Saturday, April 19, 2008




As Anonymous noted, that turkey has been up here for a long time. And the desert, indeed, is very beautiful. The brittle bush in our neighborhood was in exuberant bloom for weeks, as yellow and vibrant as forsythia back east. Cactus are starting to bloom; prickly pads are ringed with young new pads and in some cases buds. Some of the mammalia are starting to put out blossoms.

Nevertheless, I have no gorgeous desert photos today, though there will be some soon. Instead, I offer a distant, blurry photo of a phaenopepla, perhaps the same individual that I saw drinking out of my pond the other day, and two photos from a fairly recent full moon over the garden just before dawn.

Quail update: For some time now, we only see them in pairs, though large groups still gather at the quail block. I don't know if any roosting is going on in the citrus tree beside the porch. About a month ago I saw ONE female jump up into the tree to roost, but from the lack of clucking, I think she may have been alone. I'm hoping for some baby quail soon. We have no dove nests in the carport so far this year, but there's a lot of bird sex going on out by the pond. This is such a wonderful time of year!

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous9:19 AM

    I was annonymous because I couldn't remember how to put in my name. But, thanks for noticing. And the moon shot looks beautiful. It must be at least a month old since tonight is the Passover full moon. We won't see it since it is overcast and cold today. But we did get Spring for a few days. When I walk home at sunset, I love the spirited chirping in the vines by the tulip tree on 71st Street. There must be a gazillion little nesters there every evening. They seem quite happy to see each other at the end of a long day. And the days are happily long again. Right now I hear birds chirping in the garden behind our building. Can't see them of course, but then I am not looking out the window. Sometimes I can. The trees are in chartreuse and some in flowers this week. It is happening!! And the POPE is in town. Glory be.

    Cheers to all. Welcome Spring.

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