Category: wildlife

This lucky rabbit, rabbit survived whatever split its ear

A friend posts “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” the first of every month on Facebook.  This comes from an early 1900s superstition in Britain and North America to ensure good luck for the month.  But only if said out loud first thing in the morning before anything else.  At my house, just about every morning I’m awake early enough to look out the kitchen window, I’ll see rabbit, rabbit, and sometimes more rabbits.  That’s great because I could use some luck.

Spiny lizard

Last week I introduced you to some of my neighborhood animals and this week some different faces showed up.

I happily didn’t have to take a weekly trip to town and instead worked on videos.  The “Meet Georgypsy” video went viral thanks to a push from YouTube with 1.8k views and I felt truly inspired.  So I followed it up with another National Park update about a trail closure in Joshua Tree National Park to ensure undisturbed water access to the bighorn sheep.  Of course that wasn’t quite as well received as a bison goring in Yellowstone.

I will forever be a Park Ranger, even if the hat is currently retired.

At home sunset view over Brushy Mt

Bob is also learning and making videos and sent links on how to succeed on YouTube.  Best points, #1 Truly commit! #2 Ask Who and What?  #3 Solve a problem through education and/or entertainment.  I think my who are you, and either armchair travelers or planning travelers. The what should be an overview of the natural & cultural history through visual storytelling of the places I travel.  Though there’s no traveling going on right now.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Of course I spend some of the day watching outside and see plenty of animals other than rabbits.  Like spiny lizards, who are colorful insectivores and I guess all that bug meat gives them big muscles.  Plus, like most lizards, they do their push-ups showing a display of strength and to mean get out of my territory.  Around here they have to share space with lots of different lizards and other critters too.  But I’ll bet they keep an eye on the sky to avoid becoming a meal for a large bird of prey.  I do see hawks around.

Though I more frequently see large Turkey Vultures soaring overhead and they eat almost entirely carrion and human garbage.  They probably get someone else’s leftovers at least once in a while.

And then there’s rabbit.  Some mornings I see the black-tailed jackrabbit, who really isn’t a rabbit, they are hares, living mostly in open areas and tend to live alone or in pairs in above-ground nests.  Hares are larger than rabbits in overall size, ears, and hind legs which they use to run in a zigzag pattern up to 35 mph to avoid predators.

On a cloudy afternoon, Papa quail brought out the chicks, barely 2” tall.  I just knew there was a nest nearby after daily listening to their distinctive call.  The local Manzanita and Cliff Rose provide enough dense cover to shelter rabbits and quail.

Yet if the cows have their way, those poor bushes don’t stand a chance.  I wish they would graze on the plants that turn to nasty thorns and burrs.

Cloudywing Skipper on unidentified flower/weed

I can’t even identify all the flowers here, but once they go to seed, it seems everything bites.

One cool morning, I put the ratchet straps back on the camper and truck.  Seems the camper is sliding backwards again and I don’t want that to happen.  Unfortunately the rear tie downs with turnbuckles can’t be attached at the right angle.  One side the tailpipe would be in the way to get the correct angle.  It’s not pretty, but it works.

The metallic woodborers have moved from Cliff Rose to Cowpen Daisy for their daily meal.  Yet new flowers bloom the next day.

Some days are more birdy than others.  Papa quail brought out the little ones again.  Straight down the berm to hide in the shade under my 5th-wheel.  I struggled to take photos of them but did manage to get a short video looking almost straight down out a tinted window.  I’d say there are at least 12-13 of them, not an unusually large flock because so many don’t make it to adulthood.

Later, as the sun went down, a raucous murder of Ravens hung out on what I’m now calling Raven Rock.  Actually looked like there was courting going on as some paired off.

Next camper job, clean the fridge.  The doors have been closed since I unpacked this spring with no propane on.  A sealed fridge tends to grow mold, even in the dry Southwest.  I’ve actually ordered a piece of plastic that is suppose to keep the door open just enough to breath without the door flapping as I drive down the road.  But in the meantime, I had to clean the fridge to use the fridge.  And I’d be using the fridge to go for a few nights stayover at a friend’s place in Dewey, about 45 miles away.

Marine Blue butterfly

The afternoon was spent sitting outside in the shade reading, watching the quail, and the deepest blue butterfly I’ve ever seen on the Cowpen Daisies.

Back and forth…

In the morning I packed.  The trip to Dewey also included getting a 7-gallon propane tank from the 5th-wheel recertified, on the return trip to home.  Only one tank fits on the passenger side floor.  Stopped for a few groceries and while in the store somebody took my shopping list with pen attached out of my empty cart which was left behind.  WTF?  I felt helpless without that list, discombobulated.  I write things down so I don’t have to remember.

Got to my friend’s place about 3pm and we talked all afternoon and into the evening.  I’d left the windows and door open on the camper and after dark my friend saw a movement at the end of the patio we were sitting on.  OMGosh, yes, it was Sierra.  She had pushed the screen door open and come over for a visit.  I’m sure she’d been listening and possibly batted a bug against the door as I’ve never seen her intentionally open the door.

I enticed her back to the camper by shaking her treat bag and she followed me right in.

I watched hares and rabbits from the camper in Dewey also.  They’re bigger than Sierra.  After another afternoon of conversation I provided dinner.  Actually Sandee provided the Portello’s Italian Beef and gravy when she camped with me for my birthday in March.  But it was a lot of food and had been frozen, so was nice to bring out to feed three people.  Plus we enjoyed fresh watermelon margaritas.

The next morning I left early with a new list of stops to make on the route home.  First stop to recertify the propane tank.  As I figured, nothing wrong with it, doesn’t leak, and for $25 there’s now a sticker on the tank that says good for three years.  Cost me almost that much to fill it.

Temporary fix

Next stop a RV sales and service store in Prescott Valley.  They have a free dump station and that more than needed done.  Plus the latch on the bathroom door broke and I found a replacement.  Another repair to put on the list.

Stopped for groceries still feeling lost without my original shopping list. Bought a pair of shorts on sale and they fit so good I went back in and tried to buy a few more but two out of three didn’t fit so I quickly returned them. For some reason I struggled mentally to leave the parking lot and hung for at least a couple hours before heading home. I knew it would be hot when I got home and had to unpack.  I was crazy sweaty when that got done and exhausted. Took a shower, made dinner, and watched videos, only for educational purposes of course.

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbits were everywhere the next morning.  You know what is said about their reproduction.  In one year, a female rabbit can give birth to 2-6 litters each containing between 1-5 babies.  You do the math.  I saw youngsters chasing and playing.  Unlike the hares, cottontails are social creatures often gathering in a fluffle to feed at dawn and dusk.  BTW, desert cottontails do not have tails of cotton, but they do look fluffy.

With temperatures rising past the mid-90s I’ll also be watching the rise in my electric bill from running the AC often for 12 hours a day.  Every time the AC compressor kicks in, I cringe in comfort. Without it, I wouldn’t be inside during the hot part of the day at 97° outside while keeping it about 80° inside.  AC on the truck is waiting for parts and repair.

Spotted a roadrunner chasing down one of many lizards.  Able to run up to 15mph they can also sprint up to 26mph.  No wonder coyote could never catch up.  But lizards move about 23 feet per second, so it’s a pretty close race.  (Again, you do the math.)

In the late afternoon, Papa quail came by leading the growing chicks who eat as they move along.  I am learning from these desert dwellers to rest in the shade during the hottest part of the day.

New toys arrived for making videos.  A selfie stick/tripod that extends 40 inches.  Not sure I could hold the weight of the phone very much time at full extension.  It also has a removeable remote that works via Bluetooth.  So while that was charging with a supplied USB cord, I played with the also new “miniature omnidirectional microphone” that plugs into the phone or laptop.  Tested that and got no sound on playback even though the screen showed an external mic.  Hmmm.  Next tried the laptop through the webcam and no sound there either.  Then while deleting the test video off the phone it played with audio, and without the mic plugged in.  So I used my new toys/tools to make a video.  But you probably already know that because you’ve subscribed to the Geogypsytraveler YouTube channel.  If not, I hope you’ll become part of the next 100 people who do subscribe.  (I am not endorsing any of these products, yet.)

In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch for rabbits, lizards, birds and butterflies, mostly moving too fast to photograph through windows because I’m inside avoiding the heat.

But I’ll be out next week for June’s Strawberry full moon named by native people from northeastern US and eastern Canada after the first harvest of ripe of berries.  I’m pretty sure if they grew here, the harvest would already be over because of the heat and rabbit, rabbit, rabbits.