Ever present danger

With all this young life in the desert right now, problems always occur. We have been seeing new quail families this week, the babies about 1-inch tall but fully functional. They eat by themselves, run like the dickens, and even fly. Yet, if the parents are not vigilant, and not all of them are, the families are steadily diminished. Today there are 10 chicks, perhaps tomorrow 8. There is much danger out there, even in just getting separated from the family.

When stopping by Dave and Barbara's this morning, we saw a young curvebilled thrasher trying to fledge the nest on their porch, but it got hung up in the baling twine used as nest building material. Poor thing was dangling by a leg, and thankfully we were around to get it disentangled. After freeing it we set it on the ground, but the leg appeared too compromised, so Dave set it back in the nest. Hopefully the leg will heal and allow it to still go out in the world in good health.

Another anniversary

It's that time of year again, Cinco de Mayo, and our wedding anniversary. Thirty third. Man, we are getting old! Dan suggested that we spend the morning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, one of our favorite Tucson hangouts. It turned out to be a warm day, in the low 90's, but it was lightly overcast and thus very pleasant.

There is always something different to see at the Museum. Right now the saguaro cacti are starting to bloom, and a number of birds are nesting or feeding young. Plants are blooming and there are insects and lizards everywhere. I love the way they help Mom Nature along by subtly enhancing her work without being fussy.

Dan made some great photos, and here are just a couple of my favorites. For more, please see his web site in a couple of days http://www.danielcmoorephotography.com/ .

Here is what's blooming at the WD

Not a lot of growing expertise needed for this Santa Rita cactus. It is thrilled to be here, and does all this growing and blooming all on its own. Not so the garden.

We are still dealing with a lot of wind, but I finally did get the tomatoes and cantaloupes planted. Also sowed additional seed for lettuce, carrots, and beets and such. I still have the peppers in the cold frame as I think the soil is still a bit cool for them. Also the beans seeds are still waiting, but I expect to finish it all up sometime next week. It always looks as if I am growing cages, rather than plants, but I have to take a picture now so I can enjoy all the greenery later in the season.

And for those of you who thought I had totally killed the pear trees that I lopped off early in the season: life force is strong. Both stumps have sprouted, and although there will be no pears this year, I hope to be able to reach them in the next couple.