Exotic birds in the spring

For the past 10 days I've been at the Chiricahua  mountains in SE Arizona.  My main objective has been the Elegant Trogan, which is a tropical bird which breeds in this area each summer.

As soon as I arrived, the spring winds began and so birding has been intermittent ( I figure if the birds don't hide in the bad wind, then they should).

One non windy day I went up the trail looking for the trogan, and you guessed it...Power pooped big time.  I retrieved it with a poop bag and tied the bag to Power's leash.  After walking back down to the car, I realized the bag was gone!  So, back up the trail we went and sure enough the bag was nearly all the way back.

I never saw the trogon, because they were 1 1/2 miles up the trail, and I couldn't walk that far.  Shucks!

Yesterday, I saw 2 Montezuma quail.  I have so rarely seen these uncommon quail and I felt fortunate to see them and even more fortunate to photograph them.

Montezuma quail

Aren't they fabulous?

I wish to welcome a new follower, name of Luz. Thank you for joining  the discussion.  Hope we hear from you!

Escape artist!

Mr eager beaver bragging about the fun he had!

Twice in the three weeks before he became ill,  Power slipped away and ran free for a few minutes!  I was beside myself, and the first time he was going too close to a state highway, and I was terrified.  It happened like this... I had his leash tied to my lawn chair and we were sitting in the shade of my motorhome, visiting with a neighbor and working on my quilt.

Somehow he realized that the knot on his leash had loosened then he sneaked away about three feet, and TOOK OFF!  He had so much fun!  If it hadn't been so dangerous I would have enjoyed watching him have fun!  I know that chasing him is counter productive but felt that I could not ignore his direction and speed, so off I went in my limping fashion,  and eventually he allowed me to catch up with him after he went through a ravine twice, and hundreds of yards along the highway.

I have realized that a knot is not sufficient, and I must get a carabiner or some such clip to be more secure.

Intense

Fleur with her Navy Seal elbow

Fleur is an intense girl. Much of the time, she cannot just relax, she thinks she has to MAKE things happen the way she intends.  She lies on the sofa, but instead of relaxing, she first raises her head to stare intently at me.  After a while of staring, she begins the "Fleur whine".  This part makes me crazy, but I think that if I ignore her, she won't be rewarded, so she will stop.  This, however, is futile.

The whine can be done ad infinitum, nearly driving me really nuts, and finally getting on my last nerve.

She progresses to the elbow lean.  The elbow that she leans on (to give herself a way to get her neck, head, and chest over the edge of the sofa) should get tired of supporting so much of her weight for so long.  But apparently she has a Navy Seal elbow, because she can lean on it for hours with no relief.  All this time, the stare and the whine are still in full play.

Eventually, she scoots her upper body so far over the edge of the sofa, that her right front leg will then be put on the floor to support some of the weight. But please note that the Navy Seal elbow is still doing the major part of the work.  The stare and the whine are still in big evidence!

I have tried talking to her, and asking her to do other things, or giving her something specific to do.  She is glad to comply with all requests, but the "Fleur whine and Navy Seal elbow are never put to pasture.  She presses the "PAUSE" button and after her requested chore is done, she resumes the previous serious activity!

I think I should have named her "Intense" instead of Fleur! 

The spigot!

The spigot is now free flowing! I am referring to Power, of course.  After 3 weeks of antibiotics he is really able to urinate normally again.  His entire personality has changed and he is now like the boyish self that I knew and loved so well!

Saguaro blooming, but wait...it's not just the saguaro blooming

Saguaro in bloom

Spring is definitely here when the cacti are blooming.  This cactus has to be 75-100 years old before it begins to grow "arms".  The one is this photo is not growing "arms" yet, so that means it is still young.  However, it does have lovely blooms.

Prickly pear cactus

Hedgehog cactus

Yesterday was one storm after another, but TODAY is beautiful.  Happy Easter everyone!

Reverse gear

Most all my dogs have been zig-zaggers.  They almost never go in a straight line, and absolutely never mind walking right across my path of travel, often causing near-falls !  Even when I shorten the leash so they cannot go in front of me, they bump into my knees in their efforts to cross in front of me.

However, there is a trait that is very new to me, and I find it most amusing.  I call it Greyhound Reverse Gear, or GRG.  Power is a genius dog in the GRG department.  Any time he wants to go to a place he's already been, he stops, puts his transmission into reverse gear, and backs in a perfectly straight line!  He does not turn his head to see where he is going, he has no steering wheel to keep him lined up in a straight line .  Many times there are objects in his way, but that is no deterent.  He just steps over them, going in reverse!

Shifting his transmission into reverse!

All other of my dogs would have to turn their heads and necks, then make a 180 turn so that they would be walking forward, and could see where they are going.  Somehow, Power has been blessed with a different way of  thinking about what's behind him.

I don't need a rear view mirror!

Desert deserted

I've been looking around at the desert, to see if there are any RVers still camping in the boondocking areas is this HEAT!  Three days ago (with temps above 100), I gave up and moved to an RV park so I could have air conditioning.  My fellow Dingbat, Debbie, was still on the BLM but she was planning to leave the next morning, heading for Oregon.

I still have to be in the area while Power is getting his PEE ON!  We go to the Vet Monday morning.

But I decided to check out the Boondocking camper areas and see if any brave souls were still there!

No campers here!

No campers here, either!

There they are!

The real desert boondockers!

The people have mostly left the boondocking areas, but there are many who are still in the RV parks!  Surprisingly some people stay here year round in the RV parks!

Love is in the air!

Today, I saw something I had not seen before...LOVE being given to Power. Now don't get me wrong, I love the big guy, and he knows it, so it's something else!

If you picture in your mind, that I've just entered the motorhome with the two greyhounds, then also picture them doing their routine:  Fleur always goes to the water bowl, and refills her limitless gut.  Power patiently waits at the doorway until Madam Fleur finishes her leisurely guzzle.  Then he comes on up the steps in a leap, and goes to check out his food bowl(after all he's just a growing boy).  All of this is perfectly normal in our household.  Today however, there was a huge change in the REST of the normal routine. 

Power just realized that he is feeling new sensations!  See his eyes?

 I happened to glance down while Power was chowing down, and there between his long legs was a siren, weaving and slinking and rubbing, and purring, and rubbing some more, all between his hind legs. 

Chica is rubbing up and down Power's legs!

 Nothing could deter her, and it was obvious that Power was enjoying it too.  He was standing still with a silly grin on his face and thinking some kind of doggy thoughts.  I reached for my camera and got a couple snaps!  I usually have any subject that I aim the camera at disappear or turn away, etc.  This time, however, I found Power standing stalk still while he was treated to a "love massage."

Chica even wants Power's leash

Mom, SHE loves me!

Chica says that she's IN LOVE

These two characters are both Tuxedo marked in their color patterns, and they are both so loving and sweet.  I just had a great time watching them interact this way.


I also noted a new follower on the blog followers list.  The new follower says "fulltimervers".  I didn't find them having a blog that I can relay to you all. Thanks for joining us and hope you enjoy reading!

Power's Pee

Is this spot the best?

Power is feeling a bit better, and he wants me to let everyone know that his Pee is now real pee, not just hopeful imagination!  He still has some difficulty in getting his bladder empty, and usually needs about three stops to irrigate the desert.  Before he got ill, he could do the watering job in one stop, then while he was sickest he needed about 10-15 stops and still had not got much urine out.  I can tell that he feels a lot better, because he's giving me those deep soulfull looks.  I think that when he starts giving me the mischievous looks, it will mean that he's finally "feeling his oats" again!

Medical Emergency

For 2 days Power was having a bit of difficulty in passing his urine, and I had noticed a little bit of this for a while, but very intermittent.  I had thought that maybe this very thin urine stream was normal when it was occasional, and then the next pee time he would be back to normal.  But yesterday he was doing this and was not actually getting much urine out.  So off to the vet we went, and the vet said that he thought that Power had bladder stones, but that he would need to go to another vet whose x-ray machine was not broken.  Doc said that if the x-ray showed stones, then it would mean surgery, and then a very special food for the rest of his life. 

Who, ME?

So off to the next town we went and when we got there, they told me that they were not seeing patients that day.  I explained that it was an emergency, and that changed their story.  The vet was expecting to be leaving on farm calls, but he changed his plans, and saw Power.  The first thing he did was feel his belly, palpate his prostate, and insert a small probe up through the urethra to check for an obstruction.  All of this was "normal" so an x-ray was next.  The assistant carried Power to the x-ray room, and came back telling me that no stones showed! That was a relief!  The vet said that it might possibly be a bladder infection, so he gave me three prescriptions, one for a steroid, and 2 antibiotics.  Also, I am to come back in 10 days, and to bring a fresh urine specimen.  So, of course, I was thrilled to think that we were on the home stretch with this, and home we went.  

I'm not sick, I'm just training Mom to stay outside with me all the time!

He is still having trouble urinating, and each time we go outside, he needs to pee a small amount, move a few yards, pee another small amount, and repeat about 5-6 times. During the night, I went out with him a few times, and it was beautiful with the stars, cold with the night air, and scary with the coyotes near by.  One time when we went back inside, I was straightening up the sleeping bag on the sofa, and I found it to be wet, and the sofa also.  I can only assume that he pee'd during his sleep.  He's not eating well, either, but at least he hasn't forgot how to sleep!

Sleeping Power