Blue jays

I always enjoy watching the animals around us, wherever we are, and last weekend, there were blue jays all around the cabin.  I could hear them not too far off, so during one of our visits to the local store, I bought some peanuts by the pound.  It didn't take long for the blue jays to discover them.  I put them out on the porch wooden railing and they were soon squawking eagerly to announce their presence!  Soon there were about 7 or 8 blue jays after them!  They delighted us for the rest of the weekend and the grandson couldn't wait to put peanuts on the balcony railing every morning.

Weekend in Idyllwild

Our family got together (grown children and grandson) for the holiday weekend and we all relaxed and had fun with the grandson.  We rented a 2 story cabin up in Idyllwild, CA, which is about 20 minutes further up the road from where I board my horses.  It's at about 6,000 feet with blue jays and scrub jays and deer!  In fact, a deer walked out in front of our daughter and son-in-law on their way up to the cabin and she had to slam on the car brakes!  (and slow down!)...Our son, girlfriend, and grandson came up Saturday morning as he got off work late Friday night.  We had two nights of BBQ and played Mexican dominoes and shouted and slammed our fists down on the table while playing !  (It's a very competitive game!) We never turned on the TV and I finished one book and read another one while we were there!  The grandson learned to put peanuts out on the balcony for the blue jays who discovered what suckers we were and appeared from sunrise to sunset!  Even two scrub jays showed up and then a couple of gray squirrels appeared to get in on the peanut action!  I took the grandson for some walks and he got to see some of the forest up there.  It was chilly Saturday morning...down to freezing and the trees were covered with frost!  Really eerie.  Sunday and Monday mornings were clear and sunny.  We had a fire in the stove every evening and that just added to the atmosphere.  I feel like I've had a week-long vacation and it was only 4 days!  We've all decided to do this again just as soon as school is over.  My school is out the latest.  We WERE going to drive to Arizona, but we all decided to save on time and gas money, so we each saved from $125.00 - $300 in gas alone!  The kids brought food and so did we, so we had sandwiches for lunch, and hearty breakfasts each morning.  Why is it that coffee always tastes so much better up in the mountains?  That's our daughter with their dog, Wilco and a scene of the frost on the trees Saturday morning.

RAIN!!!!

Well, we had rain last night, but we are up in Idyllwild, at the top of a 10,000 foot mountain!  The clouds are hovering around this morning and moving through the trees and it is wonderful!  We rented a two story cabin which sleeps 10 people for the weekend and our daughter and son-in-law drove up yesterday afternoon.  We had a roaring fire going in the little stand-alone fireplace and it was delightful!  The grandson and his parents should drive up here to join us today!  There's a book sale at the library here in town and I want to go to that and take the grandson to the ranger station, which has an excellent display of animals.  I'll be posting pics either tomorrow or next week.  Enjoy your weekend!

Hawk on fence~Friday's Fences~052512

I spotted this hawk sitting on the fence at the old thoroughbred breeding farm, which is now a horse boarding facility.  He stayed there for a while until, in a flap of feathers, he was gone!  Friday's Fences for May 25, 2012. To visit FF, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

Sunday WARNING: Graphic snake photos!

I stayed home Saturday, since hubby was home.  Sunday morning, after he left for work, I fed the dogs, cats, and birds in the front yard.  They enjoy a morning and late afternoon feeding.  Anyway, I looked up and it was already 9:30 a.m. and HOT here in the desert (it was 107 degrees that day...).  I started to drive up to the horses and realized that I had laundry and errands to do at home and I really didn't have 3 hours to take out of my day, so I turned around to drive home.  I didn't get far when I saw a raven fly above my car with a snake hanging out of its mouth.  It dropped the snake right in front of my car as I was driving down the mountain, so of course, I had to go investigate.  The snake wasn't a rattlesnake.  Instead, it was some kind of gopher snake (I think...) and it was definitely dead, dead, dead!  There was a turnout not too far from where it landed on the road, but there was a lot of traffic that morning and I had to step onto the road and back off it several times to take these photos.  I wouldn't have stopped except that I actually saw the raven with the snake and now, with my newfound interest in reptiles, I had to take a closer look ***WARNING:  graphic dead snake photos****

Yes, it was dead.  I stuck around to see if the raven would come back, but during the short time I was there, it didn't.  I got home, came inside, turned on the air conditioner, and didn't go outdoors again.  Today it was 109 degrees.  It SHOULD cool off for the rest of the week, with temps down in the low 80's by Friday.  We are going to spend the weekend up in Idyllwild where hubby rented a 2 story cabin, with 3 bedrooms, and the kids and grandson will all come up for our 3 day weekend.  I'll have plenty of horse time then and won't be tired and cranky and rushed.

Some pretty desert sunrises

You know, I don't often post items on here about the desert or our local mountains because I have two other blogs which showcase those photos (http://rav4adventures.blogspot.com and http://desertsandbeyond.blogspot.com).  But, every once in a while, we get absolutely outstanding sunrises.  We don't get many gorgeous sunsets because we have the 10,000 foot Mt. San Jacinto blocking the setting sun in the west and frankly, we don't often get the right kinds of clouds to make a beautiful sunset.  However, mornings here in the desert, especially when I have palm trees in the frame, can be spectacular and breathtaking, like these.  I took these pics one morning as I was out doing my morning walk.  I'm now doing about 30-45 or even an hour's walk (like this morning)...I love getting out in the morning, before school, and having some time with nature's wonders.

Nothing like a long sip of water!~~Cali

I filled up the mustangs' water trough Saturday and after I brought Cali back from the round pen, she headed straight toward it.  She LOVES water and she used to stand in the water trough!  Scout, er....not so much!  She doesn't like water and she doesn't like to be sprayed with my homemade fly spray.  It's been HOT here in the desert...107 degrees already in May a couple of days this week, so it's probably been up into the 90's up in the mountains where the horses are.  It's just too early for this kind of heat and everybody is exhausted and cranky!  I'm ready for some horse time this weekend!