August 23 -- Just Another Day in Paradise...

Well, technically speaking, Paradise is just "up the road" -- Paradise, Arizona that is. A town on a dirt road that's even smaller than Portal...The day yesterday began with a glorious, "God's Rays" sunrise, looking east --

After breakfast, I spent about 2 hours with the Stihl "weed whacker", cutting down the grasses and weeds in the front and back yards so the rattlesnakes won't have any cover to surprise me -- and give me a coronary. ;o) I had a heckuva time getting it started, and it all began with pulling the cord; I have an "impingement" of my right shoulder, meaning there are muscles in my shoulder that tore off and "disappeared" through atrophy. It could have happened when I was backpacking and, in putting the heavy pack on or off, swung the pack around in an awkward position. Then when I was staying at an RV park near the Chiricahuas a few years back, I lifted a heavy water container from the back of my truck -- with my hand fully extended, and the weight on my shoulder. Something "popped", and for awhile I had a hard time reaching for things, like the dial on the truck radio. So I've tried to take it easy with the right shoulder, especially as the orthopedic doctor said whatever tendons that are left may "rip" apart at any time, and then I'd officially get a torn rotator cuff. So as I'm down here in an area where major medical help isn't around for, say, a hundred miles (the hospital in Douglas, 55 miles away, just recently closed) I really have baby the shoulder somewhat. Tough to do when you're the only one maintaining a 1566 square foot manufactured home...So after weed whacking, I relaxed and watched the birds at the feeders in the back yard, especially the hummingbirds. I always give them their space, and besides I have long lenses so there's no reason to get close. It's been challenging taking photos of, say, hummingbirds in flight, but their being at the feeders makes it easier than if you got the out-in-the-field. Here are a few -- 

Male Black-chinned 

Male Rufous

Female Black-chinned

And the piece de resistance -- a male Broad-billed, with its blue throat and red bill, at ISO 6400 --

By this time it was getting to be late afternoon (time flies when you're watching birds). Then 2 bucks came into the back yard, both with velvet antlers -- 

What a parade of wildlife. Then towards sunset, the weather to the east looked ominous, with huge clouds, thunder, lightning -- and a partial rainbow from a rapidly disappearing sun --

And on looking west at just after, here's a view of my house "Faranuf" and the peak unofficially named "Fake Portal Peak" by locals -- 

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as it got dark and I went back inside...