I saw dozens of butterflies swarming around some lantana bushes outside of the retirement ranch in town. I got out of the truck and took several photos of them browsing the flowers hoping that I would be able to get one like this. Click on the image to enlarge.
This intrepid guy was devouring a piece of something that was definitely not carrion. It looked like a piece of a glove or something after the bird flew off. We see turkey vultures a lot soaring over the area, but this is a rare time I saw one on the ground.
Taken during a recent visit to Cabela’s in Glendale, Arizona. Click on the image to enlarge.
I noticed something moving on the RV drive last evening after some thundershowers. I thought it looked like a frog. We took photos of it while it was climbing up the slope behind the drive.
After a little research this afternoon, we believe it is a Colorado River Toad, a.k.a. Sonoran Desert Toad. It matches the description given in Wikipedia for such toads.
We have long heard that desert toads respond to thunder and come out of their burrows to look for pools in which to spawn. This is our first encounter with a desert toad.
Click on the image to enlarge.
From Wikipedia
The Colorado River toad, Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is a psychoactive toad found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Its skin and venom contain 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin.
The Colorado River toad can grow to about 7.5 inches (190 mm) long and is the largest toad in the United States apart from the non-native cane toad (Bufo marinus). It has a smooth, leathery skin and is olive green or mottled brown in color. Just behind the large golden eye with horizontal pupil is a bulging kidney-shaped parotoid gland. Below this is a large circular pale green area which is the tympanum or ear drum. By the corner of the mouth there is a white wart and there are white glands on the legs. All these glands produce toxic secretions. Dogs that have attacked toads have been paralyzed or even killed. Raccoons have learned to pull a toad away from a pond by the back leg, turn it on its back and start feeding on its belly, a strategy that keeps the raccoon well away from the poison glands.
Beethoven (left) and Cabela stand guard every time we venture out on the patio. This evening, all the critters were out and about just before the rain, Thunder and lightning are in the area. Everybody is alert and on guard. Click on the image to enlarge.
Most folks out there consider today to be “TGIF” day, but to us, it’s just another grueling day of retirement in our dream home. Damsel took this photo today after we finished walking the dogs, which seems to be one of the more important chores in retired life. Click on the image to enlarge.
When the landscaping crew installed the replacement saguaro today, our two miniature pinchers (Cabela and Beethoven) were totally concerned about the activity going on out front. I snapped this photo of them atop the love seat while the work was in progress. Click on the image to enlarge.