Well, this is a fine kettle of fish or should I say bucket of tadpoles. I thought if I kissed the frog he would turn into a prince. Instead, what happened is I turned into a frog as well. What do I do now? My Frog Prince friend is no help at all. All he says is ‘ribbit.’ What will become of me? Am I going to spend the rest of my life dining on flies? Ugh! What can be done to reverse the spell? Wait a minute. If I kissed a frog and turned into a frog, if I kiss a human…
I have to admit that I was pretty grossed out when you kissed me. But now when I see what a lovely woman you are I have to say, ‘Will you marry me and be mine forever? Don’t make me wait. What is your answer?’
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I was out early this morning to get a walk in before it got too hot. The temperature was still in the 80s F, but there was a nice breeze. It was quiet with only a few people out walking, along with a small white-tailed rabbit, a couple of grackles, and 1 roadrunner.
I heard the roadrunner before I saw it, a winding sound like an old wind-up toy.
One of the sounds a roadrunner makes
I looked around but could not spot it. I decided to back track a bit and saw the roadrunner on the other side of the street. He started to cross but saw me and decided to go the way. No good photos today.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the temperature is in the 90s F today. I am able to walk outside in this weather. I hadn’t seen any roadrunners lately and thought that they were avoiding the heat, until today. I spotted a large roadrunner and he spotted me. I got pretty close, and he made a whirring sound. I wasn’t sure if he was saying ‘don’t come any closer.’ He hoped up onto a tree and made his way up through the branches until I couldn’t see him anymore.
Click on the photos twice to enlarge and get a better view.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you the temperatures are going to be in the triple digits until Friday. Hot weather for June even here in the Coachella Valley. We are maintaining our cool with the AC and my husband has the fans going all over the house. It puts a crimp in my walking goals. I have been walking at least 30 minutes a day. Have to see if I can get up real early to walk before the heat sets in.
We’ve had a couple more visits from the roadrunners. I spotted one hopping up the branches of the grapefruit tree. I don’t think they like grapefruit but are probably using the branches like a ladder up to the back wall.
I’ve been doing the Spelling Bee in the daily newsletter from the New York Times. You have to see how many words you can make out of 7 letters. The words have to be at least 4 letters in length. I knew the word zigzag, but did you know you that ‘zigged’ and ‘zagged’ are words all by themselves?
The roadrunner zigged and zagged to avoid detection by a couple of big ravens.
Are those ravens over there?Maybe if I hunker down they won’t see meI think it’s workingRaven by Natalie Maynor on Flickr.com
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I had almost given up on seeing roadrunners in our yard. But during breakfast this morning I spotted a roadrunner on the patio. I hurriedly grabbed my cell phone and went to the patio door. That’s when I discovered it was a pair of roadrunners. One of them was making some dance moves on the other. The recipient of the advances did not seem too interested. They moved from the top of the wall into my neighbor’s yard. I did manage to get a few quick photos before they left.
Boy watches girl Beginning movesMore moves but girlfriend is distracted
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I have resumed my daily walk accompanied by Google Fit which is counting my steps. I did a good loop around the community enjoying the sunshine. The temperature was below 90 F with a slight breeze, compatible with walking. I kept an eye out for roadrunners. I did see one at a distance heading into someone’s yard. I saw two fluffy white-tailed bunnies who quickly hopped away. On the way back I was admiring the green Palo Brea trees and almost missed the tiny hummingbird perched on a thin branch. He didn’t wait for me to take his photo.
Black-chinned hummingbird by Renee Grayson on Flickr.com
“When you see a black hummingbird, it signifies change, rebirth, and spiritual transformation. You can move to a higher realm of awakening. A black hummingbird also means that you might face a challenge that can bring setbacks in your life. If you are persistent and confident, you can overcome those setbacks.”
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I haven’t seen roadrunners around our yard lately. I did see a couple down by the front gate of the complex one evening. It looked like a mother and a youngster. The mother flew up to the top of the fence and called the smaller one with a rapid clicking sound. I hoped to see more roadrunners, but I haven’t been outside walking as much. It has been a bit too hot for walks. So, I was happy to find a place that the roadrunners regularly visit. It is our local restaurant. Seems like they like the bacon that one of waitresses gives them. She told me she can feed one of them, that she has named Charley, right out of her hand. I wasn’t able to get a photo of Charley. He shied away when I tried. But another one came up close enough that I was able to get its picture. If you click on the photo below a couple of times you can enlarge it and see the roadrunner even better.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you there will be a New Moon tonight or a Black Moon. This is the second New Moon this month. Along with the Black Moon there will be a partial solar eclipse. I have not noticed that the phases of the moon affect me. I have read that some believe the New Moon can cause decrease in sleep, increase in creativity, promote hair growth, and can represent new beginnings. I wouldn’t mind a thicker head of hair. Do you think the phases of the moon affect you?
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I am having a small cup of Peet’s French Roast this morning. But I don’t think I’ll finish it because it tastes too strong. That is probably because I haven’t drunk any coffee for about 3 months. I fell off the wagon and I am going back on the wagon. Don’t want to get the acid production to go into overdrive.
Spring is in full swing in the backyard. I did not think we would be getting a lot of grapefruit this year because there were hardly any blossoms on the tree. I thought it was because of pruning or the gusty wind we get that blew the flowers off. I was happy to find there is some new fruit on the tree. Even the fan palm has some fruit again. The roadrunners will be glad about that.
A pair of birds are building a nest in the top of our motorized patio screen. I spotted the birds flying to the top of our patio door carrying small bits of twigs in their beaks. It was hard to get a photo close up. I told my husband we can’t use the motorized screen for now. I worry we will scare them off going in and out the door as well.
Young grapefruitFan Palm fruitBird on screen boxThe nest builderAre you looking at me?
I looked all over and think I have identified this bird. You can’t see it’s colors in my photo, but from my own bird’s eye observations I think it is a Say’s Phoebe.
Say’s Phoebe by Jamie Chavez on Flickr.com
It’s been wonderful to watch the nest building this morning. Nature continues to renew even while human destruction tragically goes on. I believe that life and good will win in the end.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I have had a busy week. My daughter paid us a surprise visit. It was wonderful to see her. We enjoyed some long walks and conversations. This weekend is Easter Sunday, Passover, and the Coachella Music Festival. So, I made an effort to get all the grocery shopping done earlier in the week. We wanted to avoid the crowded stores and restaurants this weekend. My husband really looked forward to my homemade chicken soup with matzo balls. I made the soup from scratch and the matzo balls with the help of a mix. I decided to use some rainbow carrots in the soup, a couple of purple ones. Well, the purple carrots made my chicken broth purple. Everyone commented on the color, but it did not affect the taste.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 