Weekend Captures

Posted on July 13, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

I had some fun bird photography this weekend.

Plus, we had guests over that I was so excited to see. One of our kids’ friends from club swimming in Palm Springs who lives in Tempe with her husband and six-month old first born baby! We made lunch and they played in the pool.

I also managed to get a few captures of bird photos that I like.

A Roadrunner darted about chasing quail. This clever guy hid himself in a planter at the far end of the yard with only his head showing. He’d jump out “Beep beep!” and go for the chase. Fortunately, he didn’t have success.

Curve-billed Thrasher with fuzzy feathers make me believe he’s a youngster.

This Abert’s Towhee juvenile explored a planter.

More juvies looking for trouble!

A Gila Woodpecker up in the tree surveying the quail spectacle below.

This grown up Curve-billed Thrasher was keeping an eye out for the young one.

Mrs. and Red hung out in the morning before it got too hot!

We even have a juvenile croc!

Which photos do you like best?

What fun did you have this weekend?

Card Update

Posted on July 10, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

This is my first card, second attempt. I’m using the app Canva. I was so excited to receive my first test order of “Red cards” yesterday. But there was something wrong. My excitement soon turned to disappointment.

I thought I had created a folded card with Red’s photo on the front, my logo on the back and blank inside so people can write a personal message. What came in the mail was this:

A flat two-sided card that was blank on the back. No logo. No fold. Not what I thought I had created.

I used Canva AI to help with the layout to make sure I had the pages set up correctly. According to AI, it was ready to go and AI even complimented me on my card!

After delivery, I immediately went to Canva’s website to complain that my cards weren’t printed correctly. Customer service was through a chatbot. What a world we live in! No human beings around. The bot told me that I had selected “Cards” when I should have selected “Folded Cards.” I asked where to find it and was told “Go to Home, click on Print Shop, click on Folded Cards.”

But of course. Silly me. Why didn’t I think of that. Instead, I clicked on Templates. Ugh.

Canva was kind enough to give me an instant refund. After finding “Folded Cards,” I was able to recreate the card properly (I hope) and ordered another small test run. (See first photo above.)

In the meantime, while I wait to inspect round two of test cards, I got my business license, I ordered business cards (with my license number) and I’m creating more cards.

One of my graphic designer friends who encouraged me in this project said, “Next comes your website!”

I’ve tried to stay away from AI, but it pops up everywhere.

Are you finding more and more AI in your daily life? Where and do you use it?

Do you have any suggestions for an easy website app that’s not WP?

Bird of the Week — Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Posted on July 8, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

Bird of the Week: CLXXVI

I spotted a new bird in our yard last week. This is a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker. It’s much smaller than my other woodpeckers, the Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker. It was high up in a tree and I could tell it was a new bird by it’s shape. This was the only photo I caputured.

Here’s the info I found from All About Birds and Audubon about this small woodpecker:

SIZE:

Both Sexes
- Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
- Weight: 0.7-1.7 oz (21-48 g)
- Wingspan: 13.0 in (33 cm)

COLOR:

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are black-and-white with ladder rung stripes on the back, and a more checkered pattern on the wings. The underparts are whitish or gray, flecked with black. The white face is broken by black lines that extend from the bill and eye. Males have red crowns; females have blackish crowns.

BEHAVIOR:

I learned from All About Birds that they forage in trees and bushes and are mostly hidden from view. That’s probably why I haven’t seen one until recently!

They live in hot arid areas such as deserts, pinyon forests, or dry scrub. They build nests in cavities in trees and cactus.

DIET:
They mostly eat insects including caterpillars, ants and beetles. They also eat fruit and seeds, plus cactus fruit. They forage in tree bark, pecking with their beaks to find bugs.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ladder-backed_Woodpecker/sounds

It’s All About Quail

Posted on July 6, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

The quail are always in our backyard. There are so many families with mom and dad and a batch of babies that I can’t keep track. One family has two babies. Another has 10 or 11 and there are families with every number in between.

The poppa quail usually finds a perch on a bench or rock to have a good view of his family while they scratch around for birdseed in the gravel, or visit the birdseed block.

A pretty momma quail mostly stays with her babies. I see the moms calling out to them to round them up and keep them close by.

Here’s a teenager quail. There are very few little itty bitties around anymore. They grow up so quickly!

Here’s a group of babies hanging out in the shade of a barrel cactus.

Three young ones making their move to the bird seed block.

This teenager has legs!

Another poppa quail on the lookout for his family.

I will miss these quail families when the babies are all grown up and they start their own family units. That will be next spring.

Happy Monday! What are your plans this week?

Red Alert

Posted on July 3, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

I had some amazing photo sessions with Red and Mrs. this week. Instead of taking photos from inside the casita through the window, I sat outside. Red landed within a few feet of me and posed. Mrs. did the same.

The result of sitting outside with my camera was clearer photos. Red and Mrs. didn’t seem afraid of me at all. In fact, every time I sat outside, they appeared and flitted around me.

I shared a few of my Red and Mrs. photos with my graphic designer friends I worked with back in my PR days in Palm Springs. They both moved a few miles away from our home but they moved here 15 years before us. They were so encouraging about my photos. They suggested I sell prints and make cards. One said that cardinals are very popular in Arizona and cards would do well.

I never thought of those things before. I followed their advice and made a card using Canva that is blank inside with a photo of Red on the cover. I ordered a few to see how they will turn out! I’ll let you know.

I even came up with a little logo to put on the back of the card.

Happy Friday! What are your plans for the 250th birthday of our nation?

Bird of the Week — Abert’s Towhee

Posted on July 1, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

Bird of the Week: CLXXV

We had a newcomer to our yard last week. This is Abert’s Towhee, a sandy brown large sparrow with a black patch around its beak. My Merlin App that identifies birds by their calls had ID’d Abert’s Towhee months ago, but I had never seen him. I was excited to finally get a glimpse and have a new bird to photograph.

Abert’s Towhees mate for life and can be found in dense brush in the Sonoran Desert along lakes, streams and in urban neighborhoods. They build their nests in mesquite, cottonwood, willow and mistletoe.

Abert’s Towhee was named in 1852 for Lt. Col. James William Abert (1820–1897), a U.S. Army officer in the Topographical Engineers who obtained the first specimen during a survey of New Mexico at the end of the Mexican War.

From Audubon:

Description

Both sexes — Length: 8.3–9.5 in (21–24 cm); wingspan: 10.4–11.6 in (26–29 cm); weight: 1.5–1.9 oz (43–54 g). Slim and long-tailed. The Abert’s Towhee is warm buffy brown with a black face and a pale gray bill. Usually in denser habitats than the Canyon Towhee, and has a different voice.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/aberts-towhee

RANGE:

Abert’s Towhee is a very local bird to the Sonoran Desert where I live. They are territorial and do not migrate. Here’s a map of their range:

FOOD:

Their diet consists of insects and seeds. They like beetles, ants, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and cicadas and seeds from grasses and weeds.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Aberts_Towhee/sounds

What a way to go!

Posted on June 29, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

This is a yellow Century Plant in full bloom in our yard.

From Planet Desert:

The yellow century plant (often known as the Variegated Century Plant or Agave americana ‘Marginata’ / ‘Variegata’) is a massive, drought-tolerant succulent . It features striking, blue-green foliage lined with bright yellow or cream margins and sharp marginal teeth. It thrives in arid environments like Scottsdale and needs minimal watering once established .

It was called a Century Plant because it was believed to bloom once every hundred years. What I learned is it blooms once in its lifetime once it’s a mature plant which happens around 15 to 30 years. Then it dies.

These two photos give you a perspective of what the plant and stalk look like. A neighbor pointed out my beautiful yellow blossoms next to our driveway. I hadn’t noticed the blooms because it’s tucked away behind a saguaro and other plants.

More from Planet Desert:

A century plant (Agave genus) typically dies within a few months after it finishes blooming. Because it is a “monocarpic” plant, it puts all of its remaining energy into creating a massive central flower stalk.

Once the seeds have developed and ripened, the entire plant withers and dries up.

While the mother plant dies, the lifecycle continues through offshoots, commonly known as “pups” or “hijos,” which grow at the base of the plant.

It is bittersweet that such a beautiful plant will be dying soon. I felt sad taking photos of it. My neighbor has one ready to bloom in her yard. As an artist, she said she’ll be take photos that she’ll use for a painting. Through our photographs and paintings, the Century Plant will live on.

What are your thoughts about Century Plants? Have you heard of monocarpic plants?

bleuwater

thoughts about life from below the surface

Weekend Captures

Like this:

Card Update

Like this:

Bird of the Week — Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Like this:

It’s All About Quail

Like this:

Red Alert

Like this:

Bird of the Week — Abert’s Towhee

Like this:

What a way to go!

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: