Critters, we have critters

While taking our morning walk yesterday (11-22-08) along the walking path, we heard some coyotes barking or wailing or whatever they do. As we came around to the golf course side of the walking path we could see a coyote barking and her young (we think) answering. We have seen others near there and can hear them at night when they put up quite a ruckus.

We knew when we moved to Arizona that there would be "critters" some different from what we'd seen in Idaho and some the same. Here are a few of the ones we've seen since moving here.

We are usually looking up to see birds, but sometimes we do look down and we find interesting things there also.

We came upon this Tarantula while on a walk one day.

Below is a Diamondback Rattlesnake that was in front of a house just three doors down from us. All the neighbors came out to look at it, and some of us (Bob) took pictures. It was the first rattlesnake we'd seen since moving here.

When we first moved here, we found this beauty in our backyard. It is called a Coachwhip snake. These aren't poisonous, but they will bite if cornered.

We've had three scorpions in the house. Just small ones; one was dead the other two still alive and kicking or whatever they do. Bob just got them on a piece of heavy paper and put them over the fence. I didn't even think about getting a picture.

We've seen a number of lizards while we've been here. Some really large and some really small. We haven't seen any Gila Monsters yet, but we would like too.

Some of the "critters" we've seen are beautiful. There are dozens of different butterflies here, but most don't stay put long enough to get a picture.

And there are thousands of grasshopper. This guy was sitting on the back of a chair at the pool. We have heard of Bobcats in the area but hadn't seen one. The picture below was taken by a neighbor from their patio window.

We haven't seen a Havalina yet, but they are around. We see their scat everywhere.

Today (11-23-08) on our walk, we saw one of my favorite birds, the Roadrunner. Again, I didn't have my camera. When I have it there's nothing to see if I don't we see all kinds of neat things.

Our Whipple Tour

If you look out our back patio door you see Mount Hopkins, and at the highest peak of Mount Hopkins is the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. So on a sunny September day, Bob talked me into going on a tour of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. We needed to make reservations to go on the tour about two weeks in advance; so after making said reservations, I began talking to different people around the subdivision. All the women I talked with said they wouldn't do this tour if their life depended on it. But being the good wife that I am (ha ha), and not wanting Bob to have to go alone, away we went. We met the rest of the tour at the Whipple Visitor's Center and loaded up on a bus--a big bus. The bus holds 38 people, but on our tour there were 15. Keeping in mind this is Green Valley--Bob and I were the youngest people on the tour and this includes the bus driver and his "assistant"! Yes, assistant bus driver--my mind played awful tricks on me like what if the bus driver has a heart attack as we're chugging up the mountain, does the "assistant bus driver" throw him on the floor and hop in the seat to keep the bus from careening backwards down the mountain. Needles to say I was frightened to death, so I put my ipod on and only looked at the mountain side not the side that was the scene of my imaged death. (Bob took this picture looking out the bus window back from where we came, I didn't look that direction)

We finally made it to the top and our tour guide, Ben, who was 85 (yes, 85 years young) and a fountain of information, gave us an interesting tour of the telescopes and grounds. He talked about gamma rays and looking for planets that are 460 billion (yes billion) light years away! Wow, my mind can't fathom 100 light years let alone billions of light years. Bob asked the question, "What will you do when you find a planet that many light years away?" No one had an answer for him. (Bob--always the trouble maker.)

I took a picture of this multiple mirror telescope. Look carefully and you can see me in the mirror holding my camera.

You can see forever from up at the top of Mount Hopkins, and as long as my feet were on solid ground I was okay. It was an interesting day and we learned a lot, but BEEN THERE DONE THAT!

Boomer's adjusting

Everytime we talk to someone from home (I still think of Idaho as home), they ask how Boomer is doing. Well, he is finally settling down. At first I think he thought we were just on vacation, and he was quite restless, but he has finally realized that we are here for good. He has become quite attached to me, and he can't stand it if I go out of the room. So if I am in the bedroom, he turns his head upside down to see under the door. Then he walks along with the top of his head on the floor. It is really quite amusing. He likes to sit on his Manzanita perch and look out the window. He has learned a few new bird sounds, and some birds come right up to the patio window to look at him.

He has made some new friends. We had some people over for drinks one day, and Susan had never had a bird sit on her shoulder, so she gave it a try. Boomer was very good with her. Then Scott our neighbor down the street wanted to hold him--thankfully, no lost digits.

He even got to go to a party at Shirley and Cliff's house. Where he was the star of the show even though there were four scottie dogs there also. Shirley and Cliff's little Scottie is named Mac, and he loves Boomer.

Birding in the Desert

One of the reasons we moved to Green Valley was for the birding. It is the ideal place if you like birds and birding. Madera Canyon, a world premier birding destination, is only fifteen minutes from our house. We had gone up to Madera one morning to do a little birding and met a couple from Estonia (Eastern Europe) who had come to this area strickly to bird.

Bob would bird everyday if he could. It is definately his passion. I enjoy it, but I am not nearly as skilled as he is and that can be frustrating. I do like getting out and hiking though, and I love taking pictures; and if I see a bird I've never seen before, WOW, what a thrill.

Bob indulged me and posed for a picture in Madera Canyon.

This was one of our trips up to Proctor Trail in Madera Canyon. We not only saw birds, but this Whitetailed deer was eating the acorns that had fallen on the ground.

When we went in to get our new Arizona license

plate, Bob wanted a personalized plate, and luckly this one wasn't taken. Boomer is checking out the new license plate which is evidence of our passion for the sport (is birding a sport?).

Just a few of the birds I have taken pictures of on various outings: Acorn Woodpecker; Cardinal; Cactus Wren; Great Egret; and Curve Billed Thrasher.

BS from the desert

When we first arrived in Green Valley most of the "snowbirds" had migrated home, so we found the streets easy to manoeuvre, the grocery stores uncrowded, and if you wanted to eat out--piece of cake. We would sit out on our patio and watch the clouds from the monsoon roll in with not a car or walker (people in Green Valley don't jog) going by to disturb the quiet. Then the "birds" started to return; the streets are now crowded and at some intersections it seems you may be there for hours waiting to make a left hand turn; the grocery store--forget about just running in and out to pick up one item; and eating out, well we just don't do it much. They tell us (and we're not sure how accurate it is) that the summer population in Green Valley is about 35,000 and in the winter after the return of the flocks it's about 70,000.

But along with the bad comes the good. The friends we met here in April are all back now, and it is drinks or dinner at someone's house almost every other afternoon (here in Green Valley we start eating and drinking about 4 or 4:30 so we can be home by 7 at the latest). Most of the people we know have to be home to watch "Dancing with the Stars".

October was a busy month. First Jean Hanson and her husband from Twin Falls came down and spent the night with us. Then the next weekend my brother Kent and Lesley came down from Casa Grande. We went to dinner at Cliff and Shirley's and went shopping to Tubac. We had a great time.

Then two friends from high school, Nancy Marcum and Cheryl Furman, who now live in the Phoenix area came to see us. We talked and told stories and had a great time.

And finally October came to a close; on Halloween evening we had a dinner party with 11 people in attandance. We had a good evening of dinner and visiting. And best of all no jumping up and down to the door for trick-or-treaters.

B S from the desert

We have decided since everyone "blogs" we should also. We'll give it a try. I have already found out that it's harder than Jessica and Lacie make it look. There will probably be a lot of trial and error, but eventually I'll get it (hopefully).

We have been in Arizona almost 5 months. Can you believe it? It seems just like yesterday we were hurrying to get the house in Boise ready to sell. Then we spent the first two months down here painting and making this house our home. Which it has now become. The best thing we did was to have the patio redone to make it more livable. We spend 75% of our time out there -- it is lovely!

About the middle of July came the monsoons. They were spectacular and the desert was not what you would think a desert would be. It was green and lush and the flowers were beautiful. And the cactus in bloom was a thing of beauty.

These are just a few of the cactus that were in bloom. I took so many pictures I can't put them all on this blog!

The flower below was in bloom all over Green Valley. It is called a Red Bird of Paridise. The butterfly is a Pipeline Swallowtail. I took the picture while we were on a walk. We loved this flower so much that we had two put in our yard. I can hardly wait for next summer when they will be in bloom again.