Desert Birds

I've been trying to get pictures of these birds for awhile.  I finally downloaded some pictures off the internet.  The top picture is a Cactus Wren.  Its about the size of a robin and can be quite noisey when its calling for a mate.  It does have a tail like a wren but it doesn't have the pretty song that a wren up north has.  Watching these wrens try to build a nest is very entertaining because they chase pieces of palm frond and other bits of whatever that might build a nest.  It takes them forever and by the time they have something going another bird will come in and take over the half built nest. 

The hummingbird is a Rufous Hummingbird.  Its different from most other hummingbirds because it has bright orange neck feathers.  Other hummingbirds have pink or purple or deep red feathers that they show off.  The Rufous also has some of the orangeous coloring in its other feathers.  It has been coming to my feeder just recently and until I saw the sun hit those orange feathers I didn't realize he was different. 

The weather here is perfect with bright sun and warm breezes.  Of course it will be hot here soon enough so we are getting ready to move out and start our journey to Colorado for the summer.

Yuma Rental

I thought I would share pictures of a very nice rental that is available in the Yuma foothills area which is east of town.    Our friends had to have work done on their RV and needed to move into a rental for two weeks.  They found this place on craig's list.   It is an older 5th wheel but it is in very nice shape.  The view of the desert and mountain is what you can see from the kitchen window or if you sit outside.  There is a nice patio with a table, chairs and sunshade.  It also has a nice gas grill and outdoor fireplace.  There is another RV on the other half of the lot and the lot has brick walls around it.  Each side of the lot has its own driveway and gate.  There were only two drawbacks.  One the water pressure was low so the toilet fills slowly and the wash machine in the outside shed fills slowly.  The only other thing that was a small drawback was it was on a dirt road.  Its not far to the tar but it was kind of bumpy. 

Usually the exodus has started by now with people heading north but the weather is so bad everywhere that not many are moving.  It jumps into the 80's heading into the 90's by mid-March here but not this year.  It did for a few days but now we have 60's again.  I'm sure the heat switch will turn on and it will suddenly be hot.  We are starting to get things ready to start traveling again.  We plan to hit the road around April 7th or 8th.