YELLOW GOLD

A tiny Goldfinch. 

The birds share their drinking fountain with . . . yup, you guessed it . . . bees!

And amazingly, in spite of those old "birds and bees" tropes, it seems to be a largely amicable relationship.

BIRDIES

 Visitors to the Big Blue Bird Bath recently include

a female House Finch,

and

her more colorful male companion.

It is interesting to me that the males, in the avian world, are more colorful than the females.

I'm guessing they need the color to attract a female for mating purposes, n'est-ce pas?

TG, TB, & TU

 Today, a brief musical interlude.

TO FILM A HUMMINGBIRD

 Trying to get a picture of a nervous hummingbird is a lifework in itself.

For example:

Can you see him (or her)?

It was checking out each of the sun faces for possible pollen and I was amazed to find that I had caught it in mid-flight.

Here's a close-up to prove that statement.

Were it not for the sun casting his fleeing shadow on the wall, I might have missed it as well.

BILLOWS

 

A view of our constantly changing sky an evening or two ago.

Arizona usually has endless days of clear blue skies but this spring has seen clear days, cloudy days, overcast days, rainy sky days, though typically the rain never seems to reach us here.

The drought continues.

The Southwest continues to be a very dry place to live.

Our Wisteria vine was not happy at one end of the arbor and last night we moved it over to a corner of the yard next to the voluptuous Honeysuckle on the wall.

We will see if it thrives there.

SWMBO said she'll give it a chance but if it dies, it dies.

When I have a night like I had last night, wakeful because I forgot to take my bedtime pills, I greet the new day feeling about like that myself.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 This has been one of those lazy weeks where I spend hours in a recliner in front of the television, or reading books I've missed, or taking naps, or just sitting in the sun staring mindlessly.

And, no surprise, the cartoonists have all gone on vacation or on strike or somewhere.

What that means is that I have no pictures for this week's attempt at bringing lightness to your world.

But never fear, the writers are still here.

And I do have plenty of words.

Cue up the All Words Funnies!

And with that I shall bring a respite for your tired eyes and wish you all a spectacular weekend.

Summer is nearly upon us and we all deserve one of those, don't you think?

To help you glide into the sultry season just remember to always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Aha! ONE cartoonist is already back to work!)

PEACEFUL

 

This is the front of a birthday card I received from my brother back in April.

The image so pleased me that I taped it to the base of my desk lamp directly in front of me.

WATCHFUL

 Someone who hasn't made up his mind about something is said to be "still on the fence".

It came up because I caught one of our visitors being "still" on our fence.

VISITORS

 The New Blue Bird Bath continues to attract customers, seeking a drink or a bath.

Here are a few of them.

Oh, they're there, all right.

You just have to look a bit closer.

First a Goldfinch couple, then a curious Mountain Jay, and finally a plump Mourning Dove.

I wonder if their vision allows them to see their reflections in the water.

MEMORIAL DAY

 

Let us never forget what the day is really about.

COMING SOON

A new gas station abuilding.

The roof over it is somewhat amazing.

DELAYED MOON SHOT & A DRY RAIN

 In answer to many one request, here is my moon shot of earlier in the week.

Pretty impressive, eh?

Not like the Professor's pictures, where you can (nearly) pick out the golf ball left from a long-ago invasion by an American astronaut.

But if you want impressive, take a look and a listen to this rainstorm video sent to me by Timmer recently.

Have a great Saturday.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 The balmy days are upon us as we near the Memorial Day weekend.

Triple digit temperatures are forecast for the next week in Phoenix.

The 80's up here in the cool climes.

So what better time than now to inject some *true* balminess into the mix, eh?

That last one is definitely my favorite this week.

And yours?

Now, you have a big 3-day gap this weekend to launch into summer so I expect you to enjoy it.

Grilling, the Indy 500, crowds at baseball games; what's not to enjoy?

Oh, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(uh-oh)

MOON SHOT

 I'll bet you're expecting to see a beautiful photo of the Blood Moon from the Lunar Elipse the other night/morning.

Well, getting up at 4 a.m. to look at the moon isn't my idea of having a great time any more.

So I skipped it.

And when I *did* rise at around 6:30 I looked out and saw that the sky was totally overcast.

So I wouldn't have seen it even if I'd tried.

So no Blood Moon from this location.

To suffice, here is a shot from a night or so before, taken with my not-so-hot smartphone camera.

Oops.

I've tried three times to upload that wonderful award winning crummy picture and each time I've gotten this message on my screen.

Sorry! An unexpected error occurred while processing your selection.  Please try again later.

I know when I'm licked, folks.

CHECKING IT OUT

 A big fat robin took a quick bath in our new pool this morning but the sun was on my window so I couldn't get a photo.

But I got a couple yesterday.

We disagree on this bird.

I originally thought it was a Say's Phoebe but now am not sure.

SWMBO thinks it's a Cowbird.

Expert advice is requested.

But there's no doubt about this fellow.

He's a male House Finch.

There are many of his kind, male and female, enjoying the new facility.

THE NEW POOL

 Bet you thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?

As they say on Broadway, "No, No, Nanette".

My short term memory is as good as my long term memory.

Well, that may not be such a good comparison.

At any rate, as promised, here is the first photo of the new bird bath in our back yard.

It's rather plain but it *is* the blue that is beloved by, most importantly, SWMBO; but also by House Finches, Phoebes, Robins, Goldfinches, Bluejays, Doves and an occasional Cowbird, as well as whatever else turns up in the neighborhood.

Oh, and bees.

The bees love it and they don't bother me as I fill it just inches from them.

(I've even fished out a few who've fallen in, apparently overcome by vertigo upon staring lovingly at their own reflections.)

So you've seen the rear view, as indicated by the Blue Cat's head (lower left).

Now here is the front view, glorious in its simplicity but stunningly blue, complemented by a chalky white edge rim, all the better for those little bird feet to grip.

Ta-da!

Once again the birds and the bees have a spot to bathe, drink and (who knows) arrange assignations.

ANOTHER OUTING

 Yes, we who have been fully vaccinated for a couple of months are beginning to feel our oats.

We went out again today, SWMBO to shop fruitlessly in a couple of big box stores for the eternally difficult-to-find ceramic bird bath.

But then I suggested Jay's Bird Barn in Prescott, known to birdwatchers far and wide.

And lo, we found a birdbath that she liked, that she wanted, though for an exorbitant price.

I convinced her that we would save all that excess money by not driving far and wide searching for a cheaper one and to, for cryin' out loud, just buy it!

She did.

We brought it home and have installed it and . . . wouldn't-ya-know-it . . . I forgot to photograph the damned thing.

That will be corrected by the morrow and ye shall have a photo of it then.

Trust me to say that, in spite of SWMBO's wisdom in bird matters and the fact that this is a considerably deeper bowl, there does NOT need to be a rock in the center of it for the little goldfinches to perch on to avoid drowning.

They mistrusted the rock, not knowing what it was and fluttered around but would not light for a drink.

Finally I convinced her highness and she of usually greater wisdom than mine to remove it.

Nearly instantly the goldies began perching and drinking and squeaking "thank you, humans, we thought that thing was a goldfinch munching sea monster or something."

So I have no photo for you today.

WAIT!

Yes, I do.

After the mental and physical strain of shopping for and purchasing said bird bath we strode bravely into a downtown Prescott bistro for something to calm our shattered nerves and repair our hunger.

For the nerves, a sizable and mighty Margarita for milady and a forbidden gin and tonic for me.

Then for the hunger, a Reuben sandwich for myself and this monster for, predictably, SWMBO.

That is billed on the menu as a Hot Club and it features, from bottom to top, grilled turkey, Swiss cheese, bacon, avocado, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise.

Plus, of course, a bun.

Needless to say, she brought half of it home, along with about half of the French fries that accompanied it.

Also needless to say, I devoured all of mine.

It was good to be out.

Til tomorrow then.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Ahhhh, Friday.

It makes me want to break out into song.

"Dah Dah Dah Dah

  da-da-da-dah,

              da-da-da-dah" 

Hmmm, maybe I'll just stick to humor.

Well that's it for this week, Gentle Readers.

Now let's all get out into the Natural World (no, no, not the Marlon Perkins one on t.v.) and have ourselves a flawless weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, yeah)