The lazy, hazy days of Summer!

WEATHER: Well, here we are in the hottest part of the year. The temps are staying in the 90s – but “it’s a DRY heat” so we are thankful for that. Humidity is below 20% so the swamp cooler works very well. We had to change out the pads yesterday because the first set was clogged with fuzz from the cottonwood trees. We have to do this every year once the cotton stops flying. The poor thing was really struggling to suck air and it just wasn’t very cool. We are also thankful that our cooler is window-mounted instead of on the hot roof! Now we have cooler, cleaner, air to enjoy. The “hazy” days have been due to smoke from the wildfires in Arizona and Utah they tell us. Last weekend we had an “air advisory” because it was so bad. So far this year, NM has been spared the big fires. The weathermen are eagerly looking for signs that our annual monsoon is eminent. We usually get these in July and August. It is so nice to get a little shower in the afternoon because it makes for a cooler night. That’s our life in the high desert, folks.

WILD BIRDS: No new types of birds to report but there are plenty of new babies! The first of the Black-chinned Hummingbird chicks are now fighting for their place at the feeders. Soon enough, though, the dreaded Rufous will be arriving and then things will get very lively around here. Last Saturday we saw a pair of baby Mourning Doves sitting together on a branch in the patio. They were so cute! They were practicing their calls while the parents were bringing them food. Of course we also see the usual House Finch, House Sparrow, and Starling babies following their parents around, fluttering their wings and squawking for food. The Starlings just love to bathe in the birdbath. They will get in there and just splash away. There is always a splash ring on the patio around the bath. (I know, I should have more pictures.) The Kingbirds are busy teaching their chicks how to catch food on the wing. They practice from the powerlines that run along the sides of the property. They also love to visit our Mulberry tree with its fruit and bugs. The Lesser Goldfinches are still showing up at the thistle feeder and have to fight off the baby Finches and Sparrows who also like the seed. The Goldies will sit up in the tops of the trees and sing the most beautiful little songs. What a treat.

Then there is the menace of our feathered friends, the Roadrunners. They have babies to feed too and so they go through the yards looking for anything suitable, like lizards, bugs, grasshoppers, and, Oh Yes, baby birds. Every day we hear alarm calls from the Robins and others whenever there is a Roadrunner in the yard. We often go out and chase them off. If they fly up into a tree or on the roof, the only way to get them is with a good squirt from the hose. The Robins do a good job too. They will dive at them and peck on them as they run across open spaces. I have also seen Crows do this. Crows also chase after hawks and pluck feathers from their wings!

CHICKENS: Well, the girls are back laying eggs again. They were off their nests for about two weeks but now are hiding again. Chicken Little went off first to make a nest under the front Forsythia bush. She laid a dozen eggs and I removed all but one. She hasn’t laid any more. Then Mazey went missing about a week ago. We haven’t found her nest yet but she comes out for food most days. She will come running right up to us when she’s hungry. She is the friendlier one. She even comes when we call her name, except when she’s on her nest. Now we just need to watch her to see where she goes. As I mentioned awhile back, we are no longer going to try eating their eggs because all the info I have found indicates that they are past their prime for egg production and the quality of the last bunch was not too good. These girls have been here for almost three years now. If anyone knows more about chickens, we would like to hear from you, cuz “we don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout raisin’” chickens!

Stay tuned and keep cool!