Hi – I’m Tucker and I will be posting once in a while here.
I am a (almost) three year old long-haired chihuahua mix and love this family.
Watch for my posts.
Critters
Cactus Wren on Saguaro Buds
This is a throwback to the end of our May 2018 excursion to Northern California. We had been on the road for several weeks and upon returning to our home, this Cactus Wren posed on our big saguaro for this photo. Click on the image to enlarge.
Fall Photos
We like to say when the autumnal equinox happens that we’re in “Second Spring.” The temperatures aren’t over 100 degrees like in the summertime, only reaching to 98 or 99. When the thermometer starts peaking at only in the 70’s, then Fall is finally here and second spring is over. That is likely to be around Halloween or after.
This time of year, we’re still seeing the Turkey Vultures (Buzzards to some) soaring overhead. I took this photo of a buzzard swooping low this morning.
Our “Devils Tongue” barrel cactus usually has its flower power in the fall. This is a close-up of one of the flowers surrounded by other flowers, flower buds and (below) cactus fruit ripening. Image courtesy of Cap’n Bob.
Click on either image to enlarge.
Red Bird of Paradise
Flowers Now Opening
Now that the 2023 Red Bird of Paradise Flowers are opening, the butterflies seem to know that they are available for nectar browsing.
These flowers dominate the courtyard in the summertime. This is one of the first to appear this year.
The “Red Bird of Paradise” a.k.a. “Pride of Barbados” shrubs are ready to “take over” in the courtyard now. More about these from Desert Tropicals:
The Red Bird of Paradise is a relatively frost sensitive Caesalpinia, and it is generally better to trim it close to ground in winter. This keeps it more compact without seeming to delay it in spring. The canes tend to freeze in all but the warmest areas, and even if they don’t, the new growth in April is somewhat ungainly. For this reason many gardeners cut the bush to the ground at the end of November, and it will grow back green and compact in mid spring.
Photo Update — May 22, 2023
It’s been several weeks since we did a photo update. Here we are with Cabela and Tucker in the courtyard enjoying a nice spring day with the temperature up to about 97° which was the expected high.
For lunch, we enjoyed Cheeseburgers today with a cool adult beverage. We took a walk afterwards as well.
Image taken with my ancient Canon Powershot A710 IS using the delayed exposure timer. Click on the image to enlarge.
Vernal Equinox 2023
OK — the first day of Spring and the Equinox are here. The nights of darkness and days of sunlight are of equal lengths, according to the official astronomical ephemeris. However, at our particular latitude and longitude here in Arizona, the day length grew to just over twelve hours last Wednesday per the actual observed sunrise to sunset times. So, we can look forward to longer days peaking at the Summer Solstice and then on to the Fall Equinox when they fall back to be less than 12 hours again.
As of a couple of weeks ago, the Turkey Buzzards have begun to migrate back to Arizona and other northern places, I assume. These vultures bring the promise of warmer conditions for us, although there is still some cooler weather and precipitation still headed our way.
Even though it will be a month or more before the Pride of Barbados or Red Bird of Paradise shrubs to return from their winter slumber (we cut them back to nearly ground level in the fall). We expect that the hummers will begin to take advantage of the nectar when the gorgeous flowers return to our courtyard.
Enjoy the warmer weather and longer daylight. We know we will be enjoying the spring weather, birds and flowers.
Images courtesy of Verna.
