| For some unfathomable reason, the female of the human species seems to have a proclivity for not only their own young, but also the young of all species (It's soooo cute...). This little garden terrorist fell victim to Barbara's cat and, against all reason and logic, she rescued it, nursed it back to health, and turned it loose. If our garden hadn't already been decimated by javelina, this would insure its demise. |
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But, this wee creature won her heart. There may be other species that share this trait, but I suspect that it is rare. There are reports, however, that occasionally an adult eagle will capture a hawk chick from its nest (as a food item for the eagle's young) and after depositing the young hawk in the eagles' nest, respond to the feeding stimuli presented by the chick and raise the foreigner as if it were its own offspring. *Note from Barbara: We now know where Mylinda gets her long sentences from! |
| Quite some time ago, I built a rock polisher (tumbler) for my mother. I don't think she ever used it, and upon her death it returned to my possession (that was probably a mistake). At any rate, a couple of weeks ago, I got it out, dusted it off, and (after procuring a belt that is too large) fired it up. Polishing rocks is a long, arduous process, and after experiencing a break in one of the plastic bottles, I (perhaps temporarily) shut it down. Somehow it just isn't as much fun as I anticipated it being. |
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| I have a tooth that has become temperature and pressure sensitive. On July 5, I made a trek to the Sun Life dentist in Casa Grande. After glancing at the X-ray, she spent 10 seconds scratching at the tooth with a probe before announcing that I needed to see a specialist for a root canal. (Thank you very much, that will be $70.00 please!) The trip wasn't an entire waste, as I visited Saguaro Spice in Phoenix and the U-Pick grape vineyard in Florence. I limited myself to four large grocery bags full of grapes, which I calculated would cost most of the $20.00 in cash that I carried. (The office was located in the vineyard and didn't take plastic money.) After carefully weighing my pickings, they wanted only $4.00. I gave some grapes to Sabrina and Braxton. Barbara and I ate as many as we dared, and then we proceeded to dry the remainder into raisins. They don't look too bad now, but it will probably be a couple more weeks before the drying process is complete. I must say that this is ALOT easier than using bed (sheets on top of the sheds. Stay tuned for the next phase of picking the dried grapes off the stems! |
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Sabrina and Braxton brought Piper out for a visit. It is obvious that she, at least, looks up to me... |
| July 19-22, David Ellis and I traveled to Montana to look at eagles aeries. It was a lightening trip, and a dry run (without peaches) for my upcoming attempt to complete the Mexico to Canada bicycle trip. Dave also explained the fundamentals of how to capture an eagle (in the unlikely event that I should ever want to do so). The opportunity to attempt it did not present itself on this outing. Here, Dave is looking at eagles on the horizon, while an eagle (barely visible over his right shoulder) is looking at him. |
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We visited a number of sites, including the one containing what may be the world's largest nest. It was the same one that AJ and Dave climbed into a couple of years ago (You may remember this photo.). AJ will be happy to learn that this huge nest is still intact. |
| Dave has a presentation at an upcoming meeting, and wanted a photo, so he climbed into this nest in a tree against the side of a cliff. The photos of him in the nest are from his camera. |
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We were probably two weeks too late to see them in the nest, but we encountered several juvenile birds that had fledged, but were not yet cleared for hunting. The white spots on the wings and white stripe on the tail identify them as this year's young. By the end of the second or third molt (basically one per year) these spots will disappear and they will take on the plumage of an adult. How many times have you looked down on an eagle in flight? |
| We took my little car, which rolled past 280,000 miles on this trip, and it performed well even off road. (Relax Barbara, we were very careful and went very slowly.) The average cost of gasoline on the trip was $2.99 per gallon, so I was pleased that it turned in 48.2 mpg. Match that in your SUV!! |
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On return trip, we traveled through Yellowstone National Park. It appears to be an impressive place, well deserving of more than the two hours I had to give it. |
| This, for obvious reasons, is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It requires a much better photographer than I am to do justice to such a deep, steep, ravine. If you fell over the edge on a calm day, you could read half a dime novel before reaching the bottom. |
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We encountered a plethora of wildlife, including this shy snake. I had the impression it thought that if it kept its head hidden, we couldn't see it. |
| Deer in this country like to pass the daylight hours lying against the base of a cliff. I guess they feel protected on the cliff side, and visibility on the downhill side is almost unlimited. We came upon this one as we peered over a cliff looking for a nesting site. |
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Yellowstone also yielded several notable animals, including this grizzly bear. The way to spot wildlife in this park is to look for the congregations of cars. This bear had traffic stopped along both sides of the road for at least 400 yards. Not pictured are a badger, as well as a bobcat, and a bison herd, all crossing the road. Most of my hunting trips have not yielded sighting of that many animal species. |
| Elk abounded in this country, as evidenced by this antler bridge. We didn't examine them closely, but given the number and the lack of obvious differential aging, I suspect that these specimens may be cast of man-made materials. |
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I suspect this community thrives of tourist. If something like this appeared in Tucson, it would be vandalized before the workmen who set it up vanished from sight. |
| For a number of years I have toyed with the idea of build a dwelling out of straw bales; so when I came across this example, I had to stop for a photo op. I can't decide whether this house is still being built, or has been abanded. I'll bet the walls don't allow the passage of significant amounts of heat and given Wyoming's winter, that is definitely a good thing. |
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I arrived home about 0230 on Monday morning and, to use a trite phrase, I was one tired puppy. Barbara (lacking children upon whom to practice this art) told me I was grounded for coming in so late. It was a fun trip, but it will be a week or two before I attempt it again... |