Almost Halloween…

…And I have no Halloween photos this year. This Anna’s Hummingbird posed in the late afternoon sunlight for me a couple days ago as did the Curve-billed Thrasher below.

I went to my old standby Granada Park, that I used to frequent a few years ago. The birds were very sparse, it seemed altogether different…and boring. All I saw was this cute Desert Cottontail with an Abert’s Towhee. I don’t think I’ll go back for quite awhile.

And a Cloudless Sulphur Caterpillar on Senna:

But I still haven’t seen many butterflies in our yard and I think the season for that is coming close to an end. All of these are skippers: Violet-clouded Skipper, Fiery Skipper, and Eufala Skipper.

Pollinators coming in for a landing: a Leafcutter Bee and a Fiery Skipper. If we didn’t have lantana, we wouldn’t have any butterflies at all, I guess.

I was mostly excited to see that the Gila Woodpeckers have returned. They are not migratory but I seldom see them in the summer. Now they are back with their raucous calls. I think they’re such fun birds and very attractive.

Fall seems to have officially arrived in Phoenix. Our days are cool and pleasant now and birds are active.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Last Day of September

It’s still hot in Phoenix but it’s definitely starting to seem more like fall. The parade of butterflies has begun on our lantana…so far only little ones but I do see a big one fly by now and then…if they would only light. Above we have a Western Pygmy-Blue, a very small butterfly with a 1/2 inch wingspan, a Checkered-White, a White Checkered-Skipper, and an Eufala Skipper. Also loving the lantana is a Honey Bee:

Not much bird action but it’s still been too hot to spend any time sitting in the yard. I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of the Rock Pigeon, though, because it looked so autumnal, having a drink.

Our 3 indoor cats (Ferguson, Torti, and Bouche) are pictured below. We also have 8 outdoor cats, I have a colony of 15 cats a block away, and I am cat sitting 4 other cats at their house for the next 2 weeks. Cat-centricity.

Ferguson was pleased when this month’s National Geographic arrived. “Finally an article I can wrap my paws around.”

Hope you are not in harm’s way from the hurricane. I know people in Fort Myers as well as Myrtle Beach. Climate change is real. Stay safe.

Almost Missed August

Where have all the butterflies gone? In years past, there would be a variety of them visiting our yard. This year? Just Fiery Skippers and not that many. I’m hoping they’re just late but it probably portends something worse.

I made a brief sojourn to Fountain Hills…this viewpoint used to have quite a lovely view but now houses, cars, and golfers have been added…this is a 4 shot panorama.

Kitties! The indoor crew: Ferguson, Torti, Bouche.

I was playing with my crystal ball one day and not getting the effects I wanted so Ferguson decided to help out by defying gravity. Much better!

The cats are not using heir kitty cat clubhouse as much as I had hoped but every now and then:

It’s been a decent monsoon season so far so things are pretty green but it’s very muggy as well as hot. That’s Phoenix in the summertime.

See you in September!

I Missed July!

I didn’t post all of July and now that I’m basically only doing once-a-month posts, I should have no excuse. But it was such a HOT July and, on top of that, I got Covid after 2.5 years of being extra careful. I didn’t get really sick but it lingered on and on. Here’s my cat, Ferguson, not wanting his temp taken…and also reminding me that’s not how cats do it.

So I didn’t take many outdoor photos…not much action in my yard anyway when it’s over 110 day after day. So here are the 3 indoor kitties…Ferguson, again, having now developed the habit of hissing at anyone that comes in the house, quite the guard cat; Torti showing her wild side; and Bouche looking pensive.

A thirsty Rosy-faced Lovebird hung out for a couple days (it got water)…and even used the swing!

And I humored my lion obsession (not just because I’m a Leo). The paperweight is from the Art Institute of Chicago, where my father was from, and a city we visited often in my childhood. Two bronze lions, created by Edward Keymes in 1894, greet visitors at the entrance to the museum. This represents the south lion.

Plus a still life from our baking front yard entitled, Forgotten and Forlorn.

That was my July, forlorn and soon-to-be forgotten, I hope.

A Better Year

It was such a bad year that a fork wasn’t enough, I stuck a knife in it. I hope 2022 is better for all of us.

Here in Phoenix, 2022 started out cloudy, rainy, and cold. A few of the outdoor kitties were smart and stayed where it was nice and dry in the catport, formerly the carport.