What a start to the new year!

In the wee hours of New Year’s Day, my extend-a-stay propane tank went dry.  I was of course in bed, so I awoke to a temp of 50* in the rig in the morning.  Ugh!  We’ve been having quite the cold snap here around Yuma, and the news says lettuce prices are going to rise because of it.  So, be prepared.

Yesterday, I headed to town to get the tank filled and do grocery shopping.  Had two surprises when I did that.  I really hadn’t realized what a snowbird capital Yuma is.  There were 30 vehicles in line as I arrived at the propane place.  The first place I tried to fill the tank had run out of propane.  Luckily a propane delivery truck arrived just before it was my turn at Cactus Storage. 

Then I headed over to Fry’s for groceries.  The place was packed at noon on a Friday, and 99.9 % of the customers were Q-tips (white haired retirees).  I fit right in, I guess, until I arrived at the meat counter.  People were almost battling over the sirloin steak sale.  The deal was if you bought one family sized package of sirloin strips, you got two more for free.  When they rolled out multi-layered trays of the stuff the flurry of people grabbing packages reminded me of those news shots you see of Black Friday shopping!  No way I could use 30 strips of sirloin, so I just headed for some fresh shrooms.  Unbelievable!

I was happy to get back to the peace and quiet of the refuge so I could sit outside (all bundled up) with Emma to try to get some shots of the Anna’s hummingbirds.

Recently I ordered a little boom box from Amazon so I could enjoy some tunes while I sit out in the late afternoon and early evening.  While John Denver was serenading me, I crept up to within four feet of this little dude.  While John was belting out “Rocky Mountain High”, I was thinking “Arizona High”, by the Colorado River… ♫   Don’t you just love the detail of all those little feathers?  Hummingbirds are a wonder to me.

Today I participated in probably about my 25th Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  Folks all over North America go out each winter to count all the birds they see in one 24 hour period.  Each count is done in registered circles that are 15 miles in diameter.  I went out with four other people today to cover the part of the circle here that includes the area I do my bird tours on.  It was 27*F this morning, so although we found nice numbers of waterfowl, the little birds seemed to still be huddled down and not out and about due to the cold temperatures.

We covered the ponds first, and then returned to the cottonwood woodlot hoping little birds would be bustling about a little later in the morning.  That didn’t happen, but what a non-avian treat we had instead.

This young bobcat was walking through the woods.  It’s one of last spring’s kittens.  Mom was across the road, and disappeared as we stopped.  She has two young ones that are still staying with her, and have been seen quite regularly by staff and volunteers working in the area. 

What a thrill to have this one stop and look our way long enough for everyone to get a good look.  See those little tufts at the top of its ears?  The other vehicle with CBC counters in it headed out, but I stayed a bit and witnessed the second young one join this one.  They went further back into the woods and then jumped on each other.  It was just like watching two young kittens wrestling around.  Cool beans!  What a way to start a new year!

I’m still trying to get a good shot of those jittery gnatcatchers, so I leave you tonight with my sunset pic of my latest attempt:

                                                                              THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

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