Lucifer display shots

What I lack in quality I make up for in quantity. When I happened upon this courtship display my camera was set on continuous shoot. Here are a few of the 50 or so I shot.  He tried for the longest time, in vain, to impress her. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take video. Next time I will.

The leucistic hummer tried to feed this morning but the Lucifer males wouldn't allow it. Didn't get good pics either.

Gotta go to town later today. Really hate to.

Life still weird

My sister and I went up the mountain at daylight. The wind was raging so hard that up on the ridge it actually caused me to lose my balance a couple of times, even using a walking stick (my trusty hoe). Here's a photo of me applying gray spray paint to rocks along the trail. Now I finally don't have to worry about people losing the trail.

When I arrived back at the oasis a couple of local birders told me about a spotted hummingbird they had seen. So, ready for a nap and to get out of the wind, I, instead, sat and got photos of the bird. When the wind dies down I'll try to get better shots of it. Apparently it's a "greying leucistic" bird, probably a Black-chinned. Very weird!

This photo of a Green-tailed Towhee isn't in great focus but I love the pose I accidentally captured. That'll never happen again.

Hordes of cowbirds are gobbling up the bird seed.

This female Yellow-headed Blackbird was among the migrants.

Another great migration day

As I approached the oasis early this morning I spied a Turkey Vulture sunning on one of the agave stalks. So many birds use them, but hadn't seen that use here before.

Warblers are starting to come through. Had the first Townsend's Warbler of the year. Right as the acacia are starting to bloom profusely, as usual. I was busy watering and then it was too hot so I didn't pay much attention.

Sparrows are still here in large numbers. Finally got the IDs all sorted out. The Savannah Sparrow is always a hard one for me. Kelly Bryan once told me to ask myself why it's not a Savannah, and if there's no good reason, then that's what it is. 

Cassin's Kingbird

Tomorrow is my last hurrah... if I even make it. Going up the mountain one last time to mark the trail for posterity. I'm determined to make it. Taking my sister for safety.

Back at my happy place

Usually when I get to the oasis I rush around trying to catch up and don't really enjoy myself as much as I could. Today I decided to slow down and stay an extra day or two. So did a little watering, lots of resting and some bird watching. It got over 100° this afternoon, but I stayed indoors. Since I had cleaned the house the last time I was down here (killing myself doing it), I was able to relax and enjoy.

Lots of sparrows at the oasis today, but very few warblers yet, even though the acacia are starting to bloom. I think these are both catclaw acacia but they look a bit different, so not sure.

My sparrow ID skills were sorely tested today. I think I have them straight. Here's a Lark Sparrow captured on a photo with a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

And a cooperative Scott's Oriole...

My favorite capture of the day was this Cyna Blue butterfly. So tiny I couldn't find it through my lens. By the time I finally got a shot, it disappeared, so this is all I got. It's not a new one for the oasis, I've had one here before.

But I failed to get photos of two species today that I really would have liked. One was a Hutton's Vireo which I haven't documented here before, but has been reported here by other birders, I think. The other was an unknown dragonfly that wouldn't land. My best guess was a male Great Blue Skimmer. I've photographed a female here before, never a male.

Black-headed Grosbeak

Wednesday I'm going up my mountain to mark the trail with spray paint. Afraid to go alone, so my sister is going with me. Gonna be an ordeal, but I can't do the mountain anymore and no one else can find the trail, so it's my last hurrah. I'll go as far as I possibly can go, hopefully as far as past the ridge. The weather is supposed to be cool, but maybe windy. Hope not. It's hard to spray paint in the wind.

Lots of blooms at Alpine property

The mulberry trees are loaded with ripening mulberries. A few birds are snatching berries, but for the most part mockingbirds are patrolling and attacking them. Even building a nest between two loaded trees behind the house. The nest is in the grape arbor, which will produced a feast of grapes after the mulberries are finished.

Roses do well here, which was unexpected for me. I didn't think West Texas was a suitable environment, but they do fine here in Alpine. Not at the oasis though.

Bougainvillea does good but we have to bring it indoors during the winter.

And our Anacacho Orchid tree has been a disappointment. It grows slow and blooms sparsely. When we ordered it through a now defunct local nursery about ten years ago we didn't know it was going to cost us $80 when it arrived. So it was a bad investment. It's spindly and about six feet tall.

Pandemic survival

Here's my guilty pleasure. And I really do feel guilty about it. I won't order $30 worth of dark chocolate ever again. The pandemic made me do it. That was a couple of weeks ago, but it finally arrived today. It's going to take more willpower to ration it sensibly than it would have taken to do without it in the first place.

My husband, on the other hand, has spent over $1000 on tequila every several month for 15 years. The pandemic hasn't affected him. He went to Odessa yesterday to pick up his latest shipment. I can only hope he wore the mask I made him.

Good migration day

I managed to finish watering, get my pickup jumped, and get to town. Weird times. On the way to town there was a ton of traffic, a wreck, and a dead elk (not related to the wreck) along the side of the highway. Got a new battery ordered. Will get it installed tomorrow. Whew!

I didn't take time to watch birds much but there were sure lots of them there. My favorite was a couple of Indigo Buntings. I got only a bad distant shot of one preening.

I was sad that I can't share migration with birders, but then I thought at least it's here for the birds to enjoy, and I'll focus on that. Can't be sad seeing so many happy birds.

Not many butterflies. Saw my first Dainty Sulphur for the year.

And hardly any odes. If I seem shallow during this stressful time, it's just that I know people need a sense of normalcy and a diversion. Believe me, it's difficult for me to carry on like normal. 

Can't keep up

I worked hard today trying to catch up. Just when I think I'm winning, my car won't start. An old battery I assume. I'll get it jumped tomorrow and get it to town for a new battery. Always something. Happened late this afternoon when I was so exhausted, but I cleaned the battery posts just in case, then had to walk up the hill to the house. Before I head to town I need to finish watering in the morning. No nap today either. Really dragging.

The warblers come through when the acacia bloom. I'd say it's 2 to 4 days away from blooming, so soon. Meanwhile, lots of blackbirds and stuff. Here's how the acacia looks today. Close to blooming.

It was too dark for my camera when I photographed this Elf Owl in the courtyard this evening.

I can't figure out what the deal is with my pondweed. Out in the middle of the tank there's what looks like root masses but no leaves. It appears to have blooms on it. Whereas the pondweed at the edge of the pond has leaves and no blooms. I've posted several pictures of it with leaves, which are now dying from lack of water. Here is the mass of something that has me confused.

I don't know if they're the same species or not. I do think I have two species of pondweed, but both bloom and look similar, so I don't know. Hopefully, I can figure it out. I just want the pond covered with leaves like it used to be before we cleaned it out. My theory is that the leaves keep the water cooler and healthier, which should cut down on evaporation, but I don't really know.I think this is all  Longleaf Pondweed (Potamogeton nodosus). And I think there's probably not enough mud on the bottom for it to thrive yet. Oh, well, can't have both a clean tank and pondweed it seems.Now that I have the new above ground tank for storage I plan to let more mud accumulate in the big tank for pondweed. Eventually the whole tank will fill with silt, but not in my lifetime. Nothing is forever.

Weird day in weird times

Not my normal day. Started out normal enough. Photographed the duck on its nest this morning. I think there may be another duck nesting in the other nesting tube, but can't be sure. It's so well-hidden deep inside. Here's the one I know for sure. She's one week into the three week incubation.

It's normal for me to take an afternoon nap, but this afternoon I took a very long nap. I was wiped out for no reason that I could think of. Woke up about 7 PM and knew I wouldn't be tired for many hours, making it difficult for me to get up early in the morning and go water at the oasis before it got too hot. So I decided to go down this evening. Had the whole highway to myself. Fifty years ago that wouldn't have been unusual, but just a few weeks ago traffic was bumper to bumper... when the parks were open and it was spring break. And no pandemic frenzy yet. So it felt a bit weird and nostalgic.

Nearing Elephant Mountain, in the late afternoon light, I noticed a lovely looking oasis off in the distance on the side of Elephant Mountain. It stood out in the barren landscape. Strange I hadn't ever noticed that before. Just the lighting, and time of year I guess.

Cruising along, enjoying the sunset on the barren highway, amid the barren land.

As I drove up to the house at the oasis around 9 PM, in the dark, three things happened simultaneously. Talk about weird! Walking into the courtyard I heard an Elf Owl squawking nearby (not unusual), as I noticed a light on in the kitchen (unusual). Guess I had left it on when I left 3 days ago to go to town. And just then I got a drastic case of diarrhea. I'm a person who never ever gets diarrhea. Like maybe 50 years ago in Mexico when I got dysentery. That's it. 

This episode only lasted about 20 or 30 minutes, but I'm trying to figure out what caused it. All I can come up with is that Hugh ordered some barbecue from someone in town that delivers. We ate that for lunch. Then later I crashed for hours, then the diarrhea. Oh well, I'm fine now. Didn't like that food anyway. We had decided we wouldn't order any more from them. I never worry about food, other than MSG, because I never get sick from food. We had ordered food from them once before with no problem. Of course, we're only ordering food because of the self-isolation. I personally prefer to cook, but my husband likes to eat lunch out a lot. 

Yesterday I figured this wasn't going to end any time soon so I made us extra masks to keep in all the vehicles. On the way to the oasis I stopped at the store for something I had forgotten to get during senior hour. It was shocking how people weren't social distancing or wearing masks. Never going again, except during senior hour. Then everyone wears masks and stays at a distance. These young people just don't get it.

Migration is in full swing. It'll be excited to see what birds I discover while watering in the morning.

Good migration day

A Varied Bunting arrived today. I hadn't expected one until May, but looking at my records I see they often come after mid-April. Not my best photo of one, but happy to see him, nevertheless.

A Clay-colored Sparrow visited the seed feeder, too. I tallied about 40 species today without really working hard at it.

Another rattlesnake encounter late this afternoon. In the courtyard, no less, where I feel more safe. Black-tailed, crawled up into a bush. Injured myself getting it out of the courtyard.

Migrants starting to arrive

Besides several warblers, this Solitary Sandpiper visited the oasis today. My best guess is that it's eating a female Flame Skimmer dragonfly.

I found out who the dogs belong to..... four miles from the oasis. Apparently other property owners in the area have complained about them, so I called the sheriff and complained too. I've never allowed birders to bring their dogs to the oasis. There's ample reason not to want dogs here.

The poor pondweed. I don't know if it'll make it in spite of my efforts. It's almost all out of water now and not growing fast enough in the water. Maybe insufficient mud in the bottom, but I would think there would be plenty. Just have to wait and see.

My day today

I left town this morning for the oasis. Along the way I encountered what appeared to be a tomato dump. Didn't look like an accident, but don't know. Strange times.

At the oasis I photographed an American Pipit down in the stucco tank. Still early for many migrants. Another week should start more activity.

While watering trees I heard a loud lapping sound. Thought it might be a mountain lion, but when I went to look there were a couple of big dogs there. Not knowing if they were aggressive, I went to my pickup and retrieved my gun. But they sauntered off when I yelled at them. This one looked like a Rottweiler to me, but I don't know dogs that well. It stressed me so bad I became short of breath and had to quit watering and go take a nap.

I have no idea whose dogs they are, but I'm more afraid of animals that don't fear humans than I am of wild animals.

And I keep forgetting to mention, I haven't seen the Golden-fronted Woodpecker in nearly a week now. I'm sure it's gone. So it just overwintered here. I can live with that.

Typical cold snap

It seems every April we get a late freeze and have to cover the tomatoes. Last night it got down to 35° and we saw frost on neighbor's roofs. Luckily, the tomatoes didn't freeze. Not supposed to freeze tonight either but we're not taking chances. I covered them. I can't complain because it's the first time I've had to cover them since we planted them. They're loaded with blooms and small tomatoes. I know they hate the cold weather just as much as I do.