May 13-17 -- Friends Visit Faranuf

Like me, one of said friends has escaped the clutches of LaLaLand, while the other will do so in a year or two... So as they were coming, I had to do another Douglas Grocery Run. I'd just returned from High Island, and the larder  (I really have one) was nearly empty. Before taking off on a trip, I empty out the refrigerator of perishable items so I don't come back to a stinky mess ("Now what is this stuff with hair on it that's stuck to the back of the fridge?") and give them to friends. So the day after returning to Faranuf, I head back down once again to the Wal-Mart in Douglas. As the larder -- and fridge -- is nearly bare of food, I buy more items than usual. AND I'm running out of bird seed. I thought it would be interesting to take a photo of the shopping cart before unloading the items into Tundra --

Those big bags are bird seed and black oil sunflower seeds, the latter mainly for Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal; it took me a long time for them to come to my back yard, and I ain't losing them again!  WalMart has affordable seed that has less junky filler than others; I'd prefer to get it at a feed store in Willcox, but that's about 75 miles in the other direction. And WalMart is great for one-stop shopping convenience, as I also get my hair cut there, and of course buy the groceries and seed. On the 50 mile-plus drive back on Highway 80, I stopped on the turnoff to the Rucker Canyon road and took a photo looking north; the Chiricahuas are to the left, and the straight line in the center was the route of the El Paso and Southwestern railroad that ran from El Paso, Texas to Bisbee, Arizona, going around the Chiricahuas to the south. Phelps Dodge, the mining company, built the railroad, and the town of Rodeo, New Mexico started life as one of the train stops.

While the scenery during the Texas trip was for the most part spectacular, it was still nice to see the sunrises and sunsets from Faranuf; here's a predawn over New Mexico's Peloncillo Mountains to the east of me --

As I mentioned, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal seem to be setting up shop in a green, leafy mesquite tree about 50 yards from the backyard feeders. On a few occasions I've watched Mr. Cardinal actually take a sunflower seed from a tray and feed it to Mrs. Cardinal. Sweet!  And speaking of interesting behavior -- the other day I watched one of the White-tailed deer coming along one of the animal paths and stop at the edge of the back yard. She/he was looking at me, then stamped one foot, then another. It must've done it for about 30 seconds, then took off. Was it a male, and trying to show who was boss with a show of intimidation? In any case, it was another show of animal behavior that was neat to see... Here's a shot of Mr. Cardinal taken with my 500mm lens that will be in his portrait portfolio --

My friends Steve and Theresa came for a 5-day visit on Friday the 13th (yes, really, and it was Steve's birthday, too). Theresa, like me, is an "escapee" from the frenzied living of LaLaLand, now residing in a rural area near Springfield, Oregon, with her two dogs. Steve has just "retired" (actually let go after about 30 years) from Boeing, and is getting used to having all the time in the world to do what he wants -- which for the most part is chasing rare birds around the country. It's the first time for both of them to visit Portal and the Chiricahuas, so one of the first places to go is world-famous South Fork, up Cave Creek Canyon. It's home to Elegant Trogon from mid-April to October, and there are other birds in the canyon that I want for my Life List, too. And though I've seen Trogons during 3 previous visits, you can't say you've seen them enough, and I'm always looking for that one definitive photo, especially if it's taken with the 500mm prime lens. But the first bird we get along the trail is a Life Bird for me, and one I've been wanting to see here for many years -- Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher. Steve saw it first, and pointed to it, also saying something like "Do you see that tree in the middle, behind the one in front of it? Look to the small branch on the right of the tree, between the two branches pointing downwards and about a third of the way along the branch." Well, of course I can't see it, and don't until it flies away. Shoot!  But persistence pays off; I see it further along the trail --

Sulphur-bellieds, like Elegant Trogons, bring a touch of the tropics to our area. It's a large flycatcher, and noisy, and is seen in the US only in a few places in SE Arizona. We truly are blessed here to see so many birds that aren't seen elsewhere in the States..

We run into my friends Lori and Mark, who are guiding clients looking for birds, and they say there are two Trogons up the trail. About 10 minutes later, we hear the unmistakable "croak" of the Trogon, and see them up in the forest canopy --

They appear to be two males; the female has a "teardrop" behind the eyes.  They're not a eye level, which is a bit frustrating, and I didn't have my 500mm lens with me. So I know I have to come back --

Grrr...Though it's a good look, it's just not sharp enough, and not even close to the image quality of the 500 prime. But it's good enough for now...Later, in the back yard, Lark Sparrows have taken over for the mostly departed White-crowned Sparrows; they're beautifully-marked birds -- 

Steve, Theresa and I spend the next few days birding either alone or with Lori and Mark, who are phenomenal birders and can see and hear birds that most people would miss. We saw a Northern Goshawk -- well ok, the shadow of one, perhaps a quick glimpse, but I've seen one before here, and for Steve it's enough of a look to cross it off his Nemesis List, those birds that bedevil him as, try as he might, he always misses them. Montezuma Quail used to be on that list, too, but I point out 2 along the road to Herb Martyr, and he's a happy camper... We also drove up to see the Slate-throated Redstart, a bird from Mexico that is rarely seen on this side of the border, but it's too windy. and the bird seems to be hunkered down to escape it. (It finally does show up a few hours later, of course.) But Tuesday, the day of their leaving, comes around all too soon, and I get Faranuf to myself once again. Oh, and more groceries, as Steve and Theresa know the stores aren't exactly around the corner from here. One last item that happened during their stay. One day they both decided to stay at Faranuf and relax, so Mark, Lori and I took off to spend the afternoon in the Willcox area, 75 miles away. Once we got to Interstate 10, 25 miles to the north of Portal, we discovered that it was closed. How can an entire interstate be closed? High winds, and the accompanying dust storms. While I was in Texas, there had been a pileup due to wind on that stretch of I-10 that involved a couple of FedEx big rigs. There are ominous signs warning about high winds and blowing dust, and to pull over, turn off your headlights, and wait until the visibility gets better before heading back on the road. Or until the interstate re-opens. On the day we were trying to get to Willcox, sections of dust, and actual "dust devils", were making driving conditions hazardous, so after about 30 minutes we were rerouted to a frontage road paralleling the interstate. We went wine tasting, got groceries at the Safeway in Willcox, found out that Willcox is pretty much closed on Sundays when trying to find a place to eat there, then headed back on the I-10 and Portal. Only -- the freeway was closed again. And we eventually drove about 100 miles extra on the detour to get back home. The good thing, if there was any, was that we found a place to eat in Safford, about 30 miles north -- and were able to dial-in on a radio station playing "oldies" from the 60s and 70s that we all enjoyed (or didn't, as some of the music was pretty sappy). We got back around 9:30pm after driving nearly 300 miles. And as I was the one that did the driving, I was wiped out. Still and all, it was another unique event to add to the other ones that make up living here on the east side of the Chiricahuas... And I leave you with a spectacular sunset.