Birds and Tubs

The other day when I was talking to a Bay Area friend on the phone, discussing her visit plans for next month, we got to talking about quail. She said she sees quail from time to time from her apartment patio and I bragged, saying I see probably 100 on any given day. I got to doubting myself and thought I'd better find out how close that estimate was. This morning, 54 of them. So, about the same going home, makes that guess about right. On the other hand, it could be just the same 54 individuals. I love those little dinglebops they have for a topknot.

A straw bale update: we bought a bunch of veggies last week and got them all planted on Saturday, except for one poor sunburst squash that got broken sometime during the trip home.

We also moved the tub. Somewhere along the line, Dino acquired an old fashioned claw foot tub - don't tell me we should install it in the bathroom because there is NO room, seriously. Anyway, he had it re-enameled and painted some time ago and it's been sitting in the upper garden. We decided to put it in the lower garden along the fence and fill it with flowers. Ha ha, the process of moving that thing was fun - it's cast iron and heavy. Of course, we first tried picking it up and although we were able to lift it, walking with it was out of the question. Don't you love the macho assumption that we could just bully it along? Snort. The problem was that it was behind the fence of the upper garden, so how to get it up and over. You already know where I'm going no doubt. Tractor to the rescue again. We got the big straps around the tub, hooked them all up to the various shackles and hooks attached to the tractor's front scoop attachment. Lifted it up, then had to scrunch the top of the wire fence down to get it over. Dino maneuverered it to the general spot in the lower garden and gently set it down. Then, more muscling to get it set on the blocks/bricks so it was level and voila. He's going to rig something up to improve the drainage. Now, I am just going to have to figure out what to plant - a lovely conundrum because of course one wants everything. Definitely something that will trail for the edges, but the rest is up for grabs.

Straw Bales

Trying a new method of growing veggies this year: Straw Bales. We saw this in Fine Gardening magazine as well as another gardening book Dino has.

We got the bales a couple of weeks ago and tractored them up to their spots in the orchard area, along one of the lower rows that Dino tractored out. Once the fertilizer settles in and becomes ready, which I'm not sure what the definition of ready exactly is, but probably pretty soon, we'll plant our veggies in the compost on top of the bales. The idea is the roots grow down into the straw. At the end of the summer, the bales are supposed to start turning themselves into compost also. We thought we'd try it this year since we knew we wouldn't have time to build the raised beds we wanted and if this works the way it promises, may just continue with it.

****Has happy thoughts of bell peppers, summer squash, bush beans. Etc. ****

We haven't been taking many birds walks lately, being more on a gardening kick, which to my mind is quite appropriate for this time of year. I've gotten all of the clay pots that we brought from the Bay Area - which had been under the patio at that house - and washed them out. I've already potted up some potentilla, shasta daisies and boxwood for one area. Oh! Also joined the Purple Petunia club - planted a dozen of those in an old compost box. Some gazanias and some geraniums added to the mix. There are another twenty or so pots ready to accept something - another trip to the nursery this week FOR SURE!

Just When You Thought There Could Be No More Turkey Photos

The other afternoon, , I decided to head down to the river and the second bridge where I went last week. I wanted to see if I could get a better picture of one of my subjects, which I still didn't but I had a lot of fun birdwatching through my big lens as there were birds going in and out of my subject area (Bullocks' oriole, yellow-rumped warbler, finches galore). Anyway, while I was fiddling around with one composition, I noticed this wild turkey walking alone upstream. Did you know that turkeys will wade? I didn't.

One of the finch couples - the ones in the higher status lantern nest - have had their babies hatch. There are at least three; I'm going to try to get some pictures which should be interesting given the height of the lantern. The other couple - the two who were so recently blatant in their passion for each other - have five pretty blue eggs in their nest.

What Else? Birdwatching

Even with the rain currently pouring down, it's a fine time to watch some birds. There are still a swarm of hummingbirds at the feeders stoking up for the night. A few moments ago, I watched a pair of lark sparrows plucking bits and pieces from the greenery in the front yard, for their nest I suppose.

And this morning, I inadvertently got a display of house finch porn. While I was doing the breakfast dishes, I looked out the window at the planter where the Birdbrain finch family have their nest, and there they were - in flagrante delicto. It only lasted a second or less - a couple of wiggles, some wing flapping. Then the male gave the female a seed or some other delicacy to eat, as if to apologize: "I know the earth didn't exactly move for you honey - here, eat a little something, you'll feel better." I guess it worked because the female then settled happily into the nest.

Note: they are referred to as the Birdbrains because this pair built their nest in one of the succulent plants hanging from the eaves. That makes it difficult to water. Competition for nest sites must be fierce this year.

I digress. We are the happy hosts of a rufous hummingbird, who spent the day guarding the hummingbird feeder on the back of the house, just outside the office window. Well, maybe it's a rufous. Maybe it's an Allen's - they are very similar, and the difference has something to do with the tail feathers, but of course this one refuses to let me examine his.

Getting Back to Normal (Whatever That Is)

After a week and a few days of recovery from some medical issues, including a couple of overnights at Fresno Community Hospital, Dino is feeling much improved. I am ever so grateful that things weren't worse and appreciate my wonderful husband even more than before.

Yesterday, we finally got out and about for a lovely spring walk. The wildflowers are still profuse and as usual we're stumped by some of them. The bird watching was pretty good, though no eagles of any sort this time. Saw some Canada geese, which aren't usual around here, and a male merganser. We're hoping his mate is sitting on eggs. Plus the usual wood ducks and mallards. We also saw a flock of lark sparrows, which seemed unusual - we typically see them only in pairs or as singletons. Closer to home, the house finches have been extremely busy building nests underneath the front porch eaves again, and one dumb pair built in one of our planters on top of a succulent. Sigh, it's going to be hard to water that one now.

Cool! Two Morbid Photos in a Row!

Before lunch last Sunday, Dino took me to a spot on the Northwest Territory where he'd seen a deer carcass in one of the dry creekbeds there. Our uphill neighbor blogged a few days ago they'd seen mountain lion tracks so the timing is just about right for this particular deer to have been cat food. It was already well picked over, but there was a certain je ne sais quoi when it came to odor. 'Course what with all of the carrion trees (or whatever those are called) in full bloom all over the place, it was hard to tell the difference. The insect life in the vicinity was vigorous as well.

It Wasn't This One

We returned from our journey to Oregon to attend the funeral and found a number of pig tracks around the house. I had left a pair of hiking boots on the porch to dry off and had forgotten to take them back in - one of them had been picked up off its perch and carried several feet and (luckily) dropped. I would have been highly put out if that pair had been ruined, they are my favorite. I stand warned. Dino also found that the dragonfly fountain had been molested as well. That will be moved tomorrow behind the fence.

At any rate, since this picture was taken from the truck looking down off the paved road, we are certain it wasn't this pig that did the deed(s). There were seven of these vultures lurking about.