A Memorable Trip to Fort Myers

 We had to return to our condo in Fort Myers to finalize some repairs. On the way we stopped at Babcock-Webb to do a little birding. The usual herons, egrets and ibises were there - but not yet in the numbers spring will bring.

I never tire of seeing and photographing the Great Blue Herons!

An Eastern Phoebe posing in the trees.

 Overhead, the White Ibis are heading south.

This little guy looked different to us - but we couldn't quite put our finger on why. It looked like a smaller version of our Northern Flicker. I believe it's a subspecies - a smaller variant of the Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker. Our Colorado Flickers are easily 12 inches long - this one was about 8 inches long.

After leaving Babcock-Webb, we headed to the condo. About 5 miles from home a truck pulled out right in front of us. There was no possible way to avoid a collision but Bill did his very best to lessen the impact. We credit his RC flying for the ability to react so quickly.

Yes, that's me still sitting in the car. My door was pinned shut by the truck. I had to climb over the center console and out the driver's side door. Fortunately, Bill and I along with the driver of the truck are all fine. Our seat belts and airbags saved us from serious injury. The car - not so much. The other driver immediately accepted responsibility for the accident so her insurance will pay the bills.

Getting Back to Normal

Life is beginning to return to some semblance of normal. The skies are mostly blue and the smell of smoke is almost gone. I can see the outline of the mountains - but my former clear views are still obstructed by a smoky haze. It's just as well because when it does clear, the view of the charred foothills is heart-breaking.

Tens of thousands of Colorado Springs residents are still misplaced - but more and more are getting to return home to empty the spoiled food from refrigerators and access the smoke and water damage. But they are the lucky ones. Too many people won't get to go home for a very, very long time. It's been quite a week.

We are getting a new roof! The hail storm in early June damaged our cedar shake roof beyond repair. Once again, our wonderful insurance company (The Hartford) is stepping up to the plate and will pay to replace it. 

Yesterday we sat outside on the patio, counting our blessings and watched 5 Black-capped Chickadees play in the yard. They are the cutest little birds!

We also had a visit from this handsome Red-shafted Northern Flicker.

I still have a few pictures from our trip to Yellowstone to post - but it's too nice a day to sit indoors so they will have to wait.

New Quilt

My sewing room is set-up and I decided to start a new quilt. I purchased the fabric at my favorite quilt shop in Trenton, Florida and, if memory serves me correctly, my sister also purchased some of the same fabric. It will be interesting to see what we each do with it!

This is a Stack-n-Whackier pattern that I've done before - it started as the "quilt from hell" - but I'm doing it differently this time - more like the original pattern and less like the version I learned in class. Sometimes you have to play with a pattern to get to know it and understand how the different parts interact before you can choose fabrics that work. Hopefully, this time will be better. I love the colors and the beautiful Moda fabrics.

Northern Flicker

 Meanwhile out at the feeders, the birds continue to return. This time of year we look for the Western Tanagers to come through, but, so far we haven't seen any. Our usual visitors, Northern Flickers, House Finches, Mountain Chickadees, and English Sparrows (more this year than in the past) keep us busy putting out sun flower seeds and a special bird butter. The humming bird feeders are out but we haven't seen the little birds yet.

Mourning Doves

 We have lots of Doves. The Mourning Doves like the left-overs under the feeders. We also have the nosier Eurasian Collared Doves but they stay mostly in the trees, calling for a mate.

These two acted like lovers - cooing and touching bills.

Palmer Park

Bill and I had the best hike in Palmer Park! We hiked the north side starting at the stables, up and around and back down. The temperature was in the 60's and it was perfect! But why didn't we pack a picnic lunch to eat along the way? Boy was I hungry by the time we got home. Bill's homemade gumbo tasted dee-licious!

We stopped to check in on this Northern Flicker. We have flickers that stop at the bird feeder in our backyard everyday. Yesterday, I saw four flickers together and assume three were fledglings. I wonder if this female has babies in her nest.



All during our walk we hear more birds than we see. The Towhees - which are abundant in the park - were singing back and forth.

Look at this beautiful - all natural - rock garden beside the trail. I love the high desert terrain.

I call this a cute little bunny but Bill calls it hawk bait.

Three White-breasted Nuthatches were searching this old log for insects. This one stopped long enough for me to get this picture - my favorite of the day. We also saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch, but he was too quick for me to get my camera focused.

Mr. Lizard was resting on a rock.

He must be a distant cousin to the alligators we saw in Florida. Look at that scowl!

It's difficult to tell in this picture, but this little Hummingbird was bright green.

I was pleased to see that the Black-headed Grosbeaks are still in the area. I just wish they were still in my yard!

Look at these beautiful wildflowers. I just can't get over how vivid the colors are this year.

A Walk in the Park

After just a couple of visits to the Physical Therapist, my knee was feeling up to a hike in Palmer Park. Bill and I headed out in late afternoon. I had the binoculars and Bill had the camera - so these pictures are his. I keep telling him he needs to start his own blog!

My goal was to get a decent picture of the Spotted Towhee that we saw in the Park when my camera was in the shop.

We headed up a deer trail on the side of the bluffs following a Towhee who was singing in the thick brush ahead.

The wildflowers were beautiful - but the Yucca was sharp!

Along the unmarked trail we spotted this Northern Flicker sitting in his nesting cavity looking out on the beautiful view below. It was really hot, so we sat on some boulders and joined him for awhile. All I needed was a cold drink.

This was the best of the pictures of the Spotted Towhee that would fly ahead just as we got close enough for a good look.

In the valley we spotted this American Krestrel - the first one I've seen and identified in the park. This is a small but very colorful hawk that eats lots of grasshoppers.

This is the other hawk we spotted. I think it's a Red-tailed Hawk - but I'm not sure.

After we reached the top of the bluffs, the weather changed - dark clouds were boiling in the sky, the wind picked up and we could feel cold, refreshing rain starting to fall. Since we did not want to be on top if it started to thunder and lightening, we quickly headed down.

Early the next morning we headed out again. This time I had the camera! Two deer were out for their morning walk.

They crossed the path not 10 feet from where we were standing and I got lots of pictures.

Further up the path, I was finally able to get some decent shots of the Spotted Towhee. They are abundant in the park and you can hear them singing throughout. I wish I could coax them into the yard!

We are fortunate to have this beautiful park in our neighbor-hood. It's big enough that we always see something new and can hike on a multitude of well-marked trails. Once inside, you would never know you are in the city.

There is always lots of wildlife.

Check out this beautiful Western Scrub Jay. As you can see from the cactus, Colorado Springs is high desert. We have almost as many sunny days (over 300 a year) as southern Florida.

My last picture of the day. I think it's a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, but I'm not positive as my camera won't let me zoom in close enough for positive ID. I really need a new camera!