After a very brief rain we got up a week ago Friday to this beautiful rainbow. I went to pickleball that morning and someone else had taken a picture of it but from where she was it was the whole rainbow and looked like Tubac was in a bubble. Pretty cool!
On Sunday our friends from Grand Junction, CO, Donna and Tom, came to visit. They got in late afternoon and we visited a little and went to La Bocanita in Rio Rico for dinner. This is a great Mexican restaurant that specializes in fresh fish. On our way home we even saw a Jack rabbit by the road. Man, they are big! He even stood up on his back legs and looked over his shoulder at us. Too bad it was dark so no picture.
On Monday we decided to go to Patagonia with T&D. We started out at Paton’s Center for Hummingbirds. Tons of Pine Siskins greeted us.
There must have been at least 100. Also got a good look at the Violet-crowned Hummer which was my first time this year. We’ve never seen them anywhere but at Paton’s although they are other places. Lots of other birds, too.
Ladderback Woodpecker, Lazuli Bunting, Pyrrhuloxia
Pine Siskin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Rufous-winged Sparrow, Verdin
After a nice lunch at the Ovens of Patagonia we moved on the Patagonia Lake State Park.
This is a wonderful park with a large lake and trails around it and through the woods. There are also quite a few free range cows and bulls wondering around the trails.
We actually were charged by a very frisky cow (with horns) that was jumping around and came face to face with us not looking very friendly. Denny had to keep him back so that we could walk by him on the trail. We now call him the cow whisperer!
The trails have benches along the way and each bench has an example of a bird you might find there like ducks, Common Yellow-throat, Gnatcatcher and Trogon. When we got to the Trogon bench we walked a little into the woods behind it and there was a female Elegant Trogon up in a tree! I think this is the first female I have seen down here. If you look at the link you can see how different she looks from him. Sadly, Denny only saw her fly away and Tom and Donna didn’t see it at all. They have been coming down here for years and each time we try to find an Elegant Trogon for them and so far have been unsuccessful. We think they have a curse.
After that long day we came home and had leftovers here.
Tom and Donna at our casita.
The next morning since it was Tuesday we went on the Tuesday morning bird walk where we saw the usual suspects. Then after our regular trip to the Tubac Deli with others from the walk we went up to Madera Canyon with Lillian for a picnic and hike.
We saw our usual deer at the beginning of the trail.
We once again looked for the Trogon that we’d seen the week before at Madera but no luck. It was windy and a bit chilly but we had a nice afternoon. Then Judy Webster joined us for dinner in Green Valley at Los Agaves, another nice Mexican restaurant.
Tom and Donna were leaving the next morning but before they left we all had a delicious brunch at The Stables which is at the Tubac Golf Resort where they were staying. We do eat a lot when we have visitors!
Spent the rest of the week with Denny working at The Bird House and me playing pickleball and painting at Carolyn Fowler’s house (another person I know from birding). She lives just on the other side of I-19 up on a hill with a beautiful view of the mountains. Her house is also beautiful and filled with lots of artwork. She had this decorative wall sculpture behind her fountain on her patio that she wanted me to paint something on. Here is the result:
She liked this little frog so much that this week I’m painting another one on the right panel.
On Saturday we needed to do some shopping in Green Valley so decided to combine it with another trip to Madera Canyon. I hadn’t been able to catch Cora at Kubo B&B in a while and she had wanted some of my notecards so we stopped there first. She has such a great place to see birds and we were not disappointed. The Townsend’s Warbler, Rivoli’s Hummingbird (formerly Magnificent Hummingbird), Painted Redstart, and Spotted Towhee were all there along with the usual Juncos, Bridled Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker and Mexican Jay.
Bridled Titmouse, Townsend’s Warbler, Painted Redstart, Acorn Woodpecker
Then we went down the Santa Rita Lodge and saw these birds:
Dark-eyed Junco, Bewick’s Wren, House Finch and Wild Turkey showing off.
We only have two more weeks here but lots of things to still do. Next week our good friends and neighbors from Greenfield, The Rothschilds, will be in Tucson and we hope to get together with them. On the 14th we will move to a B&B in Tucson to be near the Book Festival that weekend. We fly home on the 17th and will be there until the 19th when we go to Stamford, CT for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament that weekend. Hope it gets warmer back home by the time we are back.