Equinox

The days and nights are nearly equal but soon the nights will be longer than the days. We're moving into fall and then winter. I look forward to cooler days and nights! It's still in the high 90's here and now that the hurricanes have gone by, and monsoons seem to be over, no rain on the horizon.

The desert looks amazing after the amount of rain we've had, with a new crop of poppies and morning glories as well as fragrant purple blossoms on the wild sage. Insects are still happy and there are a lot of them! And of course the sunsets continue to be unbelievable.

This monsoon season did not produce the violent wind and lightning storms that we had last year. The rain that's fallen has come quietly and sunk deep into the earth. The tale end of hurricane Norbert did, on the other hand, produce a gully washer that eroded our driveway and the dirt road leading to our house. But I say any rain is good rain when you live in the desert!

We had a resident bufo toad for at least a month. He squished his fat body under the lip of our front wall where a drip released excess water from our air-conditioner. But one day he was gone and when I saw a couple of toads run over on the road I hoped he wasn't one of them.

This year the bats arrived late and are still draining the hummingbird feeders every night. We had no migrating hummingbirds this year, a fact that I find disturbing. I plan to contact Audubon to see if they have any information about this change from last year. I haven't seen a javelina for months but I think they may be coming when I'm not looking. Several times the waterlily in the pot in front has been overturned and leaves chewed. Also our compost mysteriously disappears overnight.

We've installed a new fountain in the back yard after struggling to maintain the cement cactus that looked so cool. In the end the motor gave out due to too much junk in the water. But before that happened the thing was covered in a slimy brown algae that the bees seemed to like. I could probably sell the stuff if I had the proper equipment and training. UGH! The birds haven't discovered the new one yet and I really hope they like it. It has two bowls, one small one at the top with the bubbler and then another bigger one into which the water cascades.I am now armed with algaecide! And it's safe for wildlife.

Before I close I have to add a picture of my dog who has taken up the cause of banned books. He's quite a reader when he isn't exploring the droppings of wild animals!

The Javelinas are back!

Haven't written for a long while mostly because there has been little animal life to report on, despite the warm sunny days and cool clear nights. But a week or so ago the coyotes began their nightly forays into our area. One night we had a lone one very close. I heard him or her calling--a few dog-like barks followed up with an eerie howl that went from low to impossibly high. In the far distance I heard the call answered. And the same night a pack came very close to the house.

Last night at around ten, I heard what sounded like dogs lapping water out of my water-lily bowl outside my bathroom window. When I went to investigate I saw six javelina of varying sizes crowded around drinking. The moon was very bright giving me a clear view of them as they ambled across the driveway to nibble birdseeds left on the ground under the feeder. After that they all went to  investigate the compost pile. This morning the papaya skins and other vegetables are gone.

I had despaired of seeing them again since it's been months since they've been around. Creatures are waking up, or should I say on the move? There were no tiny babies with this group but some seemed small enough to be last year's babies. Oh what I would give to have a family come by with the tiny ones!

On a sad note, I found a dead hummingbird yesterday. It was a broad-billed male, I think. I worried that somehow I'd caused its death with chlorinated hummingbird water but realized this was not so. For one thing I don't smell any chlorine in our water and I'm very sensitive to it and would know...also feeder had been up for a few days. I took both feeders down and re-filled just in case. If left up too long the water can produce a sort of mold that will kill the tiny birds. I tried to call Audubon but they had gone home for the day.

I read on line that hummingbirds are all about two hours away from death! This because their metabolisms need replenishment constantly. Its amazing how they migrate. This one may have been on the move and simply couldn't keep going. I've noticed some frantic activity around the feeders the past few days. Also Gila Woodpecker has been drinking them dry!

I've noticed wildflowers coming up in the desert behind us. Spring is definitely on the way!