The temperature doesn't give much slack for getting out of doors to chase the birds. The manager of the Park said today that most people that have to work utdoors in the100F+ heat , work for 30 minutes and then come in for 15 minutes to cool down. Otherwise it can be dangerous.
The birds are here, but they too must find water, food and shelter. So in the morning we went up to South Mountain Park, a huge 16,000 acre park with both biking and walking trails galore. There are more than a dozen trail-heads with 3-6 trails starting at each one. At 10:00 in the morning there were many out using the trails. It is a rolling hilly, terrain, strictly desert with many types of cactus including the giant Saguaro, from any view you would select. We worked our way to watch a pair of VERDIN putting the finishing touches on a nest on an island in the middle of the parking lot. A CURVED BILLED THRASHER was digging for worms/insects in another island. a NORTHERN GOSHAWK floated by, and a BLACK THROATED SPARROW searched for food under some shrubs.
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| Part of the South Mountain Park in W.Phoenix. |
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| The Cactus are blooming! Saguaro. |
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| Harris' Antelope Squirrel on a Saguaro. |
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| A Black Chinned Sparrow in the shadow. |
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| Saguaro in full bloom |
IT was hot already and so we returned to town and headed for the needed grocery store,. Our choice is Albertson's out here and we were not disappointed. Ruth chose Chicken "fingers" as the meat on the grill along with some seafood salad (my favorite) and some macaroni salad for the children. Ruth's niece, Karrie brought them to the trailer after school and had a swim in the pool and ate that supper. I had a good swim and found that their son, Benjamin (9) is a very good swimmer. Couldn't beat him in a 25 yard race but he said it was a tie. OK with me!
Tomorrow we head for Needles, CA for a one night stop and another at Bakersfield the day after. Then we will hit the Pacific Coast. We may cross paths with Richard Johnson who is on Route 66.
It was a hot day, but I think we beat the heat for the most part. See ya tomorrow.
1 comment:
Wonder what it will be like come summer. This is still mid-Spring!!
It's been in the 80s all week, but down to 58 on Saturday with a few showers.
Happy Mother's Day to Ruth.
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