February 17 2006

Not much of a blog if it's monthly. But then again not a lot going on, nature-wise. It still hasn't rained, though we might get a trace this evening. It's cold (low sixties) and cloudy and feels dank.

The drought is so bad that I actually had to water the cactus in the front yard, because they were visibly dying, especially the cholla and a couple of prickly pears. This is the driest winter since they began keeping records. On the other hand, because it has been so warm, the irrigated stuff thinks that it is spring already. My lemon tree is blooming, and the pomegranate tree is putting out tender new leaves (as are the roses, who were pruned about three weeks ago).

The woodpeckers are putting on courting displays, and I think other birds are gearing up for that too.

There is a sweet little juvenile male Anna who has been regularly bathing in the runoff from my fountain (formerly waterfall). And a few minutes ago I saw a gorgeous male Cooper's hawk (probably the same guy I saw before?) sitting on the fence on the west side of the pond. I got a very good look at him and saw he had a green band on his right leg. I tried to photograph him, but I fear he was too far away. I'll see if I can blow it up.