Fun Day at Butterfly Wonderland

Owl Butterfly on my finger



Butterfly on Mark's hat




Gorgeous Owl Butterfly riding along on my pants



Butterfly stayed on my pants for over 5 minutes while walking through the atrium



Perfect a place for this beautiful butterfly to land!



Gorgeous butterfly near the koi pond



Variety of butterflies.  The blue one on Mark's shirt is also a Pink Floyd Fan ;)



So many beautiful butterflies!



Butterflies galore!



No these are not butterflies, but the fish and creepy crawlies can also be seen there.



Fluttering butterfly on my arm - so sweet!

I took a ton of photos when we went to the atrium and have only shared a few here.  I know, they're just butterflies, but being able to walk through the atrium along with the butterflies flying all around you and landing on you multiple times is an awesome experience!

If you are in Arizona, I highly recommend visiting Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale.  There is a lot to see there including a 3D movie, a small gallery where you can see the metamorphosis stage of the butterfly and much more.  Definitely worth the fair admission price as you'll spend a few hours there.  We truly enjoyed our day and will be going there again.

Peace,
Rocki

A brief moment with Dino

A few weeks ago while sitting on the couch with my laptop (hence the worn out wrist supports) something caught my eye. As in something moving across the kitchen floor.  I could barely see what it was so I got up to check it out.

Awe!  It was an adorable baby lizard!  No, I'm not afraid of little critters.  I used to have snakes, mice, rats, geckos...  Anyway, I got on the kitchen floor and played with him for a bit.  He was a friendly little lizard.     

Well it wasn't too long before all three kids (4-legged kind) realized that I had a new little friend and they wanted in on the action.  As much as I would have loved to keep Dino in the house (well gosh, I had to name him!), I didn't want the kids to get a hold of him.  So after enjoying Dino's company for a bit longer, I picked him up and outside we went.

I gave Dino a tour of the entire backyard so he could decide where his new home would be.  He must have enjoyed the ride because he honestly stayed on my hand the whole time - so cute!

I finally came to grips that we had to part ways and tried to put Dino on the ground, under the yellow bell bush.  He really made this difficult for me because he did not want to leave my hand.  I even put my hand flat on the ground, but he just crawled around my hand and would not get off.  It was as if he was saying "this is nice Rocki, but you can take me back inside now", or some kind of cute lizard comment.

Believe it or not I seriously contemplated on bringing Dino back inside.  But I knew that he would not survive indoors for long and I definitely would not keep him confined.  He had a much better chance outside with all the other little (sniff sniff) lizard friends.

We hung out for a little while longer, enjoying the moment and sharing conversation.  Okay, so it was a one sided conversation, but I'm sure he understood me.  I knew it was time, so once again I put my hand flat down on the ground, blew him a kiss, gave him a little nudge and off he went.

Friendships come in all forms.  Dino was no exception.

Peace,
Rocki

Grand-Critters

"Fattie" the squirrel.  Adorable pic taken by Jason - my awesome son.

My son Jason and daughter-in-law Jen live in Portland, Oregon - as does my oldest son Jeremy - along with all my little grand-critters.  Yep, I'm a grandma to Sass (Jas & Jen's cat child) and to Thomas (Jeremy's cat child).  I love all my little grand-critters (especially since I don't have to change any diapers when I visit) and truly enjoy receiving pictures of them. 

As you can see above, that is not a cat.  That is one of my grand-critter squirrels that frequent Jas & Jen's home that they lovingly call "Fattie" and the other squirrel they call "the other one" - lol!  Jas sent that pic last night and I just have to share it with you all, along with a few others.

A couple years ago when I was there I so enjoyed watching the squirrels.  They even came right up to the patio door and ate from our hands!  Jas & Jen keep a container of food by the door and I do believe the critters have a special knock to let them know when they are hungry.

"Table for Two" - picture taken by my awesome son Jason :)

Guess the guy on the fence is making sure the food is worth the trip down. 

close up pic of the adorable squirrels

 Looks pretty tasty.  If he doesn't hurry up, his date might just eat it all up.

my awesome son Jason feeding his critter child

Yep, that's my awesome son Jason.  Well, the back of him anyway.  Both he and Jen feed the critters right from their hands and I think that is so sweet!  Awe I so miss all of my critters - inluding the ones with two feet.

Hope you enjoyed a little peak into Jas & Jen's backyard that is home to my relatives.  Squirrels.  You know, like Rocky & Bullwinkle.  I'm "Rocki"... spelled different, and has a different meaning...

Okay I'll stop.

Peace,
Rocki

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - taking off

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - scanning the back yard

So our little, well not so little actually, feathered friend has been visiting our yard just about daily.  Yesterday was perfect to get some good shots of him as it was a cloudy day with the sun peaking in and out.  Before he went into the tree, he was by my studio window again standing on our utility trailer - about 6 feet from the window.  So I stood there and watched him, like a hawk.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - still scanning

I got these shots from our bedroom patio.  Like last time, I just sat there watching him through the binoculars.  He is a large, gorgeous bird with beautiful markings.  He continued to scan the yard, which was full of birds.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - found something

Something caught his eye, so I decided to just keep clicking away.  Glad I did because I am really happy with how the photos turned out.  I'm no professional photographer by any means, but I think they are pretty cool!

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - getting ready to take off!

This is my favorite of the day!  When I looked at the pictures I became REAL excited!  I just LOVE this shot.  I have another one in flight, but all you can see is tree...totally missed the hawk.  Oh and if you click on the pictures you get the larger view.

That's all for today.  Just had to share these awesome photos.  Now it's time for me to take off.

Peace,
Rocki

Hawk in our back yard - awesome!

Hawk in the back yard 1/19/13

Saturday afternoon we had a pleasant surprise in our back yard. The hawk that visited us a few weeks ago returned!  He was perched on our back wall, about 20' from our bedroom patio, scanning the yard that WAS full of our regular feathered friends.  I was SOOOO ecstactic that I yelled for Mark to come see and forgot to grab my camera - which I thought was charging.




Close-up view of the pic above

So there we were, me on the floor at the arcadia door with my binoculars and Mark standing beside me.  We just kept watching him as he continued to scan the yard and look for, sadly, little mammals or unsuspecting birds - which obviously knew he arrived as they were all in hiding. 

I can't tell you how freakin' exciting this was - better than last time!  I didn't want to stop watching him, but decided to head into the other room to grab my camera real quick.  Well, he then flew into our neighbor's large tree that is right by our back wall.  This was fine because I was able to get better pics than last time.




"I see you Rocki!"

I went out back and got as close as I could...he did NOT budge!  He was rather large, around 2 foot tall is my guess.  He turned his head around and just looked at me as if to say "you know, I love squirrels too."  It was beyond amazing.  The adrenalin was shooting through me like coffee in Mark's veins!




Beautiful bird!

Then I got to thinking about the kids...our dogs.  For those who do not know, we have 3 little ones and I'm not sure if they would be too big or not for the hawk to take off with.  Yogi probably not, but Maelyn and Sasha possibly.  So, there was scary thoughts mingling with the excitement.  I would be absolutely mortified if that happened - or seeing any other animal in his talons.  But, I understand that's what he eats.  Still scary.




Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk?

I stayed out there until he flew away, then immediately grabbed my bird book.  After pouring through the book and the internet, I've concluded that he's either a Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk.  It's really hard to tell because they are so closely matched, but I believe he was a Cooper's Hawk. 

 

Hawk at studio window - 1/3/13

Okay, pardon these last two pics, but these were taken with my cell phone from inside my studio and through a sunscreen.  I have feeders out there and love watching the birds while I work.  Anyway, that day something caught my eye so I looked up.  There was a hawk!  I practically squealed with excitement!  Wait.  Scratch that.  I in fact DID squeal!  Our neighbors probably thought I was bleeding to death or just won the lottery.




This was an awesome site!

Honestly, I was fumbling with my phone like hot potato as I was afraid that he would be gone before I got the camera up.  It finally came on then... click click click click!  I even got a short video of him sitting there and then flying away, but it won't upload.  I was bummed that the pics came out so crappy, but at least I got a little proof of our new visitor. 

I called Mark afterwards and...okay... squealed like a little girl while telling him of what just happened.  (I didn't know my voice went up that high)  He thought it was pretty cool, but since he got to see him up close and in person this time, he was pretty excited too.  Well, he didn't squeal though.  Oh, and I'm not sure if it was the same hawk because the one in the back yard seemed much larger.

Every day we have a huge variety of birds that visit all of our feeders, so I'm always looking outside.  However, now I'm looking out there even more - like a kid on Christmas eve waiting to see Santa!  I just hope that I don't ever see him with a little one and flying off with it.

I also hope he doesn't like squirrels.

Peace,
Rocki

Unexpected Joys

"Sometimes, the ones you think least likely, will make the best friends. Life is full of unexpected joys."
~Charlotte (PixieWinksFairyWhispers)

Birds - Wings of Compassion

Female Finch

The Finch.  These are just a few of our feathered friends that visit us daily.  We have several types of feeders to attract different types of birds, which we get a good variety of.  Even though my favorite bird is the Gambel's Quail, I love all birds.

Male Finch sweet talking to the female Finch

In the beginning I was really surprised how quickly the birds arrived - and continue to do so in groups.  I think the word got out that there is free food and water at Rocki's Resort (that's what hubby calls our back yard)

Young male Finch

Not only do our feathered friends enjoy food, water and baths, but also a nice little patio with a misting system to keep them nice and cool. We also have our Tibetan Prayer Flags all around the patio.  Prayers are carried by the wind to others, and now the birds are blessed and carry them on their wings where ever they go.

"Look, it's Rocki...and she has more food!"

Kuan Yin (female buddha of compassion) is a standing statue in our back yard and the birds love her.  Everyday as I tend to our feathered friends, I also hose down the patio and make sure Kuan Yin is clean.

Male Gila Woodpecker

Okay, so this is not a finch, but I just thought I would include Woody.  It's hard to see it, but Male Gila Woodpeckers have a bright red cap on the crown of their head.  As with most of my patio pics, I have to take them through the arcadia screen door.  He loves the peanut butter suet and definitely enjoys it.  I can't tell you how excited I was when he first came to our patio - and when I identified him!

Hope you enjoyed this little visit of our Finch friends.  And Woody too of course.  Who knows, maybe the next time you see a bird it might be carrying wings of compassion.

Peace,
Rocki

Quail Diner - Reservations Not Required

Table for two please

This year we have even more Gambel's Quail families than all the years before.  I'm guessing it is because there is more food, since I added several bird feeders, baths and drinking stations throughout the yard.  Mark lovingly calls our backyard "Rocki's Resort" because of the variety of birds that visit - sometimes it's like an all you can eat buffet that went wild.

Dad, baby and mom looking for an open table

 Most of the pictures I take are from inside the house and through sunscreens, so please pardon the unprofessional look of them.  The one above is from my dining room window, which is my favorite spot to watch all the birds, especially the quail as they are my favorite!
  

The babies are learning to eat on their own

Watching the baby quail and other birds grow has been the most exciting part of my summer.  Okay, there's more excitement than that going on, but I seriously enjoy watching and identifying birds.

So how do you think he got up there?

The topknot on their heads are starting to show and they look SO cute!  I just want to pick them up and cuddle them! 



Mom and babies hiding from the rain

We have the Gambel's Quail throughout our state and it isn't uncommon to see them in neighboring front or backyards.  But every time I see these adorable birds, it's like the first time!  They, along with the other birds, simply make me smile and enjoy my little sanctuary - my Rocki's Resort.

Happy Birding!
Peace,
Rocki