Five things out my window

I can count on seeing something amazing every Wednesday. You see, that’s the day that I set aside to volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden, here in Phoenix.

This week was no different. I saw a roadrunner’s nest high up in some cactus, and a little later watched three hummingbirds as they fought over their territories. I have also been keeping tabs on some quail eggs for a few weeks now. The eggs were found in a potted plant on a potting table, and am very eager to see if they hatch. The garden is an amazing place, but I sometimes take my own backyard for granted, and forget that I have just as much excitement outside my very own window. Here are 5 things going on this week at my own house.

• Every year at this time, grackles (illustration above) take over my backyard. It’s pretty much guaranteed that there will have at least one nest in one of the trees, and like clockwork, May will bring many new grackle babies to the world. How cute… right? Well, not really. Frankly, their noisy clicks and high-pitched squeaks drown out the other song birds. And, it’s not the loveliest of songs. But to be fair, they just me to know that they have babies, and warn the others about me. Although, when the other family members heed the call, and arrive to harass and dive-bomb me, it’s a bit scary. dive-bombing birds

Phoenix can be windy, and a few of the hatchlings will fall out of their nests. Most will not make it, or hurt themselves, and it is up to me to decide the fate of these little newborns. Put them out of their misery, let them suffer, or wait for the neighbor’s cat to take care of them? It’s a hard choice. Some might land into the pool, or are thirsty and look for water, so they fall in. So, I have been on bird watch these days, and I keep my eye out for casualties and fatalities. It’s a hard life for a bird.

• While the grackles takes over the back yard, the front yard is dominated by the Northern Mockingbird. Because of the neighbor’s lights, this bird thinks it is daytime, and will chatter through the night. Phoenix is already too hot in the evenings for the windows to be open (the air conditioning has been on for the past two weeks now), so I am glad that the windows block out their noises. Because they mimic other birds and noises they hear, I could have sworn the trees were full of birds. I have been hearing this mockingbird for years, and I sure hope he finds his (a friend told me it is a male) mate!

• It might sound like I have some problems with birds. Not true. I really love them, but sometimes I like them more on my coffee table, in a book. So, I just ordered ‘America’s Other Audubon’. The illustrator, Genevieve Jones, inspired by John James Audubon, decided to illustrate all 130 bird species in her hometown state of Ohio. Sadly, she only competed five drawings before contacting typhoid fever and dying. Now, over 100 years later, her labor of love was finally completed by the illustrator, Joy M. Kiser with this completed book. The drawings are beautiful.

• The Blue Dasher Dragonflies that hang around my backyard, are hands down, my favorites. For some reason, there are always three of these guys every summer, arriving about the same time every year. I’ve asked some experts, “Why there are always three”, but nobody seems to know. If you have an answer, please let me know.I love them for many reasons. They keep the pool (almost) bug-free, and that is aces in my book. They’re incredibly curious, and will get up right in my face to check me out. They like to be higher than everything else in the yard, so they’ll land on my head just to take in the view. And, if I hold up my finger up the air, they will often land there, and stay for awhile.

• Last Sunday, the southwestern states were lucky to see a rare solar eclipse. I was outside on the street with my pinhole projector to catch the sight. I should have thought it through a little more. The pinhole technique really didn’t work that well, so I was lucky when a neighbor joined me  and brought his welding mask to view through. It really was an amazing site that I will never forget.

From now on, I might just stay around the house, and the yard for all of the excitement that surrounds me.

Above photo: grackles by The National Geographic

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