You never know what you may see in our backyard. Today we had a visit by three turkeys. Don't have any idea where they may have come from., There isn't much in this area for them to live in on a regular basis. Maybe the turkey hunters chased them out of the woods from nearby. Have one picture of one by himself and the other two together.
I think this one was sort of the leader.
Here are the other two.
Patrick
We had a daytime visit by the Fox yesterday. We haven't seen him for a long time because he usually only comes at night. There has been a Fox here for several years now. He keeps the Rabbit population in check and picks up the Squirrels I dispatch when they are raiding the bird feeders. He looks to be in good shape and spent some time in the front driveway where Pat got the pictures of him with her I-pad. She took them through the dining room window and couldn't zoom up real close.
He is sitting out in the street doing a little preening of himself
He was working on his tail here.
There is a pair of Mallards that come up to the bird feeders quite often to eat and lately have been spending time just sitting and watching the world go by. If we go out while they are here, they will get up and move a short distance away and then come back after we go inside. We think it is the same pair we have had here in previous years. Guess they made it south and back again without getting shot by a hunter. Here are a couple pictures with them sitting and taking it easy.
This is the close up shot. They are sitting under two Arborvitae trees that are behind the garage and are close to the bird feeders.
We have been feeding Orioles grape jelly for several years now. Before, we just had a flat board with an ice cream bucket cover on it to hold the jelly. The jelly melted and washed away in the rain and congealed on the hot sunny days. So, after seeing a store bought feeder that had a cover, I did my own design and made a new one with a clear top and open on all sides. It will protect the jelly and the birds. Below are pictures of the old and the new feeders.
This is the old feeder.
This is the new feeder with a customer on board.
Another shot of the new feeder. It has a Plexi Glass top. The dishes are the glass lids to some small bowls we have.
Patrick
Another nice sunrise this morning and I got a sequence of pictures from beginning to end. It started out sort of blah, but got better as the sun got higher. The pictures don't really show how bright and pretty it was at the end. Shortly after the best part, it turned gray and now we have a dull cloudy day starting. It will be warm and probable brighter later.
This was the start.
It is getting brighter.
Starting to look pretty nice now.
It is getting there.
The best it got to be. Started turning gray after this.
Patrick
There were a lot of jets heading north yesterday morning when the con trails were showing up. I see jets each morning, but most days the con trails don't show much or last. Got one good picture.
Each one of the cloud streaks was from a passing jet. You can see one going through in the middle of the picture. This picture was taken just after sunrise and the sun isn't high enough yet to show over the neighbors house.
Patrick
I watched a very nice sunrise this morning from the window where I have my computer set up. It looks like it will be a cloudy day, but at least it started pretty.
Three different shots about 3 minutes apart.
We went for ride around Lake Havasu City this afternoon and got a couple pictures of the large white puffy clouds casting shadows over the mountains above the city. It is a nice sunny day.
This one was taken while we were out on the "island". You can see the city below the mountains.
This one was taken from the driveway of the house we are staying in.
There have been several birds passing through that we don't see on a regular basis. A week or so back a Redheaded Woodpecker came through and stayed a couple days. We hadn't seen one of those in some time. Got a couple pictures shown below. He really liked the sunflower seeds.
He was hanging on a feeder with sunflower seeds.
Sitting on top of feeder with a seed in his mouth.
Another view.
Patrick
On our trips to AZ each year and on the way home, we usually get sandwiches for lunch at one of the gas stops. The console in the Yukon isn't big enough or flat enough to make a good table to put our sandwiches and drinks on safely. So, I have designed a small table that will fit on top of the console and provide plenty of room for our lunches. With the help of good friend Dan, I got all the pieces needed made and assembled. So we are all set for this years trips. Below are pictures of the new table.
This is the table top. It has a border that is sealed so that any spills won't run off the table.
This is the bottom of the table top. I put on a felt liner so that it won't scratch the top of the console.
This shows the installed legs in a folded position. They are mounted on hinges.
This shows the legs in the upright position. The legs fit into the cup holders built into the console of the vehicle.
This is a view of the table in place from the drivers side of the vehicle. The cup holders are moveable and can be placed anywhere on the table. They have a non-skid bottom so they won't move around easily.
This is a view of the table in place from the passenger side of the vehicle.
This picture was suppose to be first in order, but the computer thought it would be better last. The block is what the pieces of wood looked liked before Dan put them in his lathe and made them into the legs shown above the block. He made them so they would fit snugly in the cup holders and thereby hold everything in place. They fit great.
Patrick
Each year we have 4 hanging flower pots, one pot that sits on the ground and a planter pot that sits on the front steps. This years crop have done very well through all the heat and wind. The only attention they get is daily watering.
This is the one that sits on the front steps. It was 4 plants, two of each color, that were transplanted into the big pot. It is not in full bloom now, but continues to bloom and look nice.
This is the one in the pot that sits in front of the house. It just had a few buds on it when we brought it home
This is the best of the bunch. It has been like this since about a week after we hung it up.
This was a very small plant when we hung it and only had a few flowers. It has grown to overflowing the pot and continues to get more flowers.
This flower has done real well even after going without water a couple times when my irrigation system failed to water it. It does come back quickly when it gets water.
This plant is out on the corner and subject to all the sunshine and wind that we get each day. It has taken some beating, but continues to bloom.
In January 2020, I started trying to order a new GMC Yukon XL. Starting at that time, I figured that I would have delivery by mid-summer. I was wrong. The virus screwed everything up. I started trying different dealers around the state to find one that could order the vehicle. I tried 7 different dealers. Finally, one of them contacted me in April 2021 and said that they had just received an okay from GM to order the vehicle I wanted. It was only because the salesman there remembered me from an earlier contact and contacted me to let me know his dealership had gotten approval for a 2021 GMC Yukon XL like I wanted. I can't thank Bob Yozamp with Miller Buick GMC in St. Cloud enough for all his help and keeping me in mind. The new vehicle was delivered to me on the 15th of June 2021. A year and a half is the longest I have ever had to wait to get a new vehicle. We have taken a short trip in it already and have a little over 200 miles on it. I think it is going to be a good one. Here are some pictures.
Front and drivers side
Drivers side
Rear
Passenger side
Patrick
There are several Mallard Drakes that come up and eat under the bird feeders on a regular basis. They do a good job of cleaning up the stuff that the birds knock off the feeders. This year, for the first time, there is a new guy in the bunch. It is a male Wood duck. We have never had any Wood ducks around here before. He seems to be all by himself as we haven't seen any others or any Wood duck hens. He is a nice looking fellow and seems to get along with the Mallards just fine. Here are some pictures of the Mallards and the Wood duck.
This is the Wood duck.
Ducks in a row on the way back to the river. They normally walk or waddle, but will fly if startled
We have two Hummingbird feeders right outside our kitchen window. We have been having a lot of Hummers visiting lately. Now we have a female bully that has decided that they are all hers. She sits on top of one of the feeders and chases away any other birds that come around and I don't think it is for social distancing. She is going to have a lot of work to keep this up.
This is the bully sitting on her throne.
This is a close up of the bully.
This is her having a bite to eat.
Patrick
It looked like for awhile that we weren't going to get our usual April snow this year. We have had days in the 70's and 80's recently and several rainy days. But, good old Mother Nature came through again with enough snow to make it all white out again. Hope it doesn't last long and the sunny days of spring and summer get here soon.
Our backyard April 14, 2021.
A good coating on the Gazebo roof.
All the bird feeders are well coated.
The front yard.
No grilling for a couple days.
