kangaroo rat

These are in a "protected" status in our area, lots of controversy surrounds this mouse - no harm is supposed to be done to them.  In the early morning, my vehicle headlights often catch them running across the road.  I know they are a favorite treat of the hawks and owls and I can't say I mind that too much.  Notice how long the tail is in this pic. 

Weight: 1-6 oz.
Length with tail: 6-12"
No. of Young: 1-7, 3 avg.
Lifespan: years in the wild
Typical diet: seeds, grasses

Food-hoarding is done by the the use of external fur-lined cheek pouches that are used to transport food from the harvest location to the storage site. This fur lining allows for seed transport with minimal water loss.

Kangaroo rats have highly developed hind legs, they live in deep burrows that shelter them from the worst of the desert heat. They have a water-efficient metabolism.  Their kidneys are four times more efficient at retaining water than those of humans. 

Tuxedo Bird

Even nature likes to dress up once in a while.  This bird hangs around my patio and perches on my fence – all day, every day.  Seeing him so often, I started calling him my little “tuxedo bird”.  Doesn’t he look to be wearing a black tuxedo coat with tails?  His species is actually called “Black Phoebe”; he’s part of the flycatcher family which happens to be the largest family of birds on earth.  This bird lives from SW Oregon down to South America.  They don’t usually migrate.  The sexes are identical in appearance and the juveniles plumage is brown, turning black as they mature.  It's mainly insectivorous waiting on a perch before flying out and catching prey mid-air. This explains why I never see it at the bird feeder.  Last spring we had a week or two period with lots of mosquito and daddy-long leg activity.  One time I watched this bird chase a bug just to drop it and chase another, and then another.  Somehow he managed to grab 4 or 5 bugs in his beak at once – legs sticking out and all.  Quite a cute sight.  These birds always live near open water.  They make an open cup nest which is placed under a cliff or a bridge and is cemented in place with mud.  I don’t recall ever finding a nest however.  I'll be on the lookout. 

Tarantula

I don't like 'em.  I know....I know.....They eat rodents, and blah blah blah.  If I find them out in a field, I leave them alone.  When I'm rolling up the garden hose to hang it up on the side of the house and I turn my head towards the house and find a tarantula 6 inches from my nose hanging on the stucco - the trantula is going to lose!  Stay off my house.  Stay out in the fields.  He ran down the stucco after I grabbed my weapon.  I snapped his last live picture before he met the bottom of my shovel.  

On another occasion - one morning I opened the door from my house into the garage, I looked down and SURPRISE, a tarantula was gazing up at me.  If I had not looked, he would have been smushed under my shoe - dead center inside the garage, no pun intended.   I can tolerate them out in the field around the house - I've done it plenty of times, I just can't bear the thought of them in or on my home.  I've toughened up a bit and I'd like to say that next time I find one, he won't become a murder victim - I'll grab a shovel and take him out to the field - I hope I can follow through on this promise - only time will tell.  Here's a little black and grey guy crossing the driveway last summer.  He was lucky enough that he lived to see another sunrise.

Squirrel Skull

Found this about 100 feet outside the house. 

Check out the holes where the molars go

 

The molar just to the right of the tip of the screw looks quite human except for the size.

Eye sockets seem quite large

Red velvet ant

It's not really an ant.  It's a wasp.  They look so fuzzy I want to pet one but I've read their sting is painful.  No wings on this insect, I often see a lone soldier out for a walk in the spring or summer.  Their common nickname is the cow killer. Like other wasps, they can inflict repeated stings, this must be what spurned their nickname.   

dead squirrel

I don't know what killed this squirrell but I noticed some bees swarming and knew something was dead.  I found the bees eating the eyes and climbing in and out of his open mouth.  The only good squirrel is a dead squirrel.  Squirrels are a huge pest. 

Babies in the dirt - my dirty little secret

When I was a kid anytime I saw a Potato Bug I might have let out a scream or at the very least my skin would crawl.  Lots of people find these bugs pretty disgusting.  As I've come a cross a few over the past year I've been doing a closer examination and I've independently decided they look human.  After coming to this conclusion I went to work one day and mentioned this to my friend and she rattled off something in Spanish in response to my remark (niña de la tierra).  When I asked for a translation she said "Babies in the dirt".  She is of Mexican heritage and she said that's what her culture calls the potato bug.  I'm amused to find I'm not the only one who thinks these bugs look human.

The potato bug is also known as the Jerusalem cricket, although they are not from Jerusalem.  And they don't eat potatoes.  Active usually at night, the insects use their mandibles to feed primarily on dead organic material but also eat other insects.  Their highly adapted feet are used for burrowing beneath moist soil.  I've discovered they usually appear after a rain, they crawl out of the grass onto the patio to dry out.  Let me admit to my sickness now - the first time I saw one up here in the hills, my first thought was "would my chickens eat this?".  I scooped up my baby from the dirt, carried him over to the coop and the chicken fighting began.  They pulled this bug apart leg by leg by arm and devoured him in 5 seconds.  This seems to be their favorite treat so far.  Often one chicken will grab the baby and take off running FAST to escape from the other chickens.  I know, I'm a sicko.  Each time it rains I circle the house looking for babies in the dirt.

Merry Christmas Everyone

Took this picture a few years ago from the back patio. 

We are only lucky enough to get a dusting of snow every couple of years. 

We'll be back in January with lots more new pictures. 

Happy Holidays to all!

Sunset

A picture is worth a thousand words

Bye bye birdie

We have glue paper down in the corners of the garage to catch bugs or whatever else might try and sneak in.  I heard some noise and turned around and found this pretty bluebird stuck to the paper.  She must have mistaken it for a bug buffet.   When I gently pulled her off the paper she lost a few feathers.  She hopped out of the garage, shook her head a few times, rested for a few minutes and then took off like nothing was wrong.  Bye bye birdie.