March 12, 2006

It rained last night! My rain gauge recorded .7 of an inch. I think all the cacti and trees will be much happier now. But I have to remember that it may not rain again till July or August.

This morning the air was so clear. The mountains, blue and lavender, were so bright and well-defined you felt you could reach out and touch them. The Catalinas had a sprinkling of snow, like powdered sugar. All the mountain ranges to the south were clearly visible as we drove down into the city. I could even see the snow cap on Boboquivari, down near the Mexican border.

There are lots of hummers these days, mostly Anna's I think, and still some Costa's, migrating through. A couple of times I've thought I saw rufous feathers, but have not gotten a close enough look to positively identify a Selasphorus. The woodpeckers and doves are out displaying for each other, and this morning I heard a thrasher singing a beautiful mockingbird-type medley. A verdin was frolicking in the rose garden this morning, and all the citrus, even our young grapefruit and tangelo trees are either blooming or about to do so.

A truly beautiful time of year!

March 1, 2006

3 PM: It's RAINING! Well, more accurately, it's sprinkling, but it's actually water, falling from the sky. They predict less than a tenth of an inch, and I'm not expecting anything to show up in my rain gauge, but still, how exciting!

Other excitement: I saw a vermillion flycatcher flying east while we were on the River Walk two days ago. And yesterday morning I watched a hummer drinking from the fountain above the rocks that used to be my waterfall. He repeatedly flew at the falling stream of water, thrusting his bill into it. He also occasionally seemed to ride the stream of water down, and then flew up to drink again. Very, very cute.