Lovely oasis morning!

I arrived at the oasis around 7 AM to service feeders and then head back to town. Immediately upon walking over to the mostly empty hummingbird feeders I heard and saw a male Broad-billed Hummingbird. That was awesome!

When I finished with the feeders I spent a little time surveying the abundance of dragonflies present. Mosquitoes weren't too bad. Was happy to see a good number of California Spreadwings.

I had spent a total of three hours at the oasis, yet when I got back to town I was totally exhausted and had to take a long nap. Good thing I didn't need to water trees, but next time I go, I will. Old age sure sucks!

Doses of nature

 

Today my sister took her son and granddaughters to see the oasis. She texted me from there that they had found a lone weak baby quail and what should they do for it? Unfortunately, all I could tell them was to put it down and walk away from it. If it's not strong enough to keep up with the adults, it won't survive. Such is the nature of nature.

There's a small volunteer cypress tree that I've been nurturing, and a bear has damaged it twice now. I think it'll survive, eventually. If you look closely you can see a cord that I had tied to it to keep it upright after the previous time a bear had ravaged it.

And there was new damage to this Mexican Pinyon tree. It should survive also.

It was so hard for me to manage the hoses and pump to fill the 11,000 gallon tank yesterday. I had to get my sister and niece to run up and help me. When I looked inside to see how fast the tank was filling, I was greeted by drowning rats. Ugh! Another ample dose of nature.

The mosquitoes have arrived at the oasis in force, my sister tells me. I'm not anxious for that much nature right now, but I'll go in a couple of days, long enough to fill feeders. 

Question: Why is it so difficult to create a bear proof trash can (or seed feeder)?

Answer: Because there's considerable overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest people.

Fortunately, the electrified feeder is working. I toyed with the idea of removing the zapper setup and concreting the feeder in so a bear can't jiggle seed out of it. That way I could make it prettier with rock perches etc. BUT.. I can't bring myself to do it. Maybe a strong bear could wiggle it loose, especially if the concrete hadn't cured good yet, and it had access to the ports. If it's not broke, don't fix it, even if it goes against my nature to want to beautify it.

Perfect surprise monsoon!

Just before daylight this morning, my son and I headed to the oasis to service feeders and do some watering . We were surprised to see a few showers at a couple of places along the way, as none were forecast. Our hope was that the oasis would at least have wet ground when we got there. From what we could see it didn't look too promising.

When we arrived around 8:00 AM a few sprinkles fell but we went about getting ready to set up the hoses to water. A little lightning flashed, but not close to us. Nothing to indicate a monsoon. And I've seen enough monsoons to know when one is impending. I thought. And we almost never ever get a monsoon in the early morning unless we're in the direct path of a hurricane, with many days notice and anticipation... usually all for nothing. In short, I can't remember ever getting an early morning monsoon. 

We noticed a bear had visited, so took a few minutes to look for damage and tracks when suddenly we started being pelted by hail.

We dove into the viewing blind, but it afforded no protection. Soon hail and rain deluged us. We got drenched, but couldn't stop laughing! It was hilarious in its freakishness!

I tried recording with my camera as I shivered. Totally forgot to set the brightness in the excitement, so the videos are too dark. I can't find a way to brighten them without buying some programs online, so here they are, for what they're worth.

In minutes everything was full and running over. The big tank was full before we were even able to walk over to watch it fill.

It was an incredible experience. So glad I'd gotten to share it with Lee. He'd never been present there during a monsoon before. Within an hour, the skies were cloudless, with temperatures fast on the rise.

As for the bear visit, we assume it got zapped by the feeder. Nothing to indicate the feeder had been messed with. There were some broken branches not far from the feeder that probably happened in the aftermath of the zapping. Bark was ripped off a pine tree, but no real damage.

So I'm a most happy camper! Hated that my son had to get back to town, but I'll go back in a few days and focus on photographing the dragonflies that are sure to show up.

Here and there

 In Alpine I have a lovely little habitat with plenty of water security.

It would be great if it wasn't surrounded by barking dogs, and other city noise, including trains.

In the Christmas Mountains I have a lovely habitat with scant water security, but it's special, nevertheless. Today my son and I did a short watering, in keeping with my resolve to make the oasis less dependent on water. We'll see how it goes. My plan is to cut water usage in half while retaining the important vegetation. Some plants require more water than the value they add. Gonna be tricky, but I feel it's necessary. There seems to be no question but what the area will become hotter and drier in the future, and for sure I'm getting too old to be a slave to it. So a new chapter begins...

Last time I was there watering, a quail kept going into and out of a clump of grass beneath a tree. I knew there had to be a nest under there. Today I didn't see the quail anywhere near the clump, but did see the nest. I hope that doesn't mean it's been abandoned. It could mean that the weather was lovely and the eggs don't require sitting on. Or she's not through laying and hasn't started incubating. I don't know.

Again today, visiting birders got their lifer Lucifer Hummingbird. That always makes it so worth while, and I'll always be able to at least maintain feeders. No major health issues. All is good!

Rain update

My son and I arrived at the oasis at 7 AM this morning. The only runoff was at the upper dirt tank. We spent the day wrestling with heavy lines to make the water go directly from the dirt tank into the reserve tank. Eventually, we topped it off, but in hindsight decided we should have done it differently by putting it into the stucco tank first and then into the reserve tank. We got .62" to dry parched ground during a half hour period, so most of it just soaked into the ground. Nevertheless, so grateful for it.

Good to see water going into tanks instead of out from.

Here you can look at the vegetation around the dirt tank to see how high the water was before we started pumping. Notice how lush the Soapberry thicket is there compared to the one at the oasis. Better soil is the reason, I think.

This is the oasis Soapberry thicket today. Since the rain it should start putting on new leaves.

Hoping for a great monsoon season!  I still intend to water less, even if it means losing some things. I want a more natural habitat with a less risky maintenance routine.

After the reserve tank was topped off, we put what was left into the stucco tank. Not a lot, but should last until a good monsoon.

Quick update

The oasis got rain last night. I plan on going down there at daylight, at which time I'll know more as to how much we got and if any ran into the tanks. Fingers crossed! Will update tomorrow.

My son got me to install an AI app called "Perplexity." OMG! Crazy! It instantly answers any questions you ask it, and is for the most part accurate and scientific. However, it gets a lot of stuff wrong, and that could cause a lot of people a lot of misery. For example, if you ask it if there are hiking trails at Christmas Mountains Oasis it will say yes, and describe the park's South Rim Trail. Sounds like a mess to me. Time will tell.

My 17 year old great-grandson recently had his tonsils taken out (long overdue) and is going through a horrible, painful ordeal. Apparently, he had a severely embedded case. But it was necessary. He's been plagued with strep infections, besides sleep apnea and snoring, all due to the tonsils. My heart goes out to him. In his misery, he asked his mom, my granddaughter, if the surgery had really been necessary. I know in time he'll be glad, but it's hard to see now. According to Perplexity, he has another 8-10 days of agony ahead.

I had a doctor checkup today. All is good. Can't wait to check out the oasis.

PS: I still plan on cutting down on future watering to make the oasis less of a water hog and reduce on maintenance.  West Texas is forecast to get hotter and drier in coming years.

Pott's Prickly Pear at Johnson Ponds in Alpine

The inevitable!

We all know certain times will come, like decline and death, for example. But in the process of living a full life, most of us don't focus on those things. I also knew, at some point, it won't be possible to water the oasis regularly. That time has come. Due partly to deterioration of the in-ground tanks, combined with drought, I had to start using the 65,000 gallon back up tank in mid-Feb, earlier than previously. I wasn't worried. I figured it'd last until we got rain. Normally, when we get rain in October, like we did last year, the oasis makes it fine until the next rainy season. And especially with the back up tank. But it didn't this year. In hindsight, I wish I had watered less since February. Just never dreamed...

Yesterday while my son and I were watering, he checked the level in the tank and it had only two feet left in it. We can't use the last foot because that keeps the tank from blowing away. (I had forgotten that) So that means one foot or about 10,000 gallons of water has to last until a monsoon... which may or may not happen soon. (Each time we water it uses about 2,500 gallons.) That means we could water another month if we cut it down to once a week. But that's risky. The water features have to be maintained. If it doesn't rain in a month, there'd be no water for that. So I've painfully decided to quit watering the trees until we get a monsoon. Some will die and some will survive. Life has stages, and this will be a new stage.

If there's a consolation, it's that the oasis will become easier to maintain. And, of course, with feeders and water features, it'll always attract birds. Especially the birds most desired by visitors, such as Lucifer Hummingbirds.

Along with the oasis decline is my physical decline. For about a month now I've had some type of vertigo. Later this week I have a doctor's appointment where I plan to address that issue. Still, I feel very lucky to be in as good a health as I am. And it's totally possible we'll get a monsoon any day now!

Per the trail cam, it appeared as if a juvenile (or female) Painted Bunting waited patiently on a male for its turn to bathe. The adult male bathed for a long time, and then the other one took a long bath. The action was captured on a series of clips. Here is one of them. 

Nearby, I sat and watched a male and female Bell's Vireo working on a new nest. Life is good!

Nothing is forever!

Disappointingly, I've come to the conclusion that my days of serious birding have to be over. Not only because of the energy it requires, nor because of my lack of expertise, but due mainly to my physical limitations. I'm hoping the vertigo I've had for three weeks will eventually go away, but I'm sure my declining vision won't.

This morning I was excited to go to Gage Gardens in Marathon, hoping to photograph two species that were reported there yesterday that I don't have photos of (Ovenbird & Red-eyed Vireo). When I got there shortly after 7:30 AM the place was plenty birdy. But I couldn't pick out the more furtive species quickly enough to ID them. Finally, I figured out it's because my eyes focus so slowly anymore, especially when flashing from dark to light, and vice versa. I've been aware that gradually through recent years when I go indoors I can't see anything for a while, but hadn't made the connection to birding difficulties until today. Suddenly, I'm confronted with bright sun, dark shadows, all milliseconds apart as I'm trying to track a bird darting around. All I see are tiny shadows, with no clue as to what it is, other than vague jizz. Adding to my frustration is my difficulty in IDing birds, even after I'm successful at getting photos.

Today I saw what I thought was a White-tailed Kite. Then I decided it was a Mississippi Kite. After studying my photos, I redecided it was a White-tailed Kite. I posted it as such. Then actually changed it twice more before settling on White-tailed. 

Before long, I was contacted by the reviewer that it was a Mississippi Kite. I've never been a skilled identifier, but adding that to my other handicaps is discouraging.

I'm sure I'll always bird to some degree, like looking out the window at my water feature, etc. And it might not even be possible to quit such an addiction. But realistically, I'm not going to chase rarities unless I'm with an expert to help me locate them. At least that's the way I feel today. It's more important that I focus my waning energy on maintaining the oasis. That's challenge and reward enough!

And while I'm disappointed, I'm not complaining. I feel extremely lucky to be as healthy as I am. For that and many other things I'm grateful every day!

On a brighter note, I was thrilled to see that about 40 new fruit trees have been planted in the orchard part of Gage Gardens (west side). Included were fig trees, apricot trees, peach trees, etc. That should make for some spectacular birding in a few years. Who knows, maybe you'll see me there. LOL

UPDATE: My vertigo eventually got to where I barely notice it.

The gang's all here!

I arrived at the oasis at daylight so as to water before it got too hot. Everything was parched. No water in the tanks, and the solar water feature hadn't yet had enough light for the pump to function. Only water available to wildlife was the drip in the back. The hummingbird feeders were all empty too, except one that was filled with ants. Yuck! That was a mess to clean up.

Soon I was running water from the storage tank into the stucco tank where I keep the level just high enough to cover the pump. Birds and deer flocked to it. 

 As I slogged away, I remembered my mantra of nearly 50 years ago when I was building my house, against all odds. On my refrigerator it had said, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" Today my mantra was more like, "stay strong, stay strong, stay strong....  breathe!" 

There were lots of distractions. First distraction was I had to clean four frogs from the water line before water would come out (two survived). Next, I rushed to turn on another faucet and as I turned it on I realized my one foot was 6" from a rattlesnake, and my hand on the faucet (I measured later) was 20" from the snake's head. Whew!

Luckily, it was the least aggressive species of rattler we have, a Black-tailed.

In short order, I had sprinklers going, and for a few hours the place was a bustling oasis. Javelina showed up too, once the solar pump began circulating water in the main water feature.

Of course, birds are the main distraction. I saw a few that I was determined to get at least diagnostic photos of. One was this Gray Catbird. It skulked back in the shade near a watering hose, so not a very good shot, but diagnostic.

As I was rushing between hoses while scanning for birds, I thought I saw an interesting little bird flitting around high in some foliage. When I got my binos on it, it turned out to be a lizard. That was a first!

Honey bees were all over the water drip and main water feature. The only thing missing was a bear. Thank goodness for that! I have to put out extra sugar water due to the Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. Yummy!

In spite of everything, and more that I haven't mentioned,  I got the watering done and back to town in good time.

Apricot bonanza

This year our apricot tree in Alpine was solid fruit, hardly even any leaves. Biggest crop ever! Bushels! I've been busy picking and giving away apricots. I dried some for my husband, but I'm not supposed it eat stuff like that on my teeth, so wasn't very enthused about drying them.

Then my son Eric's partner told me she's freezing the ones I gave her and how good they were. I tried it, and OMG, the best ever! It's like eating great apricot ice cream. She puts hers in shakes. So now I'm busy freezing them. I have no trouble chewing them either. Same nutritional value as fresh, and if anything, tastier!

This is Memorial Day weekend. Can't help but remember how this time two years ago my daughter and husband were both near death. (She with a brain tumor and he with a punctured colon after a bad fall.) Both are doing great now! So it's a time of thankfulness for me! Here's a recent photo of my great-grandson at his High School graduation with his father. I love this photo! It's one I'll always remember.

Several days ago I was at the oasis watering when I took a short break to visit with some bird photographers there. As we were sitting there, a rare Prothonotary Warbler paused just long enough for us to get a couple shots before it disappeared. Here's mine:

Checking my trail cam later, I discovered it had made a 15 second stop at the water drip. We had seen it about five minutes later. Just a pit stop for the bird. Here's from the trail cam video.

So that was fun!