Arizona Flowers, Birds, etc.

I have been enjoying taking pictures of everything that is around me. This morning, still in my morning pajamas and sans my morning tea, I went out in the backyard with the camera dangling around my neck.

Then later in the afternoon, my husband and I went for a ride around town and took whatever subject struck our fancy.

And ladies and gentlemen, here they are:


I just planted this Petunia in the pot a week ago.

Yellow gold flowers




This particular flower thrives in extreme hot climate of downtown Phoenix.

I have been admiring these flowers right where I deliver mail for a while. I just love the bright red color.

Wildflowers

I finally got a picture of a hummingbird flying in mid air.

This hummingbird flew on the tree branch right above where I was standing. The picture turned out to be bigger than its real lifesize.

A Raven on top of the Saguaro cactus sippping nectar, I supposed.

A deer that never strays off.

I took a picture of this hammock because my daughter in college can't wait to get home and do a lot of reading in this hammock this summer.

Backyard Creatures

Took these pictures today.




These are the birds that come in our backyard on a daily basis. They love our bird baths. First, they come and take a bath, turn around and poop in it, and take a nice big drink. Ehew!!! How unsanitary!

Has anyone of you seen hummingbirds? If not, look at the first two pictures. See, how small they are? They are the smallest birds in the world, about ohhh, 2 inches in length. They can only be found in north and south America. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by quickly flapping their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards. They can hover stationary, too. Talking about agility! They are a delight to watch especially those with interesting colors. So far, we have two hummingbirds in our backyard, but later in the summer, they come in droves and in different kinds.

Sometimes, there are 4 or 6 hummingbirds vying for a place at one feeder. Males are very aggressive and territorial. They will chase anyone hovering around their feeder and this goes on all day. I often wonder how those less aggressive ones get their meal.



This Black Chinned hummingbird finally sneaked in and had a chance to get his meal without getting chased by Anna, the aggresor. He/she must be scaring other one or must have dozed off. See Anna in the next picture.

I presume, this is Anna because of the iridescent pink colors on the head. You can barely see it. Click on the picture for better image.

I believe the next two pictures are gold finches. Finch is shown doing his usual bath-poop-drink routine.

Lovely gold finch on the Juniper tree. Juniper tree, by the way, gives out pollen that affects most people here including myself. We can't escape from it because our forest is surrounded with it. Nasty tree!

I carefully took this picture of the quail through the blind from my bedroom.