We have been getting bids from several landscape contractors for irrigation systems, rocks and plants to the Arizona property. Today, we were visiting one contractor at his garden shop where this cardinal-colored pansy was in bloom. The red color and black face of a cardinal match this flower almost perfectly. Click on the image to enlarge.
This week, I bought a birdseed bell on sale at the local discount store. I hung it out in one of the trees on the hill behind our house where it almost immediately began to attract a lot of interest among the birds in the area. Here a curved bill thresher is helping itself to some of the tidbits while our cardinal awaits its turn for the treat. Click on the image to enlarge.
Not talking about the left media but really a load of bull – or possibly steer. We saw this drive by during the Wickenburg Gold Rush Days parade this morning. We don’t know how the suspension in this highly modified Cadillac could take the tons of beast down the road without sagging. Click on the image to enlarge.
This is a cactus wren, the State Bird of Arizona. This little guy was sampling some of the birdseed and critter crunch this morning. Click on the image to enlarge.
In order to entice the birds to dwell around the house where we can see them, I toss some bird seed and “Critter Crunch” around the house. It seems to work since we are frequently visited by many species of birds, including this cardinal.
Just the other day, we were wondering why this bird is bright red. Most species out here seem to blend in with the desert, but not this guy. You can spot him in a palo verde or a mesquite 500 feet away. When the wall where he is perched is finished and painted the color of the house, he will blend in a little bit better.
We had some errands to run yesterday afternoon, so we headed out of the little neighborhood. Just as we turned from our road onto the pavement, I saw a desert squirrel sitting atop an old wooden post by the wash. I grabbed the camera and took several shots of the little critter. Click on the image to enlarge.
I love all the little critters that visit our neighborhood. I put out some birdseed and “Critter Crunch” every day. I toss the food a short distance from the house so we can see the animals and birds through the windows and the patio sliding door. Desert chipmunks are regular visitors.
A couple of days ago, the lumber and supplies truck delivered the concrete block for our courtyard wall. We laughed at the antics of the chipmunks as they popped in and out of a stack of blocks near the front window.
Cabela, our Min-Pin, is fascinated with the colorful little pyrrhuloxia which I renamed a Casandro Cardinal because nobody here could pronounce that other thing. She is actually fascinated with all of the wildlife she sees, but she won’t be able to look out of the front windows after our shutters are installed in a few weeks. There is always the patio sliding glass door in the rear for her amusement. Click on the image to enlarge.