Raven Hassles Hawk (& Vice Versa)

At first it was hard to see what all the noise was about, but by the sound of it, a Raven was definitely involved. (Both birds are in the center of this picture.)

When they rose up over the hillside, we could see that the Raven was totally going after the Red-Tailed Hawk. (Only they know who started it.) The Raven chased the Hawk all over the place.

Once the Hawk turned the tables, the Raven coasted off, nonchalant as can be. The end.

Violet's 13th Birthday

The white tufts of hair that emanate from the bottoms of Violet's paws grow longer with age.
They have now officially entered the "streamers" phase of development.

Our little chimp celebrated her 13th birthday today by doing what she does pretty much every day, chowing down on kibble at Deukmejian. (She won't eat her kibble at home, probably as insurance that we won't forget to take her to the park.) She's still wobbly, but there are still at least a few bucking broncos left in her.

We look forward to many more pounces, bounces, barks, kisses, and sniffs from Violet. (Her nose and mouth are clearly still fully functional, even if those little kidneys, pancreas, and legs are on the blink!)

More about Violet.

Luciano, Bradley's Pet Spider

Luciano Eats a Fly

My husband finally admits that he's keeping this spider as a pet. It's right above/behind his computer monitor, where BP spends most of his time. My picture shows Luciano (the spider) eating a fly that Bradley threw (live) into the web. Below, the screen grab shows BP's FB confession.

Luciano is a Long Legged Cellar Spider from the Family Pholcidae (a.k.a. Cobweb Spider Pholcus phalangioides). According to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, "It was hoped that this spider [Luciano's near relative Holocnemus pluchei, to be precise] would displace the black widow in many areas when it became established; however this has not proven to be the case."

Tell me about it! We can't open the clothes washer enclosure or the recycling roller-can without disturbing a big-old Black Widow. Our neighbor's stone retaining wall holds at least a dozen honker Black Widows at night. (We counted!)

Pretty Violet

Little Violet is such a trooper. Here she is on April 5, just beginning to recover from another serious bout of pancreatitis. She's going to be thirteen years old this spring, and I really wasn't sure she'd make it through this illness (again). We decided not to hospitalize her any more. (The last stay was so horrible.) Bradley — a trooper himself — never relented with her extensive at-home medical treatments (subcutaneous fluids three times a day, etc.), and on this day, she feels well enough to sit out front and watch the world go by (especially her dog pals on their evening walks). Pretty face.

What I didn't know when I took this picture is that she was also about to face another "bad back" episode (on top of her usual achy arthritic knees issue, for which she takes Tramadol and gets weekly cold laser treatments). She has some kind of herniated disc that acts up now and then when she takes a spill or jumps off the sofa the wrong way. This time, she was pretty much paralyzed for a week, gradually able to lift her head, then kind of sit up, then to stand (with help), etc.

Again, she was a trooper. (Sometimes a pretty doped up trooper.) I was definitely fazed, but again, Bradley never lost hope. Before long, our Little Monkey was actually well enough to go to the Arroyo Burro dog beach in Santa Barbara! She still walked with a sling around her belly, but she had a blast. So did we. Today she's still wobbly and needs a lot of boosts, but her quality of life is pretty dang good again. She expects to go to the park every day, etc.


A few previous posts about Violet: Malibu Monkey,  Raining, Raining, Raining!,  Violet Spazzing.

Wild Parrot Makes Ruckus in Walnut Tree

Wild Red-Crowned Parrots are occasional spring visitors to our backyard loquat tree, but tonight at about 7:15 there arose such a clatter that Bradley, Violet, and I sprung from our house to see what was the matter.

 

This fellow was in the walnut tree that borders our back yard carrying on with mucho gusto. I started snapping pictures, Violet started barking her head off (she's too short to have been able to see the bird), and our neighbor started chatting it up with Bradley about the bird, some baby opossums, and what-not. 

The parrot seemed to care only enough to give us a few glances before he eventually flew off, making as much racket down the block as he had been here.


Click here to see my previous blog post showing a Wild Red-Crowned Parrot eating loquats.

Yellow & Red Kangaroo Paw

Pink Oleander (Front Yard)

Columbine (Second Blooming)

Click here to see my previous post on this Columbine, which I planted early last spring.

Tea Tree Two

My first tea tree is a dwarf. And pinker (less red). And nearer to the pond. This guy I bought in January with the bonus cash we earned at Armstrong Garden Center for buying all our Xmas stuff there (tree, garland, wreath, poinsettias). He was supposed to go in my pretty ceramic pot on the patio, but Tea Tree Two just didn't like it there. Not enough direct sunlight. Now he's in is in-ground home near the back fence where the massive pencil plant used to be.*

* There's a long story about the pencil plant removal. Short version: I like the way it looks (succulenty) and grows (vigorously), but the abundant milky white sap it ultra-readily oozes is either poisonous or I'm highly allergic to it or both. And once on, it's almost impossible to get off the skin. Since the violent reaction is delayed, you don't even know it's on you until it's too late. (No good, baby. No good.)

Flowering Cacti (from Texas)

Yay! This is the first time this cactus has bloomed in the almost seven years I've had it. I bought it in Austin, Texas at the spectacular cactus show held at the Zilker Botanical Garden. It seemed happy — but flowerless — growing in my Austin yard near a big-ole boulder. Then it was in a pot for the move. Looked fine but lacked flowers. Then it had a super-sunshiny spot in my California backyard. Still looked fine. Still no flowers, though. It wasn't until I moved it to its current, shadier spot near the rhubarb and fennel that it was happy enough (or stressed-out enough?) to flower. I didn't even know what kind or color of flower to expect! These big red ones are very cool (in my book). There were three altogether. I'm very pleased, very pleased.

The other cactus I bought at Zilker back then just finished blooming. Its flowers are modest, but it lets 'em rip every year. This is what it looked like on April 3.

(I wish I could tell you the names of these cacti, but I had posted them to my old garden blog, which no longer exists. If I figure them out, I'll update this post.)

Persian Berry Iris & Flower Crab Spider

Western Tanagers on Cinco de Mayo

It's my niece Hayley's twenty-first birthday (perhaps better known for Cinco de Mayo celebrations), and a beautiful pair of Western Tanagers very quietly pay our loquat tree a visit.


Click here to see the last time I caught a picture of a Western Tanager in our yard.