"D" is for DUCKS! ~ ABC Wednesday 020613

"D" is for ducks and our local park has plenty of them right now!  I have NO idea how many ducks are there.  They fly in and they fly out, but people also come by every day and feed them, like the man in the second photo.  I enjoy walking through the park, if I have time, in the mornings, before school.  I don't feed the ducks anymore, but I do enjoy taking photos of them.  Some of them are very tame.  ABC Wednesday for February 6, 2013.  To visit ABC Wednesday, please go to:   http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/

And, now...for a hint of spring! :-)

I found these beautiful flowers up at our local Von's market when I was there on Friday.  I had to run into the store to buy a few items and I couldn't resist!  Fortunately I had my camera with me that afternoon!

I heard a WHOOSH and all the doves scattered

I stayed home from school today.  I was sick ALL WEEKEND with the flu...bodyaches, headache, diarrhea (just what you wanted to hear, right?) and a nasty, horrible, wheezing cough that wouldn't quit...I thought I was ready to go today, but after being up an hour, I was lightheaded and dizzy.  Oh, boy!  I had just spent 2 days sprawled out on the couch, sleeping for about 16 hours each day.  Actually, it was more like 20...I vaguely remember a few hours of consciousness...So today, while sitting here at my desktop, I heard a loud flapping of wings.  I went outside and yup, the Cooper's hawk struck again.  There are morning dove feathers outside our front porch.  That means he now is comfortable coming into our front yard, among all of our trees there, and picking his prey.  ALL the birds in the yard immediately vanished and stayed away for about an hour.  I went out and cleaned up the feathers.  There's never any blood or body parts...just feathers.  He seems to eat every 3 days, so all should be safe for a couple of days.  I'm pretty sure he is an immature one, as he has a lot of white on him.  I often see him on the telephone pole which is in our back yard, or on one of the two across the street.  I can tell when he is up there as there are NO birds in the yard AT ALL.  I have mixed feelings about him, as I've said before.  Hopefully he is also cleaning out the rats and mice in the neighborhood, not just the doves.  (***NOT MY PHOTO***)

Look who's here to greet me!

No horse news this week.  I came down with the flu and my bronchitis kicked in yesterday and I spent the entire day on the couch.  I drank hot tea with lemon and even made some thyme tea (I added Manuka honey to that).  My fever broke and today I feel better and I can BREATHE!  I also put a compress of hot onions on my chest...don't know if it was that or the hot chicken soup with rice that hubby bought, but today I can breathe!  And, my chest isn't rattling and I'm not wheezing!  Anyway, we have this fence between us and our neighbor to the west.  I feed the birds on the cross beams and this little guy was waiting for me one afternoon.  I'd taken my camera with me that day, so I was able to get this photo of him.  Unfortunately, we have a Cooper's hawk now in the neighborhood and Friday I came home to feathers all over the yard!  Well, the hawk has to eat, too...I just wish he wouldn't devour my doves!  I'm fairly certain he also got my scrub jay, who has been gone now for 3 weeks.  I miss his chatter.  I really enjoy scrub jays and we have them 10 minutes away in our local mountains and they are also up at the ranch.

Now THAT's an entry gate~Friday's Fences~020113

I don't often drive by this place up in Pinyon.  It's actually off the road that I take to visit my horses each weekend.  But, sometimes I just like to drive around and see what everybody is doing.  I have two friends who live in Pinyon and I like to stop by and visit with them.  This massive gate and entrance is on the road by one of them.  Don't you love it?  Friday's Fences for February 1, 2013.   To visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

In the solitude I find peace...

I enjoy my trips up to the horse ranch, but I often stop along the way and drive through areas of the pinyon forest.  It is on the way to the horse ranch where I board my horses.  I find a certain inner peace there, which I especially need after a LONG week at school.  Yesterday my class had 4 students out sick, and two more went home sick later in the day.  That's 6 kiddos out with the FLU~gasp!  You should hear all the coughing! It's a miracle that we get anything done!  And, now I've got a sore throat...sigh...it's only a matter of time before I come down with it, too.  And, I'm OUT of sick days already!  :-(  So, I will need to stop and see more spots like these to help my mental state!

Transformation~Our World Tuesday~012913

Friday and Saturday and even Sunday our desert world was transformed into a magical, mystical world.  When I lived near Los Angeles, we used to call it "June gloom".  We don't often get this kind of fog here in the desert, so, of course, I had to run out and take photos of it!  I believe it has been a couple of years since we've seen so many low clouds.  We certainly didn't have this last winter.  The desert changed from a harsh, dry environment so one of wonder, with clouds hugging the mountains and caressing them.  I spent 3 hours out and around Saturday morning, marveling at this new world!   :-)  Our World Tuesday for January 29, 2013.  We had gorgeous high clouds yesterday, then a break, and then another weekend of clouds and rain. To visit OWT, please go to:    http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/