

The birds, of course, are oblivious to all of this. On the north side of the house where the water drains out the feeders are full of birds. The juvenile quail have almost attained adult plumage as they clamber on the walls and fences vying for the best feeding spots.

Out the back door the house finches alight on the block wall contemplating which feeder to attack fist. Their bedraggled feathers suggest a wet night or a molting process, I’m not sure which.

In the corner the mesquite tree is sprouting new growth. The new lime green leaves stand out like neon from the dark and dull older foliage. On the tips of some branches I can still see the damage down by the blister beetle invasion of 2 weeks ago. Soon the evidence of that day will be gone. The mesquite is flourishing once again.

As for the Arizona wildfires, I can see the smoke from a new fire burning in Saguaro National Park from my house. Started by lightening over the weekend, it is called the Chimenea Fire and it has only burned about 92 acres, much less than the larger Distillery Fire that scorched almost 8,000. For more information on the fires, click on the highlighted links.

As for my back yard, it is now officially rodent and odor free and I am enjoying my newly blossomed Lily of the Nile.

Photographer's Note: All of today's photography is by Kathie taken with the Nikon D80 within the last 24 hours. The 18-70 mm lens was used for the scenery and sunset shots and the 70-300mm lens was used for the birds, tree, and flowers. I used various settings from the Landscape button to Sports mode. Most photos have been sharpened but the sunset and sunrise are unaltered. Bird photos have been automatically enhanced on the computer. The quail shot was taken through shutters and a rain and dust covered window this morning. The goldfinch in the driftwood has been cropped and enlarged.