Using the Stihl string trimmer has become kind of, well, fun. It's a satisfying feeling to see all those overgrown weeds and grass cut down, leaving no place for, say, a snake to hide in both the front and back yards. The only "issue" is the strain it puts on the lower back, carrying it for at least an hour. A good friend of mine found a Stihl harness online; the weight is distributed to both shoulders, not just one, and the cutter is more evenly balanced. So I called up the Stihl dealer in Willcox, about 70 miles to the west of me (the store specializes more in tractors) and ordered it. I figure I'll be getting a LOT of use out of the trimmer; and I also have a fitting that cuts things like branches, which may come in handy in the future. The gear I wear when I weed-whack consists of goggles, a heavy long-sleeve shirt, Levis, my old hiking boots, and knee-high gaiters. The thing with my acreage is the soil has a lot of small rocks in it, and they can be thrown up with little effort. While using the trimmer a small rock actually hit me in the upper lip and made it bleed a little -- so I went into the garage and put on a mask that covers both my nose and mouth. After weed whacking I used a small magnet borrowed from my friend Helen to try and find a small screw belonging to a computer that I was trying to attach to my hybrid bike; as small screws are wont to do, it rolled off the back deck railing and fell into the grass -- somewhere. The magnet would theoretically pick up the metal screw -- but so far no luck. As the day was getting warmer and the sun getting on the back deck I watched the birds for awhile, particularly the hummingbird feeders. The hummingbirds are VERY territorial and aggressive towards one another, chasing one another away from the feeders. In the past few days my "yard list" has grown quite extensive -- and my Canadian friend and "Big Sis" Gaye sent me her hummer and Oriole feeders, along with Niger socks for goldfinches, that were from her former house and she couldn't use when she and her husband Lee downsized to their present house. So the yard list consists so far of
Gambel's Quail
Cassin's (or Western; they're both here) Kingbird
Northern Cardinal (both male and female)
White-winged Dove
Black-headed Grosbeak
Rufous Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Mourning Dove
Gray-headed Junco (a real surprise)
Anna's Hummingbird
Roadrunner
Blue Grosbeak
Pyrruloxia
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Lark Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Cactus Wren
Say's Phoebe (residents at Faranuf)
Canyon Towhee
House Finch
Black-throated Sparrow (adult and juvenile)
Black-chinned Hummingbird
AND Gray Fox, Coues deer, and the occasional Javelina horde moving through...Quite a menagerie of critters! Here's one of them, the Black-throated Sparrow adult on takeoff --
As mentioned above, my friend Gaye sent me feeders of all types, so I took a photo of them to post on Facebook --
At 5pm I went to Lori and Mark Conrad's place off Hatari Lane and had an excellent dinner cooked by Mark on the outdoor grill. Hummingbirds of all types were flying about the feeders hanging in their bird-friendly garden, including Blue-throated, one of the largest species of hummingbird and one I hope to get coming through my yard.. We chatted for hours; Mark and Lori are from the South Bay of LA, Hermosa Beach to be exact, so we have lots in common. Plus the fact that now we're all Portalites....
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