Denizens of the Desert - Sweetness

More than a dozen varieties of hummingbirds visit Southern Arizona.  Guest photographer Emerson captured this stunning little black-chinned hummer on our trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the critters we saw that day and the beautiful landscape of the Arizona desert.

Denizens of the Desert - Raptors - Harris' Hawk

Harris' hawk is only one of two known raptors who hunt as a group with the matriarchal female being the head of the group and the first to partake of the meal.  Just like mammals, some members of the team flush out the prey and chase it toward the hunters who go in for the kill.  Most family groups consist of about seven individuals although some groups comprising as many as fifteen members have been observed.  These hawks have visual abilities some eight times greater than we humans.  They have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.

A beautiful coppery color with legs and beaks of yellow, they have a magnificent wingspan of almost 50 inches and are easily identified while in flight by the white markings on the tail.

On a different subject, the saguaros in the second photograph are youngsters.  They have not yet sprouted arms.  The first arms usually make their appearance at 75 to 100 years of age!

Denizens of the Desert - Raptors - Gray Hawk

When we entered the 21st century 15 years ago there were only 80 known pairs of nesting gray hawks in the Southern Arizona.  Today, through riparian conservation efforts and wise use of land, the numbers have increased to almost 200 nesting pairs.  Predominantly found in Mexico and South America, these beautiful birds are fearless hunters, preferring reptilian prey, primarily lizards.  The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is the only AZA-accredited (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) facility to display a gray hawk.

This photo was taken by guest photographer Emerson, my grandson.

Denizens of the Desert - Raptors - Barn Owl

One of the primary reasons for driving the 115 miles to Tucson to visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was to experience the free flight of the raptors.  If you've never seen birds of prey up close,they are among our most amazing creatures.

The birds are summoned by hand signals to a meaty treat usually placed on a branch so that the audience can get a good view of each bird, and it's amazing to feel the quick swoosh of air as they fly just above your head at incredible speeds.

We only saw three birds during the afternoon show, although we were expecting at least five, but they were so astounding we didn't feel cheated in the least.

The common barn owl easily finds a home in the desert where the food source is plentiful.  Nature's own mousetrap, one of these owls can dispose of 2,000 mice a year.  They employ silent flight, low-light eyesight and incredible hearing to catch their prey.  A barn owl can catch a mouse in a totally dark room simply by listening.

Blue Jay

During my past five years here in Texas I've been trying to get a shot at a blue jay.  We didn't have them in Arizona (or at least I never saw one and range maps do not show them in the southwestern states) but here they were elusive, albeit very plentiful.  A few weeks ago I finally got my wish.

I'm thinking this one may be a juvenile since its crest doesn't seem to be fully developed.  TexWis can fill us in on that fact if I'm wrong!

A Texas Road Trip 1.4 - Coryell County Courthouse (Texas No. 7) Revisited

Stop four on my road trip took me from Waco  40 miles west to Gatesville so I could take another look at the Coryell County Courthouse.  Like Waco I had been through here in the past but was not all that pleased with my photo of this beautiful courthouse (see original photo).  As I stopped on the north side of Main Street it looked the same as it had four years previously: pecan trees hiding the details, a washed-out sky, that bright while sunlight that caused overexposure problems and turned the white statuary into ghosts.  I kept looking for a better angle so I got back in the car and decided to check out another view.  As I drove past the south entrance the scene was completely different.  It was more open and visible, clouds suddenly appeared above to give some definition, and at this point I decided that the entrance on Leon Street had to be the main entrance and the north side was actually the back of the courthouse.  I wondered why the official address on Main is not the front of the building.  A short while later I found the answer.  Keep reading.

Constructed: 1897
Architectural style:  Beaux Arts
Materials:  limestone and red sandstone

Since my last trip I had discovered the many Post Office murals in Texas and I had learned that Gatesville had one, so the next stop was to see Joe DeYong's "Off to Northern Markets" painted in 1939.  In the foreground the cook drives his chuck wagon along the trail while the cowboys are driving a herd of horses and a much larger herd of cattle.  De Yong was a real life cowboy and western artist, a protege Charles Russell at his Montana studio, and also worked on a technical advisor in the movie industry.  At the time he produced the mural he was also working with Cecil B. De Mille on the set of Union Pacific.

As I was taking my photograph, a gentleman stopped and asked if there was anything about this big painting (10 feet long, 5 feet high) that bothered me.   I told him I loved everything about it but for some reason the mules pulling the cook's wagon seemed a little off.  He explained that the mules are depicted as pacing where both legs on the same side of the animal move forward together, rather than a trot where two legs diagonally from each other move forward together.  He said only horses pace, not mules.  I thought the mule bodies looked a little more like horses than mules but otherwise I had no complaints.  We discovered he had grown up in Nacogdoches near where I live and I explained why I was driving through town and mentioned my dilemma about the address of the post office seeming to be on the back side of the building.  That's when I learned that what is now Leon Street was once Main Street but many years back when a major U.S. highway came through the town the town fathers felt that the main road should be called Main Street so they reversed the names of the streets but the courthouse kept the same address so today the back side of the courthouse is believed by many to be the main entrance when in reality it is not.  Strange!

As I headed out of Gatesville to my final destination much further south I crossed the Leon River.  Texas has some beautiful very wide rivers and they are very difficult to photograph from the roadway.  As I drove off the bridge I noticed a paved road to the right which led to a small parklike area with a boat ramp so I stopped for a few snaps and spotted a white egret.  He waited very patiently while I took several photos, seemed to be oblivious to my presence, and we both eventually went on about our day.

I hope you're all having a pleasant weekend now that autumn is official here.

Cattle and Cattle Egrets

There there are cattle, there are cattle egrets in summertime

Nesting Phoebes in the Carport

Sandhill Crane

Texas Zoo - Victoria, Texas

Winter Comes to East Texas

We've had a rougher winter than usual, although I know those of you who live in colder climates would say we don't know what winter is.  And you're right, of course.  It all depends on what you're acclimated to.  I've always wanted to take a photo of a cardinal in snow and I got my chance yesterday.  It actually snowed here!  What you see is about the extent of our white stuff and of course it was gone by early afternoon.  It was a very fluffy thick wet snow so it piled up pretty quickly.  I coaxed this handsome fellow to our deck by putting out some sunflower seeds and he accommodated my request.

Waiting for Spring

Mr. Red

Waiting for the Lunch Buffet

A Shimmer of Hummingbirds

Don't you just love the names that have been given to certain animals?  When I went online to see what to call a group of hummingbirds, I discovered the words to call hummingbirds can be a charm, a troubling, a glittering, a shimmer, a tune, a chattering, a drum, a bouquet or an archive.

We've had quite a few hummers in the past few weeks.  I suppose they're tanking up on nectar getting ready for their trip south.  Some people say you should stop feeding hummingbirds because it entices them to stay too long and they will get caught in the cold and freeze to death.  However, I have now learned that that is not the case.  Hummingbirds will leave your area when it's time.  And they know when it's time because they are smart little creatures.  They can remember every flower they have ever visited and how long it will take to flower to refill its nectar.  For some other fascinating hummingbird facts, visit THIS LINK.

Sorry for my lengthy absence.  My mother went out into one of our pastures a couple of weeks ago without telling me and - you guessed it! - fell and couldn't get up.  I didn't realize she was gone for an hour and a half and when I found her, she was dehydrated and covered with ants and grass, quite dirty and red-faced.  It's taken me about two weeks to get her back to status quo and she has resumed physical therapy at home to work on balance issues.  Although she injured one of her shoulders (probably a rotator cuff tear but it cannot be diagnosed without MRI and she is unable to undergo MRI testing because she has a pacemaker), the therapists do not believe the use of her arm will be improved by PT so they are concentrating on her balance to hopefully keep her upright and off the ground!  I hope to be able to visit you in the next day or so.

Mourning Dove

Cardinal in Mimosa

Building a Nest

For three days I watched a Carolina Wren couple work tirelessly building a nest in a flower pot on our front porch.  I couldn't resist checking it out several times a day.  I even made plans to take daily pictures and hoped to eventually see the eggs and then babies and then fledglings.  I suppose I was too curious about the nest because as soon as they got it finished (or it looked finished to me) they abandoned it and never returned!  Next time I'll remember to keep my distance

Angry Bird

Get outta here you peeping Tom!

Can't you see I'm taking a bath?

Didn't you see the Do Not Disturb Sign?

Good grief!

Can't a girl have any privacy!

Flamingo

Ellen Trout Zoo

Lufkin, Texas

Hard-Working Mother

This little wren and her mate are busily feeding babies in a nest in our carport. They make innumerable trips from sun up to sun down to keep those babies' tummies full.

Here'e my salute to all the hard-working mothers out there and I wish you all a happy and beautiful Mother's Day.