Verna and Bob's Weblog

Thrasher and Peanut

We get a lot of these Curve-Billed Thrashers in and around the yard. Today, this bird found a peanut that I threw out for whomever wanted it. The bird took it after this photo and delivered it to wherever. Love the wildlife here.

The curve-billed thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) is a medium-sized desert bird common in the Sonoran and other southwestern deserts, including around towns like Wickenburg and Phoenix. It’s mostly gray-brown with a long down-curved black bill and bright yellow-orange eyes, and has faint round spots on its underparts. They forage on the ground, flipping leaf litter and digging with their bills for insects, fruit, and seeds. Their distinctive call is a loud, whistled “whit-wheet” that’s often heard in desert brush and suburban yards. These thrashers readily use cholla and other native cacti for nesting and adapt well to human-modified landscapes with desert vegetation.

Click on the image to enlarge.

February 27, 2026 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography 0

Friday the 13th Sunset

While taking the dogs out on their “dusk walk,” I noticed that we were having a colorful sunset after a cloudy and sometimes rainy day. I happened to have my little Kodak PixPro FZ152 camera in my pocket, so I took this and a couple of other photos with this nice, but seldom used camera. The Samsung S23 with its built-in camera are usually my choice when not carrying my Canon EOS Rebel SL3. Click on the image above to enlarge.

This is a photo of the little pocket-sixed Kodak that I used:

It is a pretty good little camera with a myriad of functions and capabilities to include panorama mode, webcam mode, sport mode and various others. I only used the basic “Auto” mode with the zoom lens to capture the image at the top.

P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow.

February 13, 2026 by Arizona Culture Holidays Photography 0

Groundhog Day 2026

So, we don’t have any groundhogs (captive or not) in our corner of the Sonoran Desert, therefore, a Ground Squirrel will have to do. The little guy saw his shadow and the resulting forecast is for six more weeks of Arizona Awesome.

Alexa‘s take on today:

Groundhog Day is a quirky North American tradition celebrated every February 2nd, where a groundhog (most famously “Punxsutawney Phil” in Pennsylvania) emerges from its burrow to “predict” the weather. If the groundhog sees its shadow, legend says we’ll have six more weeks of winter; if not, spring arrives early.

Origins & History

The tradition traces back over 2,000 years to ancient Rome, where people observed hedgehogs on February 2nd to predict spring’s arrival. German immigrants brought this custom to America in the early 1800s, switching from hedgehogs to groundhogs since hedgehogs weren’t native to Pennsylvania. The official Punxsutawney celebration began in 1886 when a local newspaper first acknowledged the tradition.

The Prediction

While the ceremony remains wildly popular, scientific studies show no consistent correlation between shadow-sighting and actual weather patterns. It’s pure folklore—but that’s exactly what makes it charming! The tradition connects to “Candlemas”, a Christian festival where clear weather was believed to foretell extended winter.

It’s essentially a delightful excuse to embrace winter whimsy and hope for spring—regardless of what Phil actually “sees”!

Click on the image above to view “Arizona Andy the Antelope Squirrel” enlarged.

February 2, 2026 by Arizona Climate Critters Holidays Photography

A Cactus Wren

Like the previous post, I spotted this Cactus Wren during my morning walkabout. It was perched on a limb of one of the several Cholla cacti up on the hill behind the house. Just down the limb from the bird is where the pair have built a nest in the Cholla. I presume that the bird is watching over the nest as though there might be some eggs therein.

The image is cropped down from the original and shows good detail. I took the photo from a distance of about 15 feet using my every day lens which has a maximum 250mm focal length telephoto capability. Camera details:

  • Camera: Canon EOS Rebel SL3
  • Time: 2026:01:31 08:44:27
  • Copyright (c): BOB ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • Shutter: 1/400 sec
  • Aperture: F7.1
  • ISO: 160
  • Focal Length: 250mm
  • Lens: Canon EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

You may click on the image to enlarge in the image viewer.

January 31, 2026 by Arizona Critters Photography

A Desert Cardinal

During my morning walkabout, I spotted this cardinal perched in a creosote bush in the backyard. He sat there until I approached with an almond, which I tossed in his direction. I usually carry a few nuts to feed to the squirrels, so when I tossed the nut, to my surprise, the cardinal jumped out of the bush and scooped it up. He took it under the bush to peck at it or something.

The image is cropped down from the original and shows good detail. I took the photo from a distance of about 30 feet using my every day lens which has a maximum 250mm focal length telephoto capability. Camera details:

  • Camera: Canon EOS Rebel SL3
  • Time: 2026:01:27 09:03:45
  • Copyright (c): BOB ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • Shutter: 1/400 sec
  • Aperture: F7.1
  • ISO: 125
  • Focal Length: 250mm
  • Lens: Canon EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

You may click on the image to enlarge in the image viewer.

January 27, 2026 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Some Back Yard Photos

I had the camera out this morning (as I do most mornings) and snapped some of the fauna and flora regularly seen in our back yard. Between Verna and I, we take a lot of pictures, especially at events like yesterday’s Car Show and Fly-In. Nothing below as exciting as all that, but we enjoy seeing this stuff almost every day.

First up is a photo of one of our local White Tailed Antelope Squirrels begging for me to toss an almond to it (which I did).

Next up is a Lesser Goldfinch at the Nyger seed feeder. It appears the bird has something other than a seed in its beak. I am unable to determine what it is, but the bird went back to getting seeds after I took the photo.

Now for some of the still life – this is the tippy top of one of our Buckhorn Cholla Cacti in the area. You don’t want to get too close to these “jumping cholla” balls. Trust me.

And, last for this bunch is a close-up of one cane of an Ocotillo in the yard. These are not true cacti, but as you can see, the thorns mean business. This cane and others on the Ocotillos in the yard still have some leaves after the rains this early winter.

As usual, you may click on any image to see it enlarged in the viewer.

OK, so that’s it for this series of photos. I now have a pretty good collection of lenses for my camera, and I will be experimenting with some of them and posting from time to time.

January 18, 2026 by Arizona Critters Photography

Avalon 1998

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