Birds From CA-->NM
(* denotes a lifer bird for me)
Red-Shouldered Hawk
American Crow
European Starling
White Crowned Sparrow
House Sparrow
Common Raven
Turkey Vulture
American Robin
Stellar's Jay
Black Phoebe
Rock Pigeon
Scrub Jay
Common Merganser
Western Tanager*
Bald Eagle
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
Barn Swallow
Canada Goose
Brewer's Blackbird
Mountain Bluebird*
Red-Winged Blackbird
Black-Billed Magpie
Great-Blue Heron
Yellow Headed Black Bird*
Eared Grebe
Pie-Billed Grebe
American Coot
Great-Tailed Grackle
Black-Necked Stilt
Red-Necked Phalarope
Canvasback
Ferruginous Hawk*
Golden Eagle*
Western Kingbird*
Eurasian Collard-Dove*
Western Meadowlark
Prairie Falcon*
Cliff Swallow
Brown-Crested Flycatcher*
Indigo-Lazuli Bunting Hybrid*
House Finch
Curve-Billed Thrasher*
White-Winged Dove*
Spotted Towhee*
Northern Cardinal
Western Bluebird*
American Dipper*
Hepatic Tanager*
Gamble's Quail*
Mallard
Dusky Capped Flycatcher*
Northern Mockingbird*
Red-Tailed Hawk
Greater Roadrunner
Mexican Jay*
Pinyon Jay*
Bendire's Thrasher*
Black-Headed Grosbeak*
Acorn Woodpecker*
Yellow-Eyed Junco*
Wild Turkey
Elegant Trogon*******
Black-Chinned Hummingbird*
Magnificent Hummingbird*
Blue Throated Hummingbird*
Say's Phoebe*
Painted Red-Start*
Ash-Throated Flycatcher*
Black Throated Sparrow*
Hooded Oriole*
Bronzed Cowbird*
Swainson's Hawk*
Canyon Towhee*
Lesser Nighthawk*
Killdeer
Gila Woodepecker*
Gilded Flicker*
Harrier Hawk
American Goldfinch
Western Gull
Ring-Billed Gull
Dark-Eyed Junco
Total Species:84
Friday, May 29, 2009
Onward to the Land of Enchantment
H-man and I just returned from our yearly spring time road trip. In the past we have driven in my trusty/rusty old jeep heap to such exotic locales as Houston Texas, Portal Arizona, Las Vegas Nevada, Lake Tahoe California, Ashland Oregon, and wonderful Silver City New Mexico.
This year we returned in our newer, much trustier Neon to our favorite town in New Mexico-Silver City, to visit H-man's parents and to soak up some much needed vitamin D. On a side note we also used this trip to get in some quality birding time and to spend some much needed time together before H-man leaves Humboldt for his job as a Forest Service employee in other parts of the state that aren't here.
We left Humboldt Friday the 16th of May and drove across the state into Nevada ending up in Ely Nevada much later that night. Not that we planned to drive so dang much, but, a lesson was to be learned. We intended to stay in Eureka Nevada, 144 miles to the west of Ely. " How clever we are" we chuckled to ourselves as we approached Eureka Nevada "to leave from Eureka California and end the day in Eureka Nevada, my aren't we smug?" FAIL. There were no hotels with vacancies in either Eureka Nevada or Austin Nevada, a mere 77 miles away. So we drove on, and on. Arriving at the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen in my life in Ely Nevada. And by beautiful I of course mean that it had a bed and it had a vacancy. I may have frightened the poor man behind the counter a little with my delirious gratefulness I was so happy.
Lesson learned: when you are intending to drive across the vast emptiness of Eastern Nevada, make sure to get hotel reservations. And also, drive the speed limit in Eureka Nevada at night, even if it is 12:30 a.m. The local fuzz just won't stand for 35 in a 25 zone, even if you and said officer are the only people insane enough to be out.
The next day H-man took this photo:
Onward! We stated loudly and to each other stopping only for birding and the occasional pee break. Peschoe Nevada was our first town stop along the way, mostly a ghost town but very beautiful and atmospheric.
the sign at the bottom right says "Been Closed for 50 years"
Very shortly after that we stopped at Cathedral Gorge just out of town. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had visited the gorge many years before when I was living in Needles. My mother and her boyfriend had brought me there while we were visiting the town of Panaca for a highschool football game. I was thrilled once I realized this because I had been amazed at the beauty of the place when I was there 12 years ago and had always wanted to go back but could not remember where this place was. Serendiptious defined.
We spent some time walking in the gorge and reveling in the beauty before we finally had to leave. But not before confusing some random people: As we left the gorge up a staircase, out of breath we passed a couple at the top.
"Is it neat down there?" the woman asked H-man, who was panting
" No, not too much" he replied thinking the woman had asked if there was "heat down there"
"Oh, just the walk then?" she asked looking pretty confused or bewildered
" uh yeah" He looked at her like she was crazy, the look was returned.
So after doing our daily job of confusing people we were on our way again. It was only a short drive to Utah from Panaca.
So there was only one reason we wanted to go through Utah on our way. Not because of it's natural beauty and the friendly people, shit no. We went because we wanted to see FLDS polygamists. H-man has been interested in the culture for several years now and since we had the chance this trip to make our way to Hildale/Colorado City we took the opportunity.
I insisted on stopping through Zion National Park on the way however where we saw our first rattlesnake of the trip-a Western Diamondback as well as some gorgeous natural features.
We made it St. George that afternoon, where we got a hotel, then drove the 1/2 hour out to the site. I didn't get any pictures from that evening but we went back the next day
All the houses are huge and everyone just wants to be left alone. That would pretty much sum up my view of the town. The bulletin board above was posted at the town's grocery store. It was selling rabbits, jeans, cell phones and machinery. We saw very few people when we returned the next day, but the evening before we had seen a very beautiful young girl in the typical dress, except she was wearing jeans underneath it. We also saw a lot of people with cell phones and a lot of cars, many with their windows tinted. We stopped for a spell at the local UEP park where everyone jumped in their vans and trucks and sped off.
An observation: the FLDS wants so much to be disincluded from American tradition and edicts in order to live their own lives and follow their own beliefs. I struck me, however, how much their lifestyle resemble, at least to me, the stereotypical American dream: a home of your own, a close knit, hardworking community and family life, clean living and faith.
After our foray into alternative lifestyles we went on to Silver City via Flagstaff and Springerville. We reached Silver much later than we thought we might, mostly because of our stop at House Rock Arizona and a dinner stop in Flagstaff.
At Silver City we spent quality time with the parents, seeing the local sights, hiking, geocaching and birdwatching. It was wonderful to spend time with them and visit our favorite areas of New Mexico and Arizona.
Then we had to return. We came home through Southern California, Blythe, Needles and Bartsow to be specific. Then up through San Francisco to vist my side of the family, and then home. It's good to be back but I sure love these trips. Visiting religious extremists, confusing tourists, frightening hotel owners and reminding ourselves that there really is no place like Humboldt County. That's a good vacation right there.
This year we returned in our newer, much trustier Neon to our favorite town in New Mexico-Silver City, to visit H-man's parents and to soak up some much needed vitamin D. On a side note we also used this trip to get in some quality birding time and to spend some much needed time together before H-man leaves Humboldt for his job as a Forest Service employee in other parts of the state that aren't here.
We left Humboldt Friday the 16th of May and drove across the state into Nevada ending up in Ely Nevada much later that night. Not that we planned to drive so dang much, but, a lesson was to be learned. We intended to stay in Eureka Nevada, 144 miles to the west of Ely. " How clever we are" we chuckled to ourselves as we approached Eureka Nevada "to leave from Eureka California and end the day in Eureka Nevada, my aren't we smug?" FAIL. There were no hotels with vacancies in either Eureka Nevada or Austin Nevada, a mere 77 miles away. So we drove on, and on. Arriving at the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen in my life in Ely Nevada. And by beautiful I of course mean that it had a bed and it had a vacancy. I may have frightened the poor man behind the counter a little with my delirious gratefulness I was so happy.
Lesson learned: when you are intending to drive across the vast emptiness of Eastern Nevada, make sure to get hotel reservations. And also, drive the speed limit in Eureka Nevada at night, even if it is 12:30 a.m. The local fuzz just won't stand for 35 in a 25 zone, even if you and said officer are the only people insane enough to be out.
The next day H-man took this photo:
Onward! We stated loudly and to each other stopping only for birding and the occasional pee break. Peschoe Nevada was our first town stop along the way, mostly a ghost town but very beautiful and atmospheric.
the sign at the bottom right says "Been Closed for 50 years"
Very shortly after that we stopped at Cathedral Gorge just out of town. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had visited the gorge many years before when I was living in Needles. My mother and her boyfriend had brought me there while we were visiting the town of Panaca for a highschool football game. I was thrilled once I realized this because I had been amazed at the beauty of the place when I was there 12 years ago and had always wanted to go back but could not remember where this place was. Serendiptious defined.
We spent some time walking in the gorge and reveling in the beauty before we finally had to leave. But not before confusing some random people: As we left the gorge up a staircase, out of breath we passed a couple at the top.
"Is it neat down there?" the woman asked H-man, who was panting
" No, not too much" he replied thinking the woman had asked if there was "heat down there"
"Oh, just the walk then?" she asked looking pretty confused or bewildered
" uh yeah" He looked at her like she was crazy, the look was returned.
So after doing our daily job of confusing people we were on our way again. It was only a short drive to Utah from Panaca.
So there was only one reason we wanted to go through Utah on our way. Not because of it's natural beauty and the friendly people, shit no. We went because we wanted to see FLDS polygamists. H-man has been interested in the culture for several years now and since we had the chance this trip to make our way to Hildale/Colorado City we took the opportunity.
I insisted on stopping through Zion National Park on the way however where we saw our first rattlesnake of the trip-a Western Diamondback as well as some gorgeous natural features.
We made it St. George that afternoon, where we got a hotel, then drove the 1/2 hour out to the site. I didn't get any pictures from that evening but we went back the next day
All the houses are huge and everyone just wants to be left alone. That would pretty much sum up my view of the town. The bulletin board above was posted at the town's grocery store. It was selling rabbits, jeans, cell phones and machinery. We saw very few people when we returned the next day, but the evening before we had seen a very beautiful young girl in the typical dress, except she was wearing jeans underneath it. We also saw a lot of people with cell phones and a lot of cars, many with their windows tinted. We stopped for a spell at the local UEP park where everyone jumped in their vans and trucks and sped off.
An observation: the FLDS wants so much to be disincluded from American tradition and edicts in order to live their own lives and follow their own beliefs. I struck me, however, how much their lifestyle resemble, at least to me, the stereotypical American dream: a home of your own, a close knit, hardworking community and family life, clean living and faith.
After our foray into alternative lifestyles we went on to Silver City via Flagstaff and Springerville. We reached Silver much later than we thought we might, mostly because of our stop at House Rock Arizona and a dinner stop in Flagstaff.
At Silver City we spent quality time with the parents, seeing the local sights, hiking, geocaching and birdwatching. It was wonderful to spend time with them and visit our favorite areas of New Mexico and Arizona.
Then we had to return. We came home through Southern California, Blythe, Needles and Bartsow to be specific. Then up through San Francisco to vist my side of the family, and then home. It's good to be back but I sure love these trips. Visiting religious extremists, confusing tourists, frightening hotel owners and reminding ourselves that there really is no place like Humboldt County. That's a good vacation right there.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Rabbits
One of my many glamorous tasks at work is to groom an English Angora rabbit named Hufflepuff. This picture is not her, but you get the idea. I tried to get around it for about a year by saying I was allergic to her, which I very mildly am, but was called out on this and it is now a daily task. As you might imagine this includes brushing out her fur and clipping her nails, but what you might not want to imagine is me having to wash out her vulva also.
Without getting too graphic, a rabbits vulva has two deep pockets on either side of her external lady bits that collect a great amount of smegma almost daily. I'm getting a little queasy just typing this. Hopefully, you are too, because it's a disgusting job and I should not have to suffer alone.
The worst part? The smell. Sour and cheesy.
So I haven't been to work in two weeks due to an "unpaid furlough" if you will and therefore haven't had to wash rabbit vagina for two whole weeks. Today I ate bagels and cream cheese. Then I went to my OB/GYN appointment this afternoon where I was biting my fingernails and caught a wiff of something familiar, and horrific. My fingers smell like rabbit vagina. I blamed the cream cheese and went and washed my hands. It didn't work very well.
Somewhere, Hufflepuff is laughing.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
One Pissed Off Llama
Inca, the llama at the zoo, is very distrusting and wary of humans. Only three people I know of are able to touch her, myself included.
She got a shot last week.
I don't think she'll be letting anyone touch her anytime soon.
She got a shot last week.
I don't think she'll be letting anyone touch her anytime soon.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The "Magic" of Pregnancy
I almost killed someone today. But I can't be blamed, they totally had it coming.
Most mornings, when I have the car and some extra time, I'll get a half sandwich, some fruit a cookie and a drink from the Co-Op for my work-time feedings. When I got in line, the cashier, an evil, elderly gentleman who, several months ago, I had a conversation about Cliff Bars with, saw me and recognized me. He then picked up the rubber-grocery-delineator from the front of my groceries and placed in between my drink and my cookie, separating the fruit and sandwich. Mother Fucker.
It took all I had to not throttle him.
Then when I got back to the car, I began to eat my sandwich, saw it had too much mustard and started to cry.
Most mornings, when I have the car and some extra time, I'll get a half sandwich, some fruit a cookie and a drink from the Co-Op for my work-time feedings. When I got in line, the cashier, an evil, elderly gentleman who, several months ago, I had a conversation about Cliff Bars with, saw me and recognized me. He then picked up the rubber-grocery-delineator from the front of my groceries and placed in between my drink and my cookie, separating the fruit and sandwich. Mother Fucker.
It took all I had to not throttle him.
Then when I got back to the car, I began to eat my sandwich, saw it had too much mustard and started to cry.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Blasto
Yes, yes. I'm pregnant.
I can't say it came as much of a surprise as we were trying to become pregnant, but I am surprised by the daily rush of panic, misgivings and nausea.
The official due date is December 17th. We think it's a boy but it' s, or course, still early to tell.
Wish me luck.
" So why the picture of the rough skinned newt?" you may be asking yourself, well, H-man is finishing up his projects for the school year and I got to go with him to check on live-traps up in the mountains. When I say I "got to go with him" I of course mean he dragged me out of bed despite my whining and nausea and forced me to have a good time, which I did. Now I have poison oak. See what having a good time will get you?
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