Red-Bellied Woodpecker 050626

I'm not a bird expert but I have learned some about them in taking pictures of them to put on calendars for my "bird loving" friends. One of the birds I have learned the sound they make is the Red-Bellied Woodpecker. I heard the pecking sound. Then the vocal shrill. I followed it and spotted the bird in one of our trees that has a dead limb in it.

I watched the bird go into a hole in the limb and then stick it's head out.

I conclude that there must be a nest. I do a little research to see when they lay eggs and how long before they hatch.

I took the these photos with a 300mm lens. I couldn't get close enough or at the right angle to see into the hole when the bird wasn't there.

I watched it. Then I didn't see the woodpecker anymore. I think something may have happened to the eggs. I was sure hoping I would see babies.

Have a good one!

Arizona Trip Part 2

 Thursday, April 23rd we started the day enjoying Roxanne's patio watching birds and discovering cactus blooms that had opened.

Aunt Sandy wanted a picture of her with the bloom.

So pretty!

More blooms.

Roxanne's back yard.

I believe this is a female and male house finch.

Not 100% sure but I think this is a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Roxanne planned another excursion for us. She booked a 90 minute boat cruise on Lake Pleasant.

I didn't realize that this was the boat we would be on or I would have made sure I got all of it in the picture! 

This is a man-made lake that serves as a massive storage reservoir to balance water supply and meet peak agricultural and municipal demands in Central and Southern Arizona. When at capacity it covers 10,000 acres!

Looking at the menu for some refreshments.

We got to see some wildlife on the cruise. These are Great White Egrets that are nesting on a island in the lake.

Wild burros!

And we saw some deer! They often swim the lake to go to this island they were on.

I really enjoyed the cruise. It was delightful!

After the cruise we had lunch at a restaurant at the marina called Dillions.

After we return back to Roxanne's we sat on her patio again. Watching the sunset, some bunnies and
birds.

The woodpecker figured out how to eat from the hummingbird feeder.

We had another great day

Friday was going home day.

Got a picture with Pat, Roxanne's husband and their dog Jenny.

Me and Pat. 

I had a wonderful time with my cousin Roxanne and Aunt Sandy.

Have a good one!

Arizona Trip Part 1

Several months ago my cousin, Roxanne invited me and Mom to come visit her when her Mom (my Aunt Sandy) was going to visit. Mom didn't think she was up for that trip but I was. My cousin moved to Arizona from Missouri 3 years ago this fall.

Our first evening on Roxanne's patio. Beautiful sunset and the weather was perfect! She also offered us homemade lemonade made from freshly squeezed lemons from the neighbor's lemon tree! Delightful!

Roxanne had some fun activities planned for us. We started the next morning (Wednesday April 22nd) with some freshly made orange juice made from oranges also from her neighbor's tree! Oh...my....goodness....I am ruined forever! It was so good!

She then took us to a local scrapbook store! It is the largest I have ever been in! Walking through looking at all the product brought back a flood of memories of when I worked at the store here in Mineral Wells. I took a few pictures to share with my friend who owned the store I worked in. Ten years ago I would have dropped a lot of money there but I have so much that I bought when our store was open that I don't need anything! Plus it would have to fit in my suitcase to take home on the plane!

This is inside the front door.

In the forefront is where the register for checkout is. My Aunt Sandy looking at product. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see in the back of the photo on the wall says "classroom". Then out of the photo to the left of Aunt Sandy is a doorway into another large room with more product! Behind me is product too as I'm standing in the middle of the store.

This little area is behind the checkout counter in the center of the store. I was amazed at the selection of inks, stamp pads, stencils and more!

Their sale product was in a whole other space!

Later in the day we drive to Rock Springs.

View of Arizona terrain.

This place is known for their pies.

Front door up close.

The pies are written on the chalkboard in the middle of the photo on the back wall.

The pies were good but I wouldn't describe them as "world famous".😉

After dinner Roxanne took us to Sunset Point Rest Area. This is a great area that is a rest stop with lots of look out points, picnic tables. It's really nice. We had hoped to watch the sunset but the sun had just gone behind the mountains when we arrived. We still enjoyed the view!

Roxanne and Aunt Sandy at one of the look out points.

The sunlight was shining on the mountains on the other side of the highway. I waited to long to get this picture. The mountains almost looked like they were glowing!

It was a great day.

I'll share more on the trip in the next blog.

Have a good one!