Vermillion Flycatcher

It might not be a white Christmas but I did find some pretty red.  This flycatcher is such a bright color he's hard to miss.  These guys like to hang out down by the Colorado River where there are lots of bugs to eat.  We have friends that stay at Hidden Shores campground.  Its a campground that is privately run but is on BLM land right along the river next to the Imperial Dam.  This is the same area we've seen the long curved bill curlews looking for a meal.   It would be nice to stay at a campground like this that overlooks the river but it draws too many young people from California.  They just want to run the river in big loud boats or run their ATVS around camp. 

We have enjoyed a couple of Christmas parties with lots of good food.  I also got to enjoy a few days off where I just did some fun cooking. relaxing and reading.   Visiting friends and sending and receiving cards, emailing, texting and phoning loved ones and friends makes it easier to be so far away but still in touch.  Merry Christmas!

Pictures from earlier travels

 

 

 

I sent out my Christmas letter and put photos on the back.  I was able to send them to everyone on my list this year because I found a less expensive way to make lots of copies.  Anyone that has printed pictures with their printer knows how much expensive ink it takes.  I used the local UPS store to make copies and I got a small discount through working at Al's.  They gave me some pointers on how to have even better quality pictures on my copies next year. 

 

These two pictures that are in the letter were from our stop in the Black Hills on the way south this fall.  The pronghorn seem to like to pose for pictures but the coyotes were very busy looking for a meal.  When we got to the prairie dog village it was obvious that the coyotes needed to thin that population out a little.   Coyotes get a bum rap because they also prey on loose small dogs and cats and small farm animals.  They do play an important role in keeping certain small wild animal populations in check.  I would never get close to a cute little prairie dog because bubonic plague loves to hang out in these groups. 

 

We enjoyed fall colors on our trip south and now it feels like fall in Yuma.  There is some fall color with a few kinds of trees turning orange.  Christmas is coming fast and I don't need snow and cold for it to feel like the season!  

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Hummingbirds

I have a hummingbird feeder staked in the ground next to this ocotillo bush.  This Anna Hummingbird pretty much guards the feeder all day.  He fights with other hummingbirds that try to drink out of it.  Hummingbirds are pretty fearless.  This guy doesn't care if I get close.  He only gets upset with me when I'm trying to refill it then he buzzes me until I'm done.   The Yuma area has six different kinds of hummingbirds that hang out here in the winter.  Up north we only ever see ruby-throated ones so its neat to see the different kinds.

We seem to be fighting low water pressure.  The folks in charge of the local water system say they will have the system back up to full pressure by the beginning of this week.  They say its a combination of reasons that cause the low pressure.  The sudden influx of snowbirds, all of the farm fields that need irrigation, aging pipes that are leaking and breaking, etc. etc.   The water's not that great anyway -- very hard and salty.  We buy drinking water and have a little portable water softener hooked up to our water line so we've learned how to live with it.