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Borrego Springs, CA

Saturday, January 3, 2015

What a start to the new year!

In the wee hours of New Year’s Day, my extend-a-stay propane tank went dry.  I was of course in bed, so I awoke to a temp of 50* in the rig in the morning.  Ugh!  We’ve been having quite the cold snap here around Yuma, and the news says lettuce prices are going to rise because of it.  So, be prepared.

Yesterday, I headed to town to get the tank filled and do grocery shopping.  Had two surprises when I did that.  I really hadn’t realized what a snowbird capital Yuma is.  There were 30 vehicles in line as I arrived at the propane place.  The first place I tried to fill the tank had run out of propane.  Luckily a propane delivery truck arrived just before it was my turn at Cactus Storage. 

Then I headed over to Fry’s for groceries.  The place was packed at noon on a Friday, and 99.9 % of the customers were Q-tips (white haired retirees).  I fit right in, I guess, until I arrived at the meat counter.  People were almost battling over the sirloin steak sale.  The deal was if you bought one family sized package of sirloin strips, you got two more for free.  When they rolled out multi-layered trays of the stuff the flurry of people grabbing packages reminded me of those news shots you see of Black Friday shopping!  No way I could use 30 strips of sirloin, so I just headed for some fresh shrooms.  Unbelievable!

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I was happy to get back to the peace and quiet of the refuge so I could sit outside (all bundled up) with Emma to try to get some shots of the Anna’s hummingbirds.

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Recently I ordered a little boom box from Amazon so I could enjoy some tunes while I sit out in the late afternoon and early evening.  While John Denver was serenading me, I crept up to within four feet of this little dude.  While John was belting out “Rocky Mountain High”, I was thinking “Arizona High”, by the Colorado River… ♫   Don’t you just love the detail of all those little feathers?  Hummingbirds are a wonder to me.

Today I participated in probably about my 25th Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  Folks all over North America go out each winter to count all the birds they see in one 24 hour period.  Each count is done in registered circles that are 15 miles in diameter.  I went out with four other people today to cover the part of the circle here that includes the area I do my bird tours on.  It was 27*F this morning, so although we found nice numbers of waterfowl, the little birds seemed to still be huddled down and not out and about due to the cold temperatures.

We covered the ponds first, and then returned to the cottonwood woodlot hoping little birds would be bustling about a little later in the morning.  That didn’t happen, but what a non-avian treat we had instead.

IMG_9435This young bobcat was walking through the woods.  It’s one of last spring’s kittens.  Mom was across the road, and disappeared as we stopped.  She has two young ones that are still staying with her, and have been seen quite regularly by staff and volunteers working in the area. 

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What a thrill to have this one stop and look our way long enough for everyone to get a good look.  See those little tufts at the top of its ears?  The other vehicle with CBC counters in it headed out, but I stayed a bit and witnessed the second young one join this one.  They went further back into the woods and then jumped on each other.  It was just like watching two young kittens wrestling around.  Cool beans!  What a way to start a new year!

I’m still trying to get a good shot of those jittery gnatcatchers, so I leave you tonight with my sunset pic of my latest attempt:

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                                                                              THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

37 comments:

  1. I should say so--what a great sighting!!! I would have never thought bobcats would be seen in the Yuma area.

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  2. I love the pictures of the bobcats. thanks for posting.

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  3. Outstanding pics of the bobcat (and the hummers too!)

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  4. Sure enjoying looking at your pictures. The hummingbirds are gorgeous. Seeing those bobcats would have been a real thrill.

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  5. OMG what a lovely surprise you got on the CBC! So rare to see those elusive cats. I love your photo of the Anna's Hummingbird though - what a beautiful creature! Happy New Year and stay warm!

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  6. Like those Hummingbird photos. I have yet to get myself a decent Hummer picture,

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  7. Wow you are rocking the new year with photos already!!! What a beautiful bobcat! :)

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  8. Yeah! A kittie header from the bird lady!!!

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  9. The bobcat is a beautiful animal, and you must have been thrilled when you spotted it. Great photo!

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  10. Great bobcat photos! I would have loved to see the kittens playing.

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  11. Sounds like a humdinger of a start to the new year!

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  12. Great blog as always. I'm reading it while listening to John Denver. I have Amazon Prime so I can get most of my stuff, including vitamins, speciality foods, and more with free shipping. I also get to read books for free, and listen to music, and watch movies. I just added an app to my ipad that lets me listen to all that free Amazon music off line. Yesterday I bought an AUX cord so now I can listen to my favorite music, podcasts, and audio books while I'm driving. I also have a bluetooth amplifier on the way so I can hear it when I'm moving around, cleaning or cooking. Finally I can get the music I like when living in the wild remote places I love.

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  13. Alright- great shot of the bobcat! Q-tips that is funny.

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  14. Are you sure that's an Anna's? :) Great shot of the bobcat!

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  15. Love those bobcat shots! But then the bird shots aren't too shabby, either!

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  16. I have led in those bird counts in the past...lots of fun!!! Great shots!!!

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  17. Wonderful photos of the hummingbird and the bobkitten, but I really like the photo of the gnatcatchers. It is a perfect shot of their energy.

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  18. Me-ow! What a fun way to start the New Year. Seeing the bobcat, not fighting over meat at the grocery store, of course.

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  19. Awesome photo of the bobcat. What a thrilled to see it so close.

    Why can't some one invent an indicator that would let you know when the fuel is running low? Doesn't seem like it should be that difficult

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    1. Such an indicator does exist. Perhaps Judy does not have one on her tank or maybe she did not look at it. The indicator that I have requires me to turn on a switch and an idiot light will give an approximation of how much propane I have remaining. Then if I'm even more curious I can go outside and look at a gauge indicator that also gives me an approximation of how much propane I have remaining.

      Perhaps you are thinking of something more like a smoke alarm that will screech until the tank is refilled or the battery is removed from the alarm?

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  20. Been there, done that with running out of propane in the middle of the night. Not fun. And it is definitely snow bird season wherever you go in the Southwest. Did you by any chance see the news story about the little bobcat up here? He got hit by a car but ended up between the grill and the radiator and lived. They rescued him and he doesn't have any cuts or broken bones. They are waiting for blood reports to make sure he doesn't have any internal bleeding and then they will take him back out into the wild (if he's okay). Absolutely amazing that he lived through this.

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  21. absolutely thrilled to see the pic of the bobcat. . .amazing! Right place.. .right time. . .spectacular.

    Hummingbirds are the most intriguing creatures ever. . .great shots of them too.

    A very successful start to the New Year. . .

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  22. belated happy New Year to you!! great photos as always!!!

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  23. Wow!! I'd say this is going to be a great year judging by the bobcat start. Fabulous picture. Envious of watching them wrestle.

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  24. You see the coolest stuff! I'm so glad you share it with us! Happy New Year!

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  25. Aw, man, I'm jealous! I've never seen a bobcat in the wild. Lucky, lucky you -- great pictures. Your camera can take a beautiful bird photo, too. The hummingbird, well, wow!

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  26. Great SCORE!!!! on the Bobcat in the wild...We have heard they were at Falcon State Park in South Texas when we were there...and saw one scurry across the road..too fast for a photo...Love those hummers too. I brought my feeder, but I really don't think they are here in Florida.????

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  27. Beautiful shots of the bobcat and the hummers. I'm always amazed, too, by the detail in hummingbird feathers. Then they turn and the sunlight hits them, and it's a whole new ballgame with the bright florescent colors. I never get tired of looking at those little guys.

    I ran out of propane, too, on Wednesday and powered through the holiday on Thursday with my generator and space heaters. Sure was happy the propane guy here was open on Friday, otherwise I would have driven to Yuma for more. Those holidays always surprise me! (The base up here had propane for $1.98 someone told me, and it's open to the public.)

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  28. I'm amazed that you didn't have an easier time of getting propane! I have never needed to get propane during my volunteering stints, but then I am working in the summer and can get by with two electric space heaters! I am amazed by the meat specials you spoke of. CBC's that brings back a LOT of memories.

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  29. Cool beans indeed! Great shots.

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  30. We are on our way, Judy! Keep those kitties around for us if you can. I am amazed at your hummingbird shots. just amazed!

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  31. Hummer shots are great but the Bob Cats are just fantastic. We should be warming up a bit in the next few days.

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  32. Murphy's Law of propane is that the tank will empty at 3, but why is it always a.m. :-)

    Great shot of the bobcat.

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  33. You are getting some amazing pictures. What a treat!

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  34. WOW, Cool Beans is an understatement! What a beautiful sighting of the "kittens". I don't recall EVER seeing one. What a thrill that must have been for you. Also, gorgeous photos of the hummer!!

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  35. Yes! You saw one too (or two)! Aren't they just the cats meow? I'm with you about the Hummingbirds. So much amazing-ness in such a tiny package! We managed to just make it with our propane during the 4 1/2 day power outage (Yikes!) over the weekend.

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