Verna and Bob's Weblog

Critters

So Long, Beethoven

“Beethoven” A.K.A. “Bay Bay,” sadly, is no longer with us. He passed last evening (Valentine’s Day) at the Vet who performed the euthanasia. The poor little guy had acute kidney failure and had lost most of his appetite and finally stopped eating last week and he stopped hydrating on Sunday. We had little choice but to take him in for the procedure. He had lost nearly half of his body weight since a month ago. Verna and I are devastated and miss him terribly.

We adopted him when he was a year and a half old on September 29, 2011 and he had been our constant companion for over ten years, so we can’t complain about having been with him for quite a long time, as dogs go. Bay Bay’s 12th birthday would have been in a couple of weeks on March 2nd.

So Long, Little Buddy – See you on the other side …

February 15, 2022 by Critters Family

Rocky

This Rock Squirrel is about two or three times the size of the little antelope squirrels that frequently appear in our desert back yard. Regardless of “Rocky’s” relative “immensity,” he is still only about ten inches in length, excluding his long bushy tail.

All of the back yard critters are interesting to watch, but this squirrel, in particular, has an edge on entertainment value. He jumps on the lower bird feeder by the RV drive out back and attempts to consume the seeds in the block inside the cage. I’m not certain how much he gets, but he persists.

If I notice him on the feeder block, I will generally go out and shoo him away since the feeders are, after all, for the birds. In the photo above, I had just run him off when he popped up out of his rosemary bush hiding place to see if the coast was again clear. After I took the photo, Rocky scampered off toward the back of the lot, among the natural and dense desert vegetation. He’ll be back, I’m sure.

February 8, 2022 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Cabela’s Thirteenth Birthday

Teenage Min Pin

Eleven years ago, I came to live with my hoomins. We had to wait a couple of months while the little house got finished before we could move in. Meanwhile we lived in the big house and the Super 8. Now we’re always in the little house and maybe gone in the RV sometimes. I like it here.

Today is my thirteenth birthday, but I am not slowing down a bit. I still run and play at top speed and bark at stuff just because.

August 3, 2021 by Arizona Critters

Mule Deer

Western Mule Deer

I went out to the courtyard to water my little flower bed at just about dusk last evening. I looked up and saw that there was a deer in the back yard. I hurried back into the house to get my camera, went back out and took several images of the deer. This is one of the best ones I got. Click on the image to enlarge.

We don’t often see deer although there is evidence they come here frequently. Several of them (I assume) stripped our lemon tree of most of its leaves this past winter.

Don’t worry about the lemon tree, though. All new leaves have already filled in and we’re seeing little green lemons growing all over the tree. Harvest is not until next December but we expect to have another good crop of lemons then.

June 12, 2021 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Smoke Alarm Batteries

Smoke Alarm

We’re actually over a year late in doing this but today we replaced the 9 volt smoke alarm batteries in the six units installed in our house. During the night, Verna (and the pups) heard the mild ‘peep’ from the bedroom unit which indicates a low battery condition.

(Image: Office Smoke Alarm)

So, we got out fresh batteries and the ladder and did the replacements one by one. Since the alarms always manage to make a lot of ear-piercing noise during the process, we locked the dogs up in the Motorhome (A/C on) for the duration of the replacement. From previous experience, we know that the dogs would have gone crazy with the alarms intermittently sounding.

Click on the image to enlarge.

April 6, 2021 by Arizona Critters Retirement

Black-Throated Sparrow

Black-Throated Sparrow

I was in the backyard yesterday with my camera* and caught this photo of one of our migrant visitors to the seed feeders up on the little hill out there. I think it is a Black-Throated Sparrow. We don’t see many of these and only do see them when they are either headed south in the fall or north in the spring.

From All About Birds:

A medium-sized sparrow with a large, round head, conical seed-eating bill, and a medium length tail. Larger than a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, smaller than a Horned Lark.

Most striking feature is the face pattern: neat gray bordered by 2 strong white stripes and a black triangular throat patch. Upperparts are grayish brown and the underparts are a paler mix of cream and white. The tail is dark with white spots on the corners. Juveniles look like adults but lack the black throat patch and have faint streaks above and below.

Hops on the ground, pecking for seeds and insects, and makes short low flights between shrubs. Often perches in trees and shrubs giving quiet calls.

I might add that they also visit the seed feeders in people’s back yards.

* Camera: Canon EOS REBEL SL1

  • COPYRIGHT © BOB POOLE
  • 1/400 Sec
  • F8
  • ISO 100
  • Focal Length 135mm

Click on the image to enlarge.

February 24, 2021 by Arizona Critters Leisure Photography

Avalon 1998

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