Summer is here! 98 degrees today!

Summer is NOT my favorite month, too hot, too dry here in the Southwest until the monsoons arrive. But today was a wonder. It was so hot that  decided I might as well enjoy it and went outside to sit on the portal with my book. I was trying very hard to read but the resident towhees were making such a racket and flying all over the garden, bed to bed and seemingly chasing some thing. It finally dawned on me that this was their snake warning call. They had raised two little guys in the hollyhocks and were trying very hard to save them. Snakes almost favorite food....baby birds.

I looked around but didn't see much evidence that they were really in trouble and tried to keep reading, when the cry went up hysterically, whatever was now near the babies! Then I saw one of them, a Red Racer, in the lawn. It was smallish and disappeared. A few minutes later, having grabbed the ever present camera, what should appear but Sarah, she looked at me and I snapped her image.

She took one look at me and said; "Oh, it's you again!"

!

As she turned her back on me and headed over to the vegetable garden I realized that she had grown considerably and was looking for a place to have her young. I think the towhees dissuaded her from settling with us, as one of them picked up a pebble from the walk and flew over and dropped it on top of her. When she was completely stretched out she was about 5 feet long and very, very plump. How many babies? I hate to think about it. And who was the littler one in the lawn? Or do we need to mow?

After the birds calmed down I went to see what the baby birds were up to, Baby Boo was out and about, trying to learn to fly:

What a trouper, he tried and tried to jump like Mom, to no avail.

Here is his little sister, Baby Bee:

She was totally amazing during this entire episode which probably lasted 20 minutes, she never moved a muscle or squeaked. If you know towhees that is almost a miracle. I have to give those parents a lot of credit! One more day and the little guys will be flying too. I hope.

The wildfires have started here again and we hope they won't harm as much wild life as last year. Please all of you send us rain!