Cactus Blossoms

Orange Cactus Blossom

If you think we're nothing more than tumbleweeds, cactus, dust storms, monsoons, hot as ___ heat, etc., let me show you just a tad of Arizona's colorful side.

We have a variety of color throughout our state.  And yes we do have lots of the other stuff, including the HOT as ___ HEAT, but we also have other seasons that bring cool weather and snow up north.  Sometimes the cold white stuff hits down here in the valley, in some locations, which makes us all get wildly excited.  We also have lush green forests up north, beautiful trees, eye catching cactus blossoms, flowering shrubs, the mesmerizing red rocks of Sedona, breathtaking sunsets, and so much more.

Pink Cactus Blossom

Whenever we go on walks or hikes, I can't resist taking photos of nature (these were all taken with my Samsung Galaxy S6).  There is so much to see all around us.  In fact, there are times that I see things in nature, like when you see things in clouds (which I do often).  I've seen some hilarious cacti that looked like... well, I'll save that for another time. 

Then one day I saw kissie face cactus.



Kissie Face Cactus

 

This is Kissie Face Cactus.  Yep, I named it that because that is what I see.  We came across this cool blossoming cacti while birding at the Rio Salado Restoration Habitat a few months ago.  I couldn't stop staring at it!  Do you see the kissie face its making or do you see something else?  Kissie Face also made it to Az Central's website, which you can see here.

 

See?  We do have color here in the desert.

 

Peace and happy birding... and nature exploring,

Rocki



Birding with My Canon

Canon Powershot SX50 HS

Over the past several years being a backyard birder, I didn't think I would want a camera other than the one on my phone (Samsung) or my old Canon point and shoot.  Needless to say, but some of (okay, most of) the backyard photos I did take of the birds are not pleasing to the eye.  Plus I didn't know where my love of birds was going to take me, so what I had at the time was good enough for me.

Time goes by, my love of birds grew (and continues), hubby fell in love with birds, we started going on our own birding adventures and decided a good camera would be a good investment.  Not only would we then have photos of the birds that we saw, but would help with identification as well, along with taking notes in our field journal. 

So the research began on what camera would be best for our birding in nature adventures.  We both enjoy taking photos (via point and shoot and our phones), neither one of us are professional photographers (obviously), it needed to be within our budget (until I win the lotto), a DSLR was out of the question (at this time anyway) and we wanted something more than just a P&S.  That led us to the camera that we bought at the end of May.

The Canon Powershot SX50 HS is considered a bridge camera.  It does much more than a standard P&S, but not as much as a DSLR.  For me, this was the perfect choice. 

I've been teaching myself all about this camera, its functions, photography... let me just say here that I've been doing so much reading and learning that my brain hurts - but I'm loving it!  Anyway, I want to get out of using auto mode completely (barely using that now as I'm loving AV mode) and I'm slowly getting there.  Oh and the zoom on this camera is absolutely amazing! 

Even though I'm still learning this camera and have much to learn about photography, I share my amateur photos on my Flickr, Instagram and Twitter accounts, and now here too.

I'd Rather Be Birding

I honestly do not mind constructive advise or any type of info regarding my not so perfect photos. 

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

The Bird that Stole My Heart

Gambel's Quail (male) on our block fence

So you may be wondering how my love for birds began.  Come on, humor me okay? 

Living in Arizona, particularly the desert regions of the southwest, the Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii) are practically everywhere.  They are literally throughout many neighborhoods and can be seen on rooftops, block fences, yards, trees, and in other habitats.  While driving through neighborhoods we're always cautious of this as they cross the street one by one - and we always stop for them and other wildlife.

One thing that stands out in my mind of how I fell in love with this gorgeous bird is their bond for one another as they mate for life.  The male reminds me of a gentlemen, like my hubby actually.  The male stands guard and protects his mate and young.  It is undeniably beautiful to watch. 

Anyway, a few years ago I bought a quail seed block and put it in the backyard.  That not only brought more quail, but also several other birds.  So I bought a bird feeder and, well, goes without saying but our backyard soon became a little bird sanctuary.



Mr. & Mrs. Gambel's Quail and a peek-a-boo Mourning Dove

One day I looked out back to see a covey of quail (covey is a flock of 20 or more - we've had over 25 at one time!) boy was that ever exciting.  Then there was the day I'll never forget... adorable tiny baby quails in our backyard!  Oh my goodness, I fell in love all over again!  From that day forward, I began watching all the birds that came into our backyard, bought a Bird of Arizona Field Guide book and it grew from there.

Even though I've loved the Gambel's Quail for as long as I can remember, and see them on a daily basis, I still get a warm fuzzy feeling as if it were the first time.  Kind of makes me giddy actually.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki

Tattooed Bird Nerds

Tattooed Birders:  Rocki and Bullwinkle

My lovely sis-n-love Tina, who is now blogging about their fun adventures (Southwest Travelers) inspired me to start blogging about our birding adventures.  I have a couple other blogs for my raw vegan recipes, my studio, and an old blog, but didn't think my birds would feel at home there ;)  So I'm dedicating this blog to birds, birding, nature adventures... you get the idea.

First let me give a brief intro (more about us in the About Me tab).



Bullwinkle spotted a birdie

Above is my best friend, love of my life, soulmate, fellow bird lover and adventure partner - aka my loving hubby Mark (Bullwinkle).  Mark is an accountant and a self-proclaimed geek/nerd.  We both used to ride motorcycles, but had to stop due to health reasons.  One of these days we hope to buy a trike, but it has to be able to hold our birding gear. 

We may not be your conventional birders, but we love birds all the same and are enjoying every aspect of birding.



Rocki spotted a pretty birdie too

We have a few tattoos.  Okay, more like I have 18 and Mark has... well, he has much less than I do (tee hee hee).  He's trying to catch up, but I keep telling him there's no way.

I know there are other birders with tattoos, so I'm not trying to say we're unique or abnormal (well, actually that's a whole other can of worms ;) but since we became "official" birders, it's fair to say that we are not of the "norm".  When we went on our first group bird walk in Prescott last month, nobody made us feel unwelcome or strange.  We had a blast of a time and I finally got to use my new bridge camera!  More about that in a future post.



Yep, that's me - Rocki.  Yep, I have pink hair.

This is me pretty much most of the time when I'm not in my birding attire.  No you're not seeing things, I'm wearing glasses - lol!  Yes, I have pink hair.  My gosh, tattoos and pink hair... and a birder! 

So, that's the very short version of Rocki & Bullwinkle - the Tattooed Bird Nerds.  I'll update the About Me page tomorrow as now it's time to switch gears and package up orders.

Peace and happy birding!
Rocki