It's been hot here in southern Arizona. We spent nearly a week in Tucson with record highs of 109-ish. Enjoyed visits with Melody and the boys and are happy to be back in beautiful Portal. It's quiet, people-wise here this time of year, but wildlife abounds! The baby Great Horned Owls have fledged. A Western Screech Owl nestling is still perched in the nest cavity of a Sycamore tree next to the Portal Store and the Elf Owls are busy feeding young. We are seeing lots of other fledglings too, Bridled Titmice, Cardinals, House Finches, Blue Grosbeaks, Ladder-Backed Woodpeckers, Acorn Woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinches.......too many to list.
We watched a Bronzed Cowbird displaying for females on several occasions, but so far as we can tell the females are not impressed, even though I was! He finishes off his display by levitating straight up into the air about 3 feet above the female, then slowly drops back to the ground and stares at her with his red eyes and best Darth Vader impression.
The usual skunks, foxes, raccoons and deer show up in the yard regularly and a black bear visited once, but we bring in all the feeders at night, so there is nothing for him to score here except the fruit on our trees.
Speaking of our fruit trees, I just harvested peaches from our peach tree! They are small, but very sweet! YUMMMMMM! The birds, chipmunks, squirrels and deer have beat me to most of the peaches, but I got a good handful in two days of decent fruit, so I'm okay with sharing. We have Apples, Pears, Peaches, Pomegranates, Persimmons & Pistachio......Don't know if we'll get to enjoy any of the other fruit before the bear returns, but I hope so!
The monsoon has threatened a bit, but hasn't really gotten started here yet. We anxiously await a good monsoon rain and hope we get several over the next 3 months.
We watched a Bronzed Cowbird displaying for females on several occasions, but so far as we can tell the females are not impressed, even though I was! He finishes off his display by levitating straight up into the air about 3 feet above the female, then slowly drops back to the ground and stares at her with his red eyes and best Darth Vader impression.
The usual skunks, foxes, raccoons and deer show up in the yard regularly and a black bear visited once, but we bring in all the feeders at night, so there is nothing for him to score here except the fruit on our trees.
Speaking of our fruit trees, I just harvested peaches from our peach tree! They are small, but very sweet! YUMMMMMM! The birds, chipmunks, squirrels and deer have beat me to most of the peaches, but I got a good handful in two days of decent fruit, so I'm okay with sharing. We have Apples, Pears, Peaches, Pomegranates, Persimmons & Pistachio......Don't know if we'll get to enjoy any of the other fruit before the bear returns, but I hope so!
The monsoon has threatened a bit, but hasn't really gotten started here yet. We anxiously await a good monsoon rain and hope we get several over the next 3 months.
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