Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Breakfast Interuptus


Early in the morning my yard is totally abuzz with all kinds of winged visitors. That is of course until Henery the Coopers Hawk swoops down to see what the breakfast special of the day is. He came down this morning sending all of the quail and doves fleeing in every direction. The finch and sparrows however duck for cover into the ruellia bush. There must have been at least fifty finches and sparrows huddled in the bush this morning when I snapped this shot of Henery licking his beak. I kept trying to move in slowly for a closer shot, but I did not want to send the finches fleeing, as surely one would have been nabbed. As Henery stared down into the bush, you could see the bush trembe and shake. As I tried to position myself for a shot, Henery decided that I was probably more trouble than a little finch breakfast was worth, so he took off.



Under the feeder and over the pond,

we gathered together to sing so long,

to the Agave on which we love to rest.

That brutal snout weevil,

is one hell of a pest!

That was my little Ode to a sick Agave. A sad occurrence has landed in my yard. My large agave (pictured here) is in critical condition, and may not survive. That horrible agave grub infestation in Mexico that has driven up the Tequila prices, has made its way up here to the outskirts of Tucson. I just lost two Yuccas as well. Some websites say that once the grub gets inside and the leaves start dying, its all over for the plant. Yet when I spoke to a specialist at Mesquite Valley Nursery, he gave me a bit of hope, as he said that after treating the soil there is a chance the Agave will survive. We will just have to wait and see. This pic looks way better normal size so click on it. Thanks for visiting my yard.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Toad Lickers Caution


This weeks Illustration Friday challenge is "Caution". The poison toad in my last post gave me the idea for this animated illustration. I was wondering what type of hallucinations would go through a Colorado River Toads mind if he gave himself a bath like a cat. Use every ounce of caution you can muster up around these toxic toads.

Toadlicker's Treasure

The folks around here are pretty familiar with this guy. He's a Colorado River Toad. These toads have a toxin in their skin that can be fatal to dogs, or any other animal who tries to make a meal of them. Humans however have been know to lick these toads to reach some psychotropic state. Me, I think I'll pass thanks.


Speaking of psychotropic states. I think I heard stories of folks ingesting Jimson Weed for a mind bending experience. I'll pass on that buzz as well. This little patch of Jimson Weed invaded the middle of my yard last year and I cut it way back to nothing last fall. I allowed it to come in again this year, as its blossoms are so beautiful.