While we didn't have much rain this monsoon season, we did see some pretty spectacular things to the east. This cloud grew until it looked like something from a nuclear bomb blast. And while I'd like to say I timed it perfectly to get the lightning, it's actually a frame from a video I took. But this cloud knocked out about 25 power poles over in New Mexico, and the Portal-Rodeo-Animas area was without power for nearly 30 hours. I put my sleeping bag over the refrigerator and limited my opening the fridge door to help keep in the cold -- and a friend came over to see how I was doing and promptly opened it for no reason whatsoever. You don't think about things like that when you're living in The Big City.
The sunrises and sunsets are been uniformly spectacular --
This was another single frame from a video. Though it looks like it was close, some friends had seen the same lightning strike to the east as they were driving down Portal Road.
Here's another cool meteorological phenomena. You're used to seeing "rays" coming from the sun; they're called crepuscular rays. These are anticrepuscular rays; they came from the rising sun behind me and appear to converge at the antisolar point that's directly opposite to the sun due to perspective. I saw the same phenomenon a few days later, only this time it happened during sunset.
This enormous cloud was probably the largest that I've ever seen. It turned out that someone was taking a time lapse video underneath it around the same time as I took this photo. This, and the video, are awesome displays of the power of nature.
We may not have had much rain, but the shows seen from my front porch were still impressive.
Willow Tank was visited by Painted Buntings in late summer...
I had some pretty good "yard birds" these past 7 months. Here's a male Indigo Bunting --
I must've had at least 4 Gambel's Quail families; here they're at my back yard water hole --
I had male Varied Buntings on at least 2 different occasions --
My favorite, and consistent, visitor was a Violet-crowned hummingbird. They're "reportable" birds, uncommon for the area, and there was a time when birders wanted to have access to my back yard to see it. Here the Violet-crowned is on one end of a hummingbird feeder looking like a teeter-totter as it's blowing in the wind.
A male Nashville Warbler --
A male Broad-billed hummingbird --
Blue-throated hummingbirds can be seen at the Cave Creek Canyon Visitor Info Center, where I volunteer --
A male MacGillivray's Warbler, also at my back yard water hole. He and the Nashville were there at the same time for a few days, and actually seem to "pal" around together. It was an interesting comparison when seeing them side-by-side.
I puzzled about this humminbird for awhile until I realized it was an immature female Rivoli's (formerly Magnificent).
The Arizona Highways magazine had been featuring Arizona mountain ranges; for its September issue it highlighted the Chiricahuas. About a year ago one of my Elegant Trogon photos had been an AH Photo Of The Week, and during the summer one of the magazine's editors sent me an e-mail, asking if they could use it in the Chiricahua issue. Here's the photo -- the tiny one on the left. About 90% of that issue was devoted to the Chiricahua National Monument, on the west side of the mountains and easily accessible via Interstate 10. We here in the Cave Creek Canyon area barely got a mention. Maybe that's why my photo was the smallest in that issue. Still, it's quite an honor.
Coues (White-tailed) fawns showed up in the back yard --
-- accompanied by their moms.
Even the javelina brought their babies to the water hole. I still think of them as party guests who don't know when to leave.
This languid-looking bobcat sauntered through my back yard. Most if not all of these critters were attracted by my water feature, which is merely a buried hose that I run out to a spot in the yard. I have it on a timer, so it even refills with water when I'm gone. My bird feeders might be put away, but there's still water for everyone.
One day in late September I went out to the RV canopy next to my house to check on "Discovery", my 2015 Lance travel trailer. I noticed rodent droppings outside, and when I went inside -- oh-oh. I later discovered that 2 pack rats had chewed their way inside and had built a nest right next to the power distribution center, i.e., the location of all the electrical wiring. These weren't field mice; I put my foot by it for comparison --
Sorry, those of you who who believe all life is sacred. We have a rodent problem here and they can't all be trapped and moved. Besides, I was pissed off that they were able to get inside. So I put a rat zapper out and electrocuted them. I have a deal with all critters that we can live in harmony, so long as they stay out of the house, garage or trailer. If they try to get inside -- zap. I called the trailer insurance policy folks at Progressive, who said the damage isn't covered if the trailer hasn't been moved in more than 2 weeks. Well, THAT's stupid. So I hitched up Discovery to Tundra, popped open the hood -- mice like to get into the engine if it's dark; if the hood is up there's less of a chance -- then drove the 185 miles to Lazy Days RV in Tucson. The trailer was there for a little over a month, the damage wasn't too bad, I had a few other things done -- and now I have "her" back. I've put solar-powered rope lights underneath, again on the principle that rodents prefer to do their damage in the dark. It's a method to keep rodents away that's been recommended by friends and full-time RVers I know --and it works.
The rodent-damaged Discovery the day before the drive into Tucson.
On a happier note, there was a surprise birthday party thrown for me while I was volunteering at our visitor info center. From left to right, Cecil, Maya, Lori behind Maya, a non-resident guy whose name I can't remember, Mike in the blue T-shirt -- and yours truly.
And finally, to end what turned out to be not only The Year Of Home Improvement but The Year of the Critters, here's one last visitor to my back yard. He ended up bending 2 of my bird feeder poles, including the one you see here.
Next up : A trip to Trinidad and the Asa Wright Nature Centre...
