Sunday, July 19, 2015

The Day To Day


As the sun sets at Bosque Del Apache, New Mexico
Micheal and I both work as a team.  We enjoy exploring and scouting new areas together.  And sometimes we work alone.  I am constantly following up on information for this blog to keep it fresh and original.  I couldn't do some of this blog without his help as you'll see today.  

Brown-headed Cowbirds on Mule Deer
On our way back home to Tucson, we drove through New Mexico which is a really great place to explore.  One of our favorite places to visit is Bosque Del Apache.  We usually do a loop around the entire area on our way home.  Afterwards, we'll get a bite to eat in the nearby town of San Antonio at the Owl Bar and Cafe.  It's a unique place full of interesting locals.  



Personally, I like the restaurant for it's dark booths and green chile hamburgers.  Bosque can get warm and rather sunny during the summer making the "Owl" a good spot to cool off and let the eyes adjust to the darkness......and weird looking biker people. It's a hoot:)

Red-winged Blackbird
Once we got back home, Micheal had to work and I needed to get the garden area cleaned up.  I've been promising for weeks now to do an update from the El Presidio Gardens. This is something I can only do now when I'm not working my regular job. 

El Presidio Courtyard
I'm happy to report that many of the plants I put into and around the courtyard are doing well. June is usually the worst month as it is hot and dry, but this year the plants seem to be doing very well because they have finally established themselves. Around the fountain, we've placed bird and butterfly friendly plants that require very little water. 

My side garden
This month our peaches will be ready to pick.  We also have three species of hummingbirds nesting around our property right now which is pretty cool.  

The fruit garden
I had two days off before attending a week long conference. As I'm starting the week inside a classroom, I get word that there are some recently fledged Western Screech-Owls in someone's backyard. But I cannot leave.  So I sent Micheal off on a mission to go get the footage and take the data on these owls. They are by no means rare, but they can be tricky to find.  Normally, a person will just hear them in the night making their ball bouncing call.   

Western Screech-Owls
I go over the rules with Micheal about reporting owls on ebird.  He knows them well, but we always review our target birds and how "sensitive" we need to be when reporting a special bird.  "Make sure you move the marker away from the sighting and hide the report." Unfortunately, there are people out there who will cross the lines to get photos of owls at any cost (which includes the owl's safety).  So owl reports in our home are always hidden from the public eye. 


We also discuss keeping an appropriate distance from the owls while taking photos.  He did a great job and had a fun day out.  So I am very grateful that he followed up on this very special bird. 


Finally, I miss my cats so much while we're out on our longer treks.  So it's always wonderful to see our feline friends waiting for us when we get home. Nova, below, is a rescued feral cat that we captured at our home.  Today, she is a pampered and neurotic kitty who constantly requires our attention:)  In fact, all of our cats are rescued.  Not only do we save bird lives by keeping our cats indoors; we help these cats live longer and healthier lives. Feral cats make great house cats, BUT you have to capture them when they are kittens. 

Nova is happy to have us home
Now that I'm back home and finishing up with this conference, I'm getting ready for a bigger trek.  Life definitely is not boring:)  It's good to be home for a week and hide inside of our little home from the nasty heat. 

Callie prefers a lasagna dish over her fluffy cat bed
Every day is an adventure if we make it one.  We owe it to ourselves to smile and explore each and every day.  Even during my conference, I found happy moments during the day.  You can choose to drive through an area OR STOP and explore a bit.  I have found that it's not always about getting from A to Z.  It's about exploring all the letters in between that makes my day more interesting. 

At a cool ramada in New Mexico during a lunch break
Until next time friends......

30 comments:

  1. Love that you manged the Owl shots. Yes we need to put the best interest of the bird first when we are looking for them

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    1. Thanks Margaret. SO glad Micheal could go out and do the field work on these guys. Beautiful birds!

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  2. Yep, Chris, I'd just have to stop at somewhere called the Owl Bar and Cafe!

    I love the angle that you've captured the Red-winged Blackbird at! Well done!!

    Your garden looks fabulous, and sounds as if it's been very thoughtfully laid out.

    Congratulations to Micheal on a job well done with those super Western Screech-Owl images.

    Last, but not least, you seem to have some wonderful cats there. I really miss ours, but, at my time of life, I feel it would be unfair to take on more cats as they would almost certainly out-live us.

    Best wishes to you both (and the cats!) - - - - - Richard

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    1. Well one of these days we'll make it across the big pond and I hope I get to meet you. I'm not sure if I'll get more cats after these ones because of all the travel we do. One of them gets an attitude if we're gone too long. She wants us home ALL the time:)

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  3. I can only admire your energy at doing so many things.
    The Western Screech-Owl is so cool. You are lucky to have such a friend you can delegate the job to.
    The Presidio Gardens is looking great. And try to keep safe from the Monsoon...

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    1. Will do my best. There's always so much going on that it's hard to stop:)

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  4. Loved the owl photos! I was speaking with one of my cousins last night who lives in Austin in a neighborhood that is overrun with feral cats. She's made a name for herself by trapping them and taking them to a free neuter and release facility. Unfortunately the feral cats have to go back but at least the cat population is kept under more control. She was telling me that feral cats generally only have a life span of about two years. Isn't that sad?

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    1. That is sad. But it's true. There are some tough conditions out there that they face. We have several that have been around for longer than that but I have done what your cousin did and thankfully we have gotten rid of the baby feral cat situation. Now we just have a 3 remaining around the property. One has escaped me and earned the right to hang out on the property while the other is a male white cat. I wish people took responsibility for their animals. It drives me nuts!

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  5. Hello Chris, you are right on about the owls and keeping the location secret. The owl photos are awesome, thanks to Michael! The fountain and plants look pretty at El Presidio. Have a great day, happy birding!

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  6. Stay in the house and garden chores are also needed. Females have company. The first photo is fantastic. Greetings.

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  7. It's so true that getting from A to Z we often miss the other 24 letters. I love it that you take in rescued cats and kittens and that you keep them indoors! And it's so true that keeping the location of where special birds are needs to be kept quite secret. Sad!

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    1. It's fun to investigate the in between. I can only imagine the playground you have up in Canada. So many little watering holes and rivers to explore!:)

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  8. Lovely to see how the Gardens are progressing and see the owl shots by Micheal :) I'm also always very careful about releasing information on locations of rare or unusual breeding birds - bird welfare has to come first.

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    1. Hi there! Thank you for visiting! I just came back from my trip to Mexico and am exhausted but I'm planning on catching up next week! Hope you've been having fun and I look forward to my coffee and stopping by your blog:)

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  9. This was a fun post. I enjoyed all the photos but especially the Screech Owls and the Cats.

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    1. Thanks Ida for stopping by:) Owls and cats go hand in claw?:) Owls are cats with wings and vice versa:)

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  10. I always enjoy seeing your Blackbirds.

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    1. Blackbirds are amazing across this planet. Love everyone of them. My favorite is the Brewer's Blackbird. Hope you are having a great week!

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  11. Maravilloso trabajo el suyo. Admiro su esfuerzo y tantas cosas por ayudar en la vida de los animales. Me gustan los gatos, me gustan los búhos. Agradable encontrar personas tan dedicadas...
    Saludos!

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    1. Gracias por su comentario!!! Me encanta este pasatiempo. Es algo super divertido!

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  12. I love your cats and who knew a lasagna dish could be comfortable? The owl pictures are a real treat. hope you enjoy the rest of your summer.

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    1. Not me!!! The first time I saw her do that I a bit shocked:) Hope you are enjoying your summer. Just came back from a major trip and will be catching up with everyone over the next two weeks:)

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  13. Had to turn the computer on for a bit...can't stay away completely! :-) I was distressed that with my "break" I have missed visiting several of my favorite people's blogs (yours is WAY up on my list!) and I saw your comment on my baby quail, so I just had to see what you posted for WBW! I had been wanting to see the owls! Loved your precious cats (the lasagna dish shot is so cute!) Love that you and Micheal work so well as a team on some projects like the owls. Your redwinged blackbird was so nice as well. We took the grandson to paintball to meet with a friend there and dropped him off at 8 am today, so decided to go by Coachline Lake while we were in the neighborhood. Oh my gosh! The lake is HALF the size it was before, and that was a shock. I got ONE bird picture from a great distance. It was disappointing. Today was very hot and hazy by 9:30...we headed home! I bet you are glad you're back for a while, but the summer heat is always such an issue! Have a wonderful week. I'll be blogging again in full swing by the middle of this week.

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    1. That's a bummer about Coachline. The mayor said a lot of stuff that he didn't mean. There will be water in that small area as it has been over the years but not like what it was. There is a farmer who is making sure that the river doesn't flood that area again. But one can't control the monsoon. One big storm and that block will get knocked down again!!! Can't stop the likes of Mother Nature.

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  14. Nice to work in a team and Michael did a great job capturing the owls. Such bright faces. A shame people would abuse the sighting by disturbing them. Callie is hilarious in the baking dish. And that's just part of what makes life fun. It's about the journey.

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    1. You're absolutely right. Time, getting it together, and money...having enough to do the treks never seem to match up on the bigger trips. But on our local ones, we have a lot of fun:)

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  15. Chris, is that a CATsserole? (wink, wink!) The yard and fountain are looking good!

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Thanks for stopping by!