Back to reality....... Since I last wrote we have been doing more of the same old stuff. Birding, biking, tennis, bocce ball (won our match on Tuesday. We are now 3 and 0.), hiking, a bit of shopping and lots of eating good things. Have I told you how great it is to wake up every morning and juice 6 or 7 oranges for fresh juice! Mother Natures Elixir. We buy the oranges by the 40 pound box ($14 for the box) at one of the local Citrus Orchards. I digress....
Dana and I finally got out for a long hike last Saturday. The weekend is never a good time to hike as it can be quite busy on the trails. This day was no exception. We chose to hike the Pass Mountain trail at Usery Park. The trail is 7.1 miles and goes clear around Pass Mountain. I'll describe the terrain as "up and down". We got a late start and ended up hiking in the hottest part of the day. By the time we returned to the truck the temperature was close to 80F. We severely miscalculated the elements and ended up a bit short of water. Funny how one thinks of themselves as experienced hikers and can still make rookie mistakes. No harm, no foul. We survived only slightly dehydrated. The beer tasted mighty good when we got home. I did take one photo on the hike to show the desert trail. Make sure you click on the photo to enlarge it to get a better perspective.
We got out on a couple of rides since I last wrote. Riding down here never gets old. Looking forward to riding again tomorrow. We were going to ride today but both of us got up feeling a bit off and decided birding was a better option for the morning. I spent the afternoon on the tennis court. I have volunteered as a coaches assistant for the 1.5 team. Lots of fun plus it is great to meet so many enthusiastic folks.
Birding has been pretty good. In the desert you have to really look for life and what you find will often surprise and amaze you. On our Pass Mountain hike we spotted a lone hawk circling not far from us. From out of nowhere a red-tailed hawk came swooping in to, we presume, scare it away. Then from again out of nowhere another hawk similar to the first one came along. The red-tailed hawk then left the scene and the two Ferruginous Hawks circled together in the sky close enough for us to identify them. Wow! Finally a Ferruginous Hawk, no a pair of Ferruginous Hawks. We reported the sighting to Sandy, the Usery Park "bird-lady" who told us that someone else had seen one Ferruginous Hawk last week. Bingo! We had our confirmation.
We also added the following birds to our list this week:
Snowy Egret (Photo included below.)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Kestrel
Juvenile Red-crossbill
Harris's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Costa's Hummingbird
American Avocet
Peach faced lovebirds
Wilson's Snipe
Green heron
Black crowned night Heron
Other wildlife sighting included 2 miniature horses in a miniature coral at the horse staging area parking lot in Usery Park. I have included the picture because someone just might think they are cute. Go figure.....
That's all for now. Hot weather is leaving us for a few days. We may even see a few showers on the weekend although they often indicate that showers are possible and they don't always come. Must be because we live in a "desert". To our northern friends and relatives, stay warm! Remember, you can always put on another wool sweater. Ciao! Enjoy the pics.
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| Snowy Egret at the Gilbert Water Ranch |
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| On the Pass Mountain Trail |
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| Minnie horses.... |
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