Patio Decor

How plain would my planter look if it didn't have this charming Ground Squirrel ornament?

Nom, Nom, Nom.

I will never tire of the antics of the Antelope Ground Squirrels. They are especially cute at this time of year with their extra fluffy winter coats.

Windows to the Soul

One last 'Kitty' pic. She seems to have found a new place to sleep these days so we are not seeing her so regularly. I hope she comes back soon, I miss those pretty yellow eyes.

Feline Fine - Part Five

Lion, Tiger, House Cat, Bobcat, they all act the same. The vast majority of time is spent sleeping, when they wake up, they stretch, then wash and then either go back to sleep or go to look for food.

Feline Fine - Part Four

The only drawback of sleeping on the back patio is that the bird feeders are overhead so you get liberally sprinkled with nijer seed while you snooze.

Feline Fine - Part Three

Don't say you weren't warned, the Bobcat barrage continues.

Feline Fine - Part Two

Quiet please, my feline friend is sleeping.

Feline Fine - Part One

We have very limited access to our back patio these days as a certain glorious feline has decided that she likes to spend her days there. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I have more than enough other space and I love looking out of the window and seeing her sleeping in the sun or strolling past the door. I consider myself blessed. Be warned, my blog is going to become clogged with Bobcat pictures for as long as she stays around.

Secrets Revealed - Part Three

The third in my series is the kitchen cam. This is the camera closest to the house but it has the highest amount of traffic so I have split it into two posts. Here is the first half............

Bobcat showing off his beautiful fluffy tail

Saunters on by

Good old Wiley casually strolling through

And the Javalina roots around after dark

Wiley caught again

And a personal favourite of mine, the Skunk. Love that tail!

We Had Babies!

The wonderful secrets of the night revealed. Momma Bobcat strolling past the kitchen with two little kits. I do enjoy my wildlife cameras.

Keeping Watch

So many creatures in the desert live underground but actually catching them on their front door step is a rare thing. I was smiling broadly as this shy little Round-tailed Ground Squirrel peeped at me.

Cuteness Overload!

As if the Round-tailed Ground Squirrels weren't cute enough, their babies are just off the charts! Especially when the sun shines through their fuzzy little tails!

A Regular Favourite

The Antelope Ground Squirrels make a very good living from the seeds that fall from the bird feeders and yes, I'll be honest I usually 'spill' a little for them too. How can I resist those stuffed little cheeks?

Cryptic

In contrast to the previous post, I suspect this image shows the tones that most people think of when you mention the desert. The little cottontail blends in so perfectly with its surroundings.

I am linking this post to Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

Rain! And Lots of It.

A couple of weekends ago we had almost two full days and nights of rain, a rare thing indeed in the desert. We expect the occasional rain shower at this time of year but it usually over in a matter of minutes so this was quite the talking point as you can imagine.

There is a fine line between good rains that set us up well for the coming hot season and too much rains that cause the various desert plants to start to rot! We will see if we managed to stay under that line in the coming months.
One thing is for sure there were some rather soggy looking characters around during this downpour.

Familiar Friends

I have done lots of 'new yard species' posts of late but that doesn't mean that I have forsaken the old favourites. How could I possibly ignore these guys? The Harris's Antelope Ground Squirrels are way too appealing to be ignored.  

Foxy!

I knew we had been having regular visits from a Gray Fox for the past couple of months, our wildlife cameras were picking up images of him trotting about at night. Now he has decided that it is OK to stroll around in the broad daylight too I see!

Here is the same image zoomed in a little. What a handsome chap, and yes, yet another new yard species!

My Outdoor Cat

I don't have a cat, don't want to keep an animal permanently indoors and I certainly don't want to deal with the carnage it would cause on the local species if I let it outside so I'll 'make do' with the natural equivalent! I love the fact that we have a healthy balance of predators and prey on our land and what is not to love about this beautiful young bobcat?

Safe Harbour

Hunting season is in full swing around us, so nature adapts. The first big buck with a full rack appeared on my neighbours land so, by my own rules for this blog, I couldn't include it. However a few days later they started hanging out on our land, safe in the knowledge that they would not be harassed or shot at.

They spend their days sleeping in the shade of a mesquite tree and then in the evening they browse on the prickly pear fruit and the barrel cactus fruit. Stay as long as you like guys, it is great to have you around.

Hello Kitty

I watched this beautiful young Bobcat outside my bedroom window, carefully stalking birds under the feeders. Unfortunately it didn't get a meal, from it's lean physique its looks as though it needed one. Better luck next time little one.