Wildlife

Arizona is a whole new world for us. Mainly we have lived in the northwest, and this is nothing like the northwest. It's not even anything like the dry side of the northwest. So I will share some of our wildlife encounters, I'm sure you'll love them. We'll start out with the nicer things...

We have a yard full of birds. I'm not sure we've ever lived where there appear to be so many species of birds, and no sea gulls to be seen. We've got quail, turtle doves, and my personal favorite are the humming birds. We have one particular humming bird that has found his favorite perch on a branch of a Palo Verde tree right outside our yard. He is there every afternoon. I don't remember ever seeing a hummingbird sit still. I've seen them at feeders and flowers with their wings flapping so fast you can't see them. This one, he likes to rest in the afternoons. The neighbors told us he is the only species of hummingbird that makes a sound. Only the males sing. It is a really high pitched tweet of sorts. Very pretty bird.

A couple of times, we have been sitting on the back patio and spotted a small lizard sunning itself on our back wall. Michael insists that he has seen a "really big lizard" but we have only seen the gecko type. Megan actually saw one, a little too late, and ran over it. Her first road kill. Good memories. I think she actually named it. And she is calling herself the lizard slayer.

But not everything here is fun to see and hear. We have had a scratching sound in the computer room since we moved in. Yep, pack rats. GREAT! So the exterminator came and set traps, so far, 6 pack rats killed. Again, I talked to a neighbor who said, they had killed 12 in the last few months. We have started the monthly extermination service that will hopefully keep the rats, and anything else yucky out of our yard and out of our house!

In the process of dealing with the exterminators told us we should clear some of the brush away from the back fence. Behind us is a "wash" that is basically a association owned slope that can fill with water during the monsoons. There was a lot of dead stuff right along our fence. Ken went out there and moved it all away from the fence about two feet. The neighbor behind, said he didn't really like what we did, could we clean it up. So, yesterday, Ken heads out to clean up some of the brush. He is walking along and hears a weird noise, looks down and he is inches away from stepping on a RATTLESNAKE. He turned and ran back to the safety of our side of the fence. We called the neighbors (I'm sure they are sick of us asking for nature assistance, but what can you do). He came over and said, Yep, that's a rattlesnake (about 3 feet long). He said the fire department would come get it. I called, but in the meantime, Ken lost track of it, so it's still back there. I'm pretty sure we are hiring someone to come clear that brush away. No one from our family is going back there. And, next time Michael wants to go play in the "wash" with his friends, the answer is a definite "NO."