PERSERVERANCE PAYS OFF!!

PATAGONIA LAKE STATE PARK

Another day of birding to see the Trogon, but this time we headed to Patagonia Lake State Park. The birding hotline said a Trogan had been seen there so we had to go, right? And we are so happy we did. We got the best look at him that we have ever gotten of a Trogon. You could see him with the naked eye and with binoculars it was fantastic. The pictures we took didn't turn out very well as he was in the shade and far enough away that our little camera couldn't get a good picture. The first two pictures below we took and then the third one is a picture out of a book so you can see what he is really suppose to look like. Isn't he beautiful!

We had a great day birding. We also saw a number of bulls and cows meandering through the scrub. We had to be careful where we stepped!

Bob is looking at Common Mergansers, Gadwalls and some Ringneck Ducks.

Other birds of interest we saw were: a Lazuli Bunting, Aberts Towhee, Violet Crowned Hummingbird, Rufus Hummingbird (he was beautiful), a Pine Siskin, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Common Moorhen, Ruddy Duck, Roadrunner, and an Eared Grebe just to name a few. All in all we saw 47 different species. What a day! Even Bob was ready to go home by early afternoon.

BIRDWATCHERS OR IDIOTS?

I have decided that birdwatchers are witless idiots. This includes Bob and myself! Case in point: Bob had read on a bird alert site that the Elegant Trogon had been seen at Kubo cabins in Madera Canyon. Soooo somehow he talked me into getting up at 5:30 a.m. today and taking a ride up there to see if we could see the Trogon. We stood around in the chill of the morning waiting for the Trogon to appear.

We weren't alone. As you can see quite a number of other witless people were there too.

The Trogon had been seen in the area near the above Paracantha bush. So we all stood for at least two hours watching this area. We did hear it call, but never did see it. It wasn't a total loss however, as we did see a Painted Redstart, a number of woodpeckers, a Whitebreasted Nuthatch, and a pair of Robins; plus we saw this flock of wild Turkeys. All in all we saw about 20 different birds, but alas no Trogon. But, being the witless idiot birdwatchers that we are, we are going back up this afternoon to see if we can see him. I'll keep you posted!

THE BIRDS

Since one of the things we love about Arizona is all the different birds, I thought I would show you some of the different birds we have seen lately.

A Brewer's Sparrow:

A couple of Acorn Woodpeckers:

A Cactus Wren investigating a peanut:

A Cactus Wren perched on a Saguaro Cactus:

Curved-billed Thrasher:

These were two Common Ravens that were sitting together on a rock. They look like they are just shadows:

A House Finch at our bird feeder:

A Gilded Flicker, which is different from the Northern Flicker we have in Idaho:

A Mexican Jay:

Lesser Goldfinches:

A Lark Sparrow:

Northern Mockingbird:

A Say's Phoebe which is part of the Flycatcher family: One of my favorites, a Phainopepla.

A Red-winged Blackbird:

And one of my very favorites, a Pyrrhuloxia (sometimes known as the Mexican Cardinal):

HAIL, HAIL THE GANGS ALL HERE!!

On January 7, the group we usually got together with in Idaho came down to spend a couple of days. Kathy and Terry and Vickey and Craig came on Wednesday then on Thursday Jody and Dennis and Addie Jo got here. On Friday, Kathy and Terry left and Cheryl and Nancy came from Scottsdale and Mark and Terry came from Yuma. Friends of Jody and Dennis' from Tucson came also and we finally got to meet Chuck and Deanna. The picture below is all the classmates.

Then a group picture of the whole gang with Addie taking the picture.

On Thursday evening, we invited our friends from Green Valley over to meet our Idaho friends. We had such a good time especially when Bob got telling his Pancho Villa and Silver Challis jokes; and Shirley started telling how she and Cliff got together so we went around the room telling how we had met our spouses. There were some very interesting stories. What a hoot!

On Saturday we went to Tubac and shopped around and had lunch. Vickey liked it so much the four of us went back on Sunday afternoon. Vickey is a REAL shopper, which I am not, but she is a bad influence and I even bought a couple of things.

Dennis, Jody, Addie Jo, Chuck and Deanna left on Saturday morning and after we got back from Tubac Nancy and Cheryl headed for home. Terry and Mark left on Sunday. Vickey and Craig stayed with us until Wednesday.

On Monday, we went up to Madera Canyon and had a picnic and hiked and tried to bird. Vickey walks really, really fast and Bob said she would never see a bird by looking down. She also calls them "that blue thingy, or that brown thingy." It was so funny and we had a great time. On Tuesday, we took them to Sabino Canyon. You can ride the tram to the top and back down, but we decided to ride up and then we walked all the way down.

After Sabino Canyon we went to one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants in Tucson, and then we took a tour of San Xavier del Bac Mission.

By the time we got home we had had a full day, but Vickey needed to do some laundry so Bob decided to help her.

We were very sad to see everyone leave, but it gave me a taste of home and helped me to be less homesick. Can't wait to have them come back again.

THE LAST DAY OF DECEMBER 2008

Can you believe this is me sitting outside reading on New Year's Eve. We have been having amazing weather the past few days (high 70's). After a cold spell, where we had to cover our plants at night; it got down to 26 degrees one night (what was that about?), it has warmed up again, and it is beautiful.Boomer decided to get a little sun too! He loves to be outside and loves to crawl around on the lounge chair.

We had a great Christmas; hope you did too. Kent and Lesley came and spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Christmas Day with us. They went home on Friday because of a frost warning. They had to cover their plants as the frost warning extended up to Phoenix and surrounding area.

Kent and Lesley gave us a Pomegranate tree for Christmas, and on Wednesday, Kent and Bob planted it. They had to move another plant and extend the drip line to plant the tree, but

we are so excited to have one in our own yard.

The first time we saw a Pomegranate blossom was at the Tumacacori Mission just South of Tubac. (picture below)

The blossoms were beautiful. They look like a carnation and were a dreamsicle color. We can hardly wait for ours to bloom. When it finally gets Pomegranates and if you leave them on the tree, they will pop open and the birds love them.

We are going to freinds for dinner tonight, but will probably be home by 9. We haven't made it to midnight on New Years Eve since Y2K! Happy New Year.

OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE......

The weather outside where you live might be frightful, but here it is DELIGHTFUL. We went birding on Saturday, December 20 with friends, Stein and Colleen Siminson. The morning started out chilly, but the sky was blue and it was a beautiful day. We started out at the Green Valley wastewater treatment ponds and saw lots and lots of water fowl.

Then we went up to Madera Canyon and birded along Proctor Trail. We then came back to our subdivision (where Bob changed into shorts and t-shirt) and birded along the Anza Trail. Colleen had seen Bob's "Devil's Claw" pods, and she wanted some so we picked a bunch along the trail. I took this picture next to some Burrowing Owl nest sites. No Burrowing Owls yet, but we are hoping they will return to nest here in the spring.

The next day, Sunday, December 21, Bob and I went up to Proctor Trail again. We had heard from friends that an Elegant Trogon had been seen up there the day before. We hiked all the way up the trail, but unfortunately we didn't see the Trogon. We saw a number of other birds and it was a great day to be out.

We are amazed at how green it still is here. On our way up the trail we saw such diversity: cactus, pine trees, ferns growing in rocks, and flowers that are still blooming.

As Bob says, "Another great day in Paradise!"