Snow in Tucson

OK, it's not much, but it's still thrilling when it snows in the city as it did this morning. A few days ago, we had hail. The last time we had snow here was February 22, 2019.  My cousin was visiting from Chicago, where the frigid wind and sleet off Lake Michigan had caused her to flee to sunny Arizona. I opened my shades and shrieked "It's snowing!" Linda said dryly, "Imagine my excitement." This was the desert behind my house two years ago:

Not a Unicorn

The first time I saw this mule deer in my yard, I thought he was a unicorn. I asked him where his other antler was, and he just glared at me. Then I got a better look at him a few months later when he was at my wildlife bubbler, and I realized that his left horn is growing out of the side of his head. His black forehead is also unusual. 

Usually, the deer come to my bubbler in a small herd of three to eight deer. He is always by himself. I wonder if he prefers it that way, or if the other deer have ostracized him like poor Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. 
 

What To Do If You and Your Dog Encounter a Coyote

Conflicts between dogs on a leash and coyotes shouldn't happen. Coyotes should be afraid of people, but if people feed coyotes or other wildlife, the animals can become aggressive. This is bad for wildlife, people and pets, so let the wildlife be wild!

When walking a dog in coyote territory, use a six-foot, non retractable leash. Avoid sunrise and sunset. Be prepared to act threatening toward the coyote. More tips are here. 

Javelina can and have caused serious damage to people and pets with their sharp tusks. It's best to stay away from javelina, because their eyesight is poor, they can't tell the difference between dogs and the coyotes that kill their young, and they could perceive an innocent dog and his human companion as threats. 

Spotted Fawn Season

The nights are getting cooler, and the spotted fawns are on the loose. Life is good. 

Walking Stick

Then there's this thing. Maybe a walking stick. Green body with turquoise legs and orange antennae. I think. At the opposite end from the possible antennae is some sort of yelow grasping mechanism. Or something. Found this on my sliding door. Had to go in the other door so I wouldn't squash it. 

Mothra

Last year I had one hornworm on my desert willow tree. It was apple green, about four inches long, with yellow and purple stripes and a curved horn on its end. I thought, "How cute!"

This year I saw a sphinx moth on the desert willow. I though, "How pretty! It hovers like a hummingbird, and it used to be a hornworm. Maybe she will lay some more hornworm eggs."

Then the hornworms ate all the leaves off my desert willow. 

I still thought the hornworms were cute, in a monstrous sort of way. But my poor tree!

I called the Tucson Botanical Garden and the Master Gardeners. They both assured me that the leaves would grow back and there was nothing to worry about. After all, they would pupate and turn into lovely sphinx moths, which are pollinators. I didn't have anything against pollinators, did I?

These monsters use those four pair of claws or hands or something to stuff leaves into their mouths. Out the other end, they excrete little brown poop grenades. The poop is about 1/4" long, and has incisions that look like a grenade. I can't imagine how they get the incisions on there.

So, the advice I got was to 1) do nothing and wait for the leaves to grow back, 2) spray a bacteria on the tree that would kill them, or 3) pull them off and fling them some place far from the tree. They are very selective, and won't just eat anything. 

I opted for #3. It wasn't easy. Those feet have suction cups on them, and the hornworm does not want to go anywhere or do anything but eat and turn into a sphinx moth.

I flung a few hornworms on the ground, and within minutes a roadrunner appeared, picked up a hornworm, slapped it silly, and gobbled it down in one bite. Then he repeated with the other hornworm. 

My partner in crime. 

Free Water

If you have central air conditioning, and you're not harvesting the condensation, you're missing out on free water. Many air conditioners have a condensation line that dumps water out of a pipe right next to the house. Water near the house is a problem for a few reasons. It could cause land subsidence, which could damage your foundation. It can also attract termites and other wood destroying organisms like mildew. 

So grab that water! Buy a garden hose fitting like the one in the photo at a hardware store. Attach a garden hose, and put the other end on a thirsty plant. 

Being the geek that I am, I got to wondering how much water this system produces. A few days ago when the temperature was 95 and the humidity was only 26%, I collected the water from the condensation line in a measuring cup. I was impressed to find I collected 0.7 gallons per hour! 

Someone pointed out that this water doesn't have a lot of minerals in it, which is true, but it also doesn't have the nasty chlorine that comes out of the hose that's attached to the hose bib. It doesn't seem to hurt the plants. Here's my new Mexican Honeysuckle, about to get a nice drink. 

Staying Cool When It's 107

When you have to wear a fur coat all summer, you look for any opportunity to cool off. 

Bees in the Trees

I noticed a swarm of bees in my mesquite tree yesterday. Their old hive became too crowded, so they crowned a new queen and escorted the old queen to my tree. They are guarding the old queen inside this swarm while they look for a new home. I am honored to host royalty in my yard. I hope they find a great location that isn't my attic. 

Milkweed is Caterpillar Food

We should all plant milkweed so the butterflies, especially the endangered Monarchs, have food for their larvae. I bought a pine leaf milkweed at Desert Survivors and was enchanted to see that it came with a Queen butterfly caterpillar. I watched it chomp on the leaves for five days, but now I can't find it. Maybe a bird got it, or maybe it has made a cocoon that I haven't located. 

Bullock's Oriole and Ocotillo

I put out some oranges in a suet cage to attract orioles, but the orioles are more interested in the ocotillo (oh-koh-TEE-yoh) blossoms and my home made oatmeal cookies. 

The ocotillo haven't had leaves for months, of course, but with the little bit of rain we had, plus maybe some encouragement from my garden hose, they started leafing out.

For those of you who are not lucky enough to have seen an ocotillo, here's the magnificent specimen behind my house. 

Cassia in the Wind

Watching my feathery cassia whip around in the wind like a sea weed in the tide is fascinating to me. And the spicy fragrance of its pretty yellow flowers is a sign of spring. 

How Clouds Look in Tucson

Vegetarian Suet

I think commercial suet is disgusting to handle because of the beef fat. What bird eats beef, anyway? Besides, if it's made in China, it's likely to be toxic. Here's my recipe for Vegetarian Suet.

Microwave for one minute

1 c instant oatmeal

1 c water.

Grind in food processor

4 c peanuts.

Put the ground peanuts in a large bowl with the cooked oatmeal.

Grind in food processor

1/2 c raisins.

Add to raisins and continue mixing in food processor

1/2 water.

Add raisin slurry to peanuts and oatmeal in the large bowl. Mix well and stir in

1/2 c sunflower seeds (optional).

Line 8" x 8" pan with foil or parchment paper. A plastic pan with a lid that seals tightly is ideal. Press the suet into the pan.

Cut the suet into four 4" x 4" sections to make it easier to break off a quarter of the suet after it is frozen.

Cover with plastic or the sealing lid and store in freezer until needed. Break off a 4" x 4" section for the suet cage.

Holy Moly and Holey Dove, Batman!

A couple weeks ago my birding pal Alison and I left Tucson at 4:30 AM to participant in the Tucson Audubon Society's Elegant Trogon Survey in Madera Canyon. We did this last year, but I think because we were rookies TAS assigned us to an unproductive section of the lower canyon. This time Alison requested and got a better assignment for us, and it paid off in this sighting of the object of our search. He was absolutely magnificent, stunning, thrilling and elegant.

Closer to home but no less fascinating is this White Winged Dove with a hole in his chest. When he drinks from my wildlife bubbler, water comes out of his chest. I saw him several times over the course of about ten days, but this sighting on May 27 might have been my last.

Keeping Cool

Steve and I have been escaping the heat and revealing in the glorious conifer forest at the top of Mount Lemmon, only an hour from Tucson. The 26 mile road up the mountain climbs 6,800 feet. You'll see changes in vegetation similar to what you'd see in a drive from Mexico to Canada. It never ceases to amaze and delight me, especially when the temperature is 30 to 40 degrees cooler than it is in Tucson.

We encountered a lightning storm on the Marshall Gulch Trail, and got a little rain. Imagine our shock as we drove down the mountain and saw what appeared to be snow. It was two inches of hail in August. Do we live in a magical place or what?

 

Back in the desert, the wildlife in my backyard have their own ways of keeping cool.

This Mourning Dove isn't injured. After airing both of his wing pits, he flew away.

This Harris Antelope Squirrel also looks injured. He reminded me of a Rocky the Flying Squirrel. He is on my patio, engaging in heat dumping. He is actually able to transfer excess heat from his body to the patio.

 



Another variation on the heat dumping concept.

Lazuli Bunting

 If the Cactus Wren didn't already have the job, I would nominate the Lazuli Bunting for Arizona's state bird. Look how perfect he is: chrysocolla head and tail, and copper chest.

I am always impressed by how brave Mourning Doves are when they are on their nests. This one stays perfectly still whenever I go out on my back porch, and will not budge.

New Uses for Old Pools

When I bought my home at the Desert's Edge, it had a repulsive pool. The water was blackish green, and I had to pull dead rodents and lizards out of it. It was surrounded by a hideous pool fence, and the pool equipment had caused some land subsidence. I got rid of it before I even started renovating the inside of the house.

I like the idea of converting a pool to a koi pond, but creating a cistern for landscape irrigation water is an even better idea.

Rainbow

I love it when it rains while the sun shines brightly. This was actually a double rainbow, but it faded before I could capture it. There are plenty more where that come from during this lovely winter rainy season

Too Cold for Tucson

Two inches of ice on my fountain this morning. This is wrong in so many ways. After I broke it up, dozens of birds appeared for an icy drink. Apparently they couldn't find water any where else.

The thermometer from the cellar at my parents' house in Massachusetts is now on my back porch. It is at least as old as I am, so confusion is understandable. With six degrees of mercury stuck up in the eighties, the thermometer reports the temperature as 12. I am sure it never experienced such extremes of temperature in my parents' cellar.