Near miss......

Got to check the box on another "Arizona" experience this past Wednesday evening.  I stepped out of the sliding doors of the trailer onto the landing at about 8:30 p.m., it was dark, and I put my bare foot down onto a Scorpion.  The Scorp was not too happy with me and zapped me with its stinger.  Ouch! Actually I said other words but you get the drift.  In addition I hopped into the trailer wondering if I was going to live or was I going to die here in the dry Arizona desert.  Well, maybe I was being a wee bit melodramatic.

Seriously though it hurt like hell.  When I sat down I grabbed the computer and did what anyone would do when they need information.  "GOOGLE IT"  "Scorpion bites in Arizona" took me to a site that was awesome.  The information started out by stating that "Scorpion stings are not normally lethal".  My brain got hung up on the word "normally".  The site contained all the info one would need including a 1-800 number which I called.  This was the local Poison Control Hot line.  My brain got stuck on the word "Poison".....   I explained my situation to the representative.  The rep from Poison Control was terrific and somewhat reassuring.  He explained that the "venom" from the sting affected only the nervous system and nothing else.  (Oh goody....)  He instructed me to wash the area, apply a cold compress, elevate if possible and take 2 Tylenol or Ibuprofen.  He said he would call back in an hour and see how I was doing.  Sure enough an hour later someone called to check on me.  Great service.  

The question I get asked most often is, what were the effects.  To be honest there were not many.  The symptoms were similar to getting stung by a wasp.  The area where I was stung was tender and sore during the evening.  I did not have any swelling in the affected area.  The following morning I got up, put my foot on the floor and, nothing.  The pain was gone.  Other folks we know who have been stung had other symptoms and some needed medical attention.  Lucky me.

The beast was captured just after the attack.  It spend the night sealed in a jar.  The following morning I took it outside, in the jar of course, to take a few photos.  I took a couple of photos in the shaded carport.  The Scorpion was a bit lethargic but I wrote that off to it spending the night in a jar.  I took it out into the sunlight to get a better photo.  Holy smokes the beast went crazy.  It seems that Scorpions, like vampires, do not like sunlight, or for that matter any light.  When I took it back into the shade it settled right down.  Then I applied rubbing alcohol and he went sleep, permanently.  

Here is a photo of the Scorpion that savagely attacked me.  For interest, it is an Arizona Bark Scorpion.  Don't let the size fool you.  It packs a wallop!

Visit to the Tonto National Monument

It has been a busy week both in politics and more importantly, our continued adventures in the Valley of the Sun.  On Saturday we picked up our friends Keith and Nancy from their RV resort and headed off to visit the Tonto National Monument.  Saturday was "Fee Free" at the Monument in celebration of Arizona Archeology and Heritage Awareness Month.  The Monument, operated by the National Parks Service hosted Heritage Days on Saturday and Sunday.

What is the Tonto National Monument?  Perched on the side of a mountain are 2 shallow caves containing dwellings dating back 700 years.  A better description is "Cliff Dwellings".  There is a lower dwelling and an upper dwelling.  The upper dwelling is a bit larger but essentially both contain the remains of dwellings used by the Salado people.  Salado people being those of the Salt River.  The Monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 in an effort to preserve and protect the sites from vandals and pothunters.

Dana, Keith, Nancy and I arrived at the Monument Headquarters at 9:00 a.m.  Unfortunately, Nancy was unable to hike up to the dwellings as the night before she had injured a toe on her left foot.  We left Nancy in the Headquarters visitors centre where she bonded with fellow Parks Service employees while Dana, Keith and I headed to the lower dwellings.  This was a short 25 minute walk.  On the way up I took some landscape photos.  The sun was at the perfect angle.  The cactus, yellow flowers of the Brittle Bush and the red hillside seemed to glow.  We had a look at the dwellings, talked to a couple of Park staff and headed back down to find the trail to the upper dwellings.

For the hike to the upper dwellings I put the 400mm lens on the camera.  I did this as we saw a number of birds on the hike to the lower dwellings and I missed a few good opportunities at some of the local birds.  I was not about to miss any more.  Murphy must have been on our team as we got only a couple of glimpses of birds on the hike up to and down from the upper dwellings.  That hike, including a visit to the dwellings lasted 1 1/2 hours.

When we got back to the parking area we decided to have our picnic lunch.  It was at this time that I finally saw a couple of birds.  Photos below.

Overall the visit to the Tonto Monument was fantastic.  I have read about cliff dwellings and seen shows on television about them but I had not seen them for myself.  Fascinating!  To think that up to 100 people inhabited each of these dwellings is amazing.  The information on the Salado people indicate when they inhabited the dwellings but there is a great deal that we do not know about them.  For example, why did they create the dwellings high on a hill, many miles from the Salt River and perhaps even more important, where did they go and why did they leave.

I am including a few photos from the day.  All of these photos are from the trail to the lower dwellings, or of the lower dwellings themselves.  I had the big lens on the camera when we were at the upper dwellings and I did not take any landscape photos there.

In summary it was great day.  If you get the chance to visit the Tonto National Monument I don't think you will be disappointed, even if you have to pay the admission.

Enjoy the photos.

Visitor Reception and Office building

Photo taken from inside the cave.  In the background is Lake Roosevelt.  Prior to 1904 it would be the Salt River

Tropical Buckeye Butterfly

Canyon Towhee

White Western Butterfly

Anna's Hummingbird feeding on Penstemon flowers

Happy Birthday Dylan Douglas Shivers!

This post is a very special shout out to Dylan.  Happy Birthday, dude!  Some of you who know me might be thinking "Bob Dylan"?  No, not that Dylan.  That Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 is one of my all time favourite singer-songwriter, poet, entertainer, someone who shaped a generation with his brilliant lyrics.  The Dylan on my radar today is Dylan Douglas Shivers, born March 8, 2009.  Happy 7th birthday Dylan!   Holy smokes, that is the year I retired.  Most of my socks and t-shirts, heck, most of my clothes are older that that.

I understand that Dylan requested his favourites for dinner tonight, and his mom delivered, as usual.  For Dylan tonight it was steak on the grill, scalloped potatoes and Greek salad.  For dessert?  What else but mom's special carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  Good call Dylan, these are some of my favourites too.

Okay Dylan, you know that we have some very interesting creatures here in the desert.  One being the Scorpion.  Well last evening AD and I were out for a walk and ran into a dude with a black light and pair of pliers.  He also donned a John Deere ball cap, but I digress (ask your mom what this means....).  John Deere dude was going through the resort finding Scorpions and dispatching them with his trusty pair of pliers.  He told us that the evening before he had found 31 Scorps.  Before you think this sound like fun you should know that he was a professional and you should not try this at home by yourself.  Dad will explain this reasoning to you.

Ok, that's all from here in Arizona.  To all you birthday dudes, have a good night.  Don't forget to tell your mom, dad, brothers and sisters how much you love them.

Here is a picture of Dylan on his birthday with his new scooter.

Time to March. Birding in overdrive......

I’m taking a break from politics tonight.  Rather than writing about the pathetic state of affairs in U.S. politics I am going back to basics.  I am not going to rant about the GOP’s choices for potential candidate in the 2016 U.S. Presidential race, although their choices are, by any standards, wing nuts, wackos and just plain ridiculous.  No, I won’t go there.  Nor will I satirize the GOP candidates by referring to their daily taunts, threats and empty promises, and that is just what they are saying about each other.  Nope.  Won’t go there.  Not worth the time nor effort.   Wait.  Trump is just about to make a speech after today’s Primaries and Caucuses, which he won 2 and lost 2 to none other than Ted, I am not Canadian, Cruz.   Oops.  Sorry.  I just can’t help myself.  Maybe if I shut the split screen that I have open I will be able to concentrate on what I really want to write about this evening and that is BIRDS!

Okay, here goes….

This week we added 7 new birds to our 2016 year to date list.  They are:

1. Lawrence’s Goldfinch - a new life list bird
2. Ash-throated Flycatcher
3. Black-chinned Sparrow - also a lifer
4. Yellow-eyed Junco
5. Hutton’s Vireo
6. Brewer’s Blackbird
7. Chihuahuan Raven- also a lifer

A couple of days ago Dana and I went down to Coon Bluff Recreation Area to do a bit of late afternoon birding.  We are doing this more often now that the day time temperature is in the mid 80’s.  By going to the river we find cooler temperatures and some shade.  Also, the birds tend to feed in the late afternoon so we have a better chance and seeing them.  I admit to having a couple of target species in mind.  One being the Ash-throated Flycatcher.  We got one about this time last year so I thought, why not?  While wandering through the Mesquite trees, which are leafing out making birding a bit more of a challenge, we spotted the “usual suspects”; Vermillion Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, House Finches, Northern Rough-wing Swallows, etc.  In addition we spotted several Violet-green Swallows mixing it up with the Northern Rough-wing Swallows.  We also spotted a pair of Rock Wrens who have made a home somewhere near the large boulders on the river bank.  The 2 Wrens did not seem a bit afraid and actually seemed to come closer once I started taking photos of them.

We were on our way to the 4Runner to go home when Dana spotted what she initially thought to be a Lesser Goldfinch.  We have Lesser GF here not the American we have back home.   A second look revealed that this Goldfinch had a black face.  Hmmmm…..  Time to re-think this one.  I got a few shots while Dana looked up the bird in her book.  Turned out to be a Lawrence’s Goldfinch.  New to both of us.  Yes!  A lifer!

Today we had a big birding day.  We joined Marcus and Carl for a trip to Pinal Peak.  Pinal Peak is south of Globe, Az., about a 2 hour drive from Mesa.  We drove up to Globe and turned south on Russell Road.  The first 5 miles is a barely 2 lane paved track.  After that it is gravel for about 18 miles to the top.  The last 5 miles is single track with some wide areas for passing.  We got to within 2 miles from the top and ran into a 100 foot stretch of deep snow.  Carefully considering our location, we chose to turn around and go back down the mountain.  Although we were in Marcus’ Toyota 4X4 Sequoia we decided not to risk the soft compacted snow and ice.  Besides, turns out we were a bit early in the season for birding and there were not many birds near the top of the 7,848 ft’ mountain.  We will return later in March before we leave the Valley of the Sun,

On our way to and from our turnaround, we did see some good birds including; Hutton’s Vireo, Acorn Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-eyed Junco; White-breasted Nuthatch and Black-chinned Sparrow.

We had one last stop to make before we headed back to Mesa. The Landfill at Globe, Az.  You are probably saying to yourself, “the landfill”?  Yes.  The Landfill.  Every good birder knows that landfills are a great place to find birds.  Actually, we didn’t even know there was a landfill at Globe.  I mean the entire countryside in a landfill.  Mining has destroyed hundreds of square miles of ecosystem in that area.  I can’t believe they even thought about having a landfill for human generated garbage.  Regardless, they have a landfill.  Earlier in the day we ran into the eminent Arizona State University Professor, Dr. Pearson.  He's an amazing birder.  I'm not exaggerating by telling you that he knows the call and song of every bird in the world.  Dana and I heard him speak at a Desert Rivers Audubon meeting in Gilbert, Az., 2 years ago.  Marcus knows him through his volunteer work as a bird guide.  Major score on our part.  Dr. Pearson told us that we could see Chihuahuan Ravens at the Globe Landfill.  So this is where we went, and that is what we saw.  Another lifer for all of us!

Yes, it has been a big week of birding.  And, if anyone is keeping score (I sure am), we are now at 150 species for the 2016.  Coincidentally this is exactly the number we had on this date last year.  Not all the same birds mind you, but the same number.

In closing, I did peak to the Trump speech tonight.  I’m going to have nightmares tonight.  Is it just me or was it weird to have a press conference, call out the members of the press by saying that “members of the press are the most dishonest people I know”, then ask for questions from same members of the press and not let the TV audience hear the questions, but provide responses to what may or may not have been the questions asked?  It was surreal.  Very creepy.  The Donald is one very strange, scary dude.  I’m gonna ask the question one more time.  What the hell is going on????

Here are some bird photos to get your mind of politics.  Click on the photos and your browser should provide a larger, sharper image.  Enjoy!
 

I know - not a bird.  We spotted this Mule Deer half way up the mountain.
 They are kinda cute when in the wild.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Black-chinned Sparrow

Chihuahuan Raven

Hutton's Vireo

Lawrence's Goldfinch

Rock Wren

Super Tuesday, not so Super after all....

I have been looking forward to today.  For the past week I have, at times, been nearly giddy with anticipation.  Super Tuesday, the biggest day yet in the 2016 U.S. Presidential candidate nomination for both the Dems and the GOP.  Here it is 10:00 p.m. and most of the results are in, except Alaska, and I'm feeling not excited because I have a lot of great material to write about, but sad.  Why sad?  Well, let me try and put my feelings into words.  Not easy for a 60 something straight, happily married white guy from the left coast of Canada, eh.  Oh, I'm a non-smoker too, but I digress....

I think until a few weeks ago I thought that the phenomenon known as "The Donald" was going to implode, or explode, or perhaps just have a melt-down.  Whatever was going to happen would be spectacular.  As I have said in the past, it has been like chasing an ambulance.  You know that carnage and destruction could lie around the next corner.  I thought we might of had something last Saturday, when during the Republican candidates forum, Rubio went after Trump for his exploitation of imported Polish construction workers who were brought in to help in the construction of one of his hotels in New Jersey.  For sure this would be damaging to candidate Trump.  Nope.  Then Rubio attacked him over the Trump University scandal that involved lost tuition by students who were left out in the cold when the University folded.  Nope.  Then the other day a story broke about his refusing to reject the support of David Duke and the KKK.  This was the one.  This was it!  This was the straw that would break the back of the Badger.  Nope.  Nothing.  Nada.  Oh sure there was muted condemnation by a few noted Republicans but for the most part the airways were silent.

The Donald continues to show why he is the real Teflon Don.  He has seemingly benefited from controversy that follows him.  I must be losing it because I am going to quote the Donald.  "What the hell is going on"???  I heard a noted political pundit say recently that Trump has so much momentum that controversy of the kind revealed so far will do little damage to him and his popularity among Republican voters.  At this point I want to give a special shout out to the good people of Minnesota who today handed Trump his worst defeat of the primary season.  Trump finished 3rd garnering only 21% of the vote.  I have yet to hear Trump's response to the people of Minnesota but I can imagine that it will go something like, "Fuck 'em.  What do they know?  They voted Jesse Ventura Governor.  He worked for me in the WWF.  Didn't like him then, don't like him know"!  Yep, I can hear it now.....

But seriously, what the hell is going on?   Dana and I have had a couple of very brief discussions about this subject.  Dana is good for about 5 minutes of politics then she is done.  Can't really blame her.  What kind of person really likes talking about this stuff?  Oops.  I mean other than me.  If I had any answers to why and how the GOP, which by the way stands for Grand Old Party, got to this point I would be able to write a book, sell the movie rights and make a killing.  Alas, all I can do is write my blog and provide my thoughts and feelings on what the hell is going on.

Tonight on the PBS Hews Hour David Brooks, political columnist for the New York Times, called Trump a bigot and a bully.  No one on the set of the weekly political discussion gasped or groaned.  The news anchors said nothing.  It was if the silence was acknowledgement that they all agreed.  I happened to agree with David 's candid assessment and have been saying the same thing for months.   Such is the state of the current Republican party.  They are on track to nominate a man who is openly referred to as a bigot and a bully.  He ridicules and taunts his opponents and anyone who dare criticize him.  He lies, tells half truths, has a dreadful memory - conveniently so.  Yet, here he is on the verge of marching to the podium to accept the nomination as the Republican candidate for the 2016 election for President of the U.S.A.  Holy shit!  What the hell is going on?

Why are seemingly good people supporting Trump?  Maybe the options are so bad that they feel they are boxed in and have to vote for the Badger.  Hey, it's a possibility.  Actually when I look at the alternatives to Trump I have to say, could I support any of them?  Maybe John Kasich, he is the only reasonable one of the bunch.  The problem for Kasich is that he is so far back, except in Vermont where he finished 2nd to Trump tonight with 30% of the vote, that he gets no air time and is all but invisible.  Yes, what the hell is going on?

Well, I'm done for the day.  My brain is shutting down.  Let's continue this discussion another day.   If anyone figures out what the hell is going on, please drop me a line.  Oh, don't forget the movie rights.  It's going to be a blockbuster!

By the numbers.....

Almost forgot that this year February has 29 days.  Tuesday is March 1st.  31 days in March, still, and that is the number days we will have left in our 2016 Adventure in the Valley of the Sun., on March 1.  Lots of numbers so far in this post.  Want some more?  Of course you do.

143.  The number of bird species we now have on our year to date list having added 9 yesterday while birding on Mt. Ord which is 50 miles, or 80 Canadian, northeast of Mesa.  Mt. Ord has an elevation of around 7,100 feet.  We spent about 4 hours birding our way up to the summit of Mt. Ord. The 6 miles of gravel road was very rough and dusty, except for the small patch of ice near the top.

Mt. Ord, above 5,000 feet, is a pine forest.  These desert ecosystems are called "sky islands" and support a variety of flora and fauna.  Pine, Live Oak and Juniper are abundant.  Wild flowers dot the landscape.  Snow patches on the north side of the mountain provide some needed water.  The birds were quiet first thing in the morning but once the air warmed up to 50F they started moving around and feeding on seeds, insects and sap from the trees.

As I mentioned we picked up 9 new species on Mt. Ord.  They are:

Williamson's Sapsucker, Bridled Titmouse, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Olive Warbler, Violet-green Swallow, Acorn Woodpecker and Western Bluebird.

Photos were tough to get this day given the fast moving birds and the poor light in the forest.  I did however manage to get a couple to share in this post.  In addition to the sharing the bird photos I am  going to share with you a little insight into my style of bird photography.  There are times when I can photograph birds from the 4Runner (note the photo of the Crested Caracara from a previous post).  There are other times when skulking in the woods by myself can yield outstanding photos.  This is one of my favourite methods as I think it takes me back to my childhood on the farm where we ran free in the 10 acres of woods that made up half of the family "farm".   Yesterday Carl surprised me by  taking a couple of photos of me while I was busy at "work".  These I have included in this post.

I leave you with a couple of other numbers.  Today I golfed 18 holes at Sunland Village Golf Course. It was a gorgeous morning (most are...).  In the 4some was brother Mike.  Always great to golf with Mike.  He tends to bring out the best in me.  Today was no exception, in fact today was exceptional.  I shot 7 over par.  The best round I have had since, well, the last century.  1999 to be exact.  Golf being "golf", the next time out may be completely different.

Well, that's about it for today.  I am already thinking about my next post.  March 1st is "Super Tuesday" on the U.S. political scene.  Oh goody-goody!  There will be scads of great material for my next post.

Enjoy the pics!

Dark-eyed Junco on snow.

Olive Warbler in a Pine tree

Western Bluebird

Williamson's Sapsucker

Skulking in the woods.....

Intent on the subject, ready to pounce, er..., shoot.  No birds were harmed in this  "shoot".

Exciting end to Bocce Ball league.

Today we played our final league game.  We entered the contest with a record of 3 and 3.  A .500 record.  Could we go to 4 and 3?  I have to tell you that expectations were low as our opponents today were arguably the best team in all the Bocce League divisions here in the resort.  There are well over 500 members in the league and competition is stiff.  The all male team that we met today plays together as a team 4 or 5 days a week in various divisions.  At the Awards ceremonies in a couple of weeks they will, as they usually do, walk away with many of the top honours.  And today, we beat them!!!  The final score was 15 to 4.  Now we have been on the loosing end of a 15 to 4 score but I can tell you without hesitation that being on the winning end is a lot more fun.  What a great way to end the year.

Another Bocce Ball season is over for our team, "The Northern Lights".  To say it has been an up and down season would be an understatement.  After we won today we were all looking forward to next year.  A month go I think we were all looking forward to the end of the season.  Nothing like a big win to turn things around.

Oh, if anyone was wondering, no we are not in the playoffs.  After the win today I started telling everyone that we were "the best team NOT in the playoffs".  Makes me think of the Vancouver Canucks.....but I digress.....

Here is an iPhone photo that was taken after our big win today.  4 very happy Bocce Ball players!

Barry, Dana, Gayle and Tony.  Score 15 to 4