Life in the Desert

Baby Jack Rabbit

Baby J R, originally uploaded by majamom.

Happy Labor Day Dear Visitors!

This little Jack Rabbit made a mad dash from my front fence over to the neighbors fence as I drove up our dirt road yesterday afternoon. It is so wonderful to see a baby Jack Rabbit this year.
In general they do not survive long out here in the wild west, as they are a favorite prey for coyotes. This little fella must have some cozy and safe hiding places.
We continue to share vegi leftovers with him-tossing them onto our back property where Lady cannot go.
She has come so amazingly far from 2yrs ago as a feral pup ,surviving,- wandering our desert ; however, anytime a rabbit catches her sight, she goes into huntress mode and nothing I say or do can deter her from chasing them.

If I were an old Wart Hog! (lLion king)

If I were an old Wart Hog! (lLion king), originally uploaded by majamom.

This amazing creatures expression and position sum up the past month quite well.
almost 100 today with 50% humidity and of course

not

a drop

of

Rain

Jack Rabbit- Baby

Jack Rabbit- Baby, originally uploaded by majamom.

Hello welcome visitors!

This little darlin was sitting half in the shade
half in the bright afternoon desert sun
chewing on wild growing green something or another.

I shot over one hundred pics, but due to the lighting split , only this one came through well- as he ran in response to Jack and Lady barreling out the dog door.

I am so tempted to leave out left over veggies for him; however, in doing so, it puts him in an "unsafe location"

The creative solution to this conundrum is to throw the veggies over the fence onto the next ranch property, where this little guy appears to be spending most of his days and nights.

HE is so darn cute I can hardly stand it

Happy Birthday Blueintheburgh!! Rock Squirrel

Happy Birthday Blueintheburgh!!, originally uploaded by majamom.

Everyone PLEASE JOIN ME and "SUPER CHEEKEY" and visit my

sister

and wish her a happy birthday-c'mon lets make her day!!

now back to our regularly scheduled desert stuff.........

What is this enormous  squirrel we have never seen before in 20+ years in our Mojave desert?

It has taken several weeks of research to find that this "BIG FELLA"   a "Rock Squirrel" is not reported as

living in our area of the Mojave Desert.

He appeared about a month ago,and is happily consuming mass quantities of our bird food by repeated

visits to the feeding station.

I must admit to the hilarity of his presence-as he cracks me up with all of his antics,while my beloved finds

him revolting and far to large a rodent to be tolerated.

Needless to say I WIN  in all areas of wildlife  harmony aboard the Retro Ranch

More to come on this ROCK SQUIRREL  as I learn more.

temperature today***  106 with 35 % humidity-so far no rain has fallen upon our parched desert to wash us of all our misery and nurture all of the thirsty nature

bird report- 72 house finches

                 2 cactus wrens

                 38 mourning doves

                 1 tiny Anna's hummingbird

                  2 striped sparrows

                  2 Gambles Quail

other desert creatures

                   1 enormous Rock squirrel

                    1 smaller Rock Squirrel

                    i saw a young jack rabbit who lives on the ranch next door

                    1 large lizard-yes its Larry but I'm still not sure of his i.d.

                     AND....

                     ONE LARGE- CRAZY TREE CLIMBING ROAD RUNNER- you will see him tomorrow

                     along with new pics of many of the above mentioned desert residents.

                   

hanging around-Larry the Lizard

hanging around, originally uploaded by majamom.

M~~ Hey Larry

L~~ Howdy Maja

M~~ Do you know where all the Quail have gone?

L~~ The Roadrunner!

M~~ The Roadrunner!

L~~ That’s what I just said

M~~Very funny Larry

L~~ I Try!

M ~~what about the Roadrunner?

L ~~ The RoadRunner eat the baby quail eggs. They try to eat me and my babies too. That’s why I’m hanging way up here on your house.

M~~ that’s awful Larry

L~~ That’s Nature Maja

Larry the lizard

Larry the lizard, originally uploaded by majamom.

M~~Good Morning LARRY

L~~Mornin Maja

M~~ I haven't seen you in a while

L~~ don't take it personally

M~~Its too dam hot Larry

L ~~ we lizards love the heat

.....tbc

why did the tortoise cross the road?

why did the tortoise cross the road?, originally uploaded by majamom.

IF YOU ARE TRAVELING  IN  THE AMAZING MOJAVE DESERT, THERE IS A FAIR CHANCE YOU MIGHT COME UPON A TORTOISE CROSSING THE ROAD.
SLOW DOWN AND WATCH TO SEE IF THE TORTOISE CONTINUES TO CROSS. I HAVE FOUND THE MORE MATURE TORTOISES TO MOVE AT A GOOD STEADY PACE; BUT, EVEN THEY ARE OFTEN INJURED OR KILLED BY FAST MOVING VEHICLES.
THIS YOUNG TORTOISE WAS JUST SITTING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.
MY HAWK EYE BROTHER SPOTTED HIM FROM A GOOD DISTANCE
WE CAREFULLY PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
I PICKED HIM UP GENTLY
AND PLACED HIM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD IN THE DIRECTION HE WAS HEADING.
ALWAYS TAKE THE TORTOISE IN THE DIRECTION THEY WERE ORIGINALLY HEADING; OTHERWISE THEY WILL BECOME DISORIENTED.
TORTOISES ALWAYS KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING. MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THIS.
THEY ARE SUCH AMAZING CREATURES. AS WE STOOD OBSERVING THIS LITTLE ONE, A CAR CAME HAULING BYE AT AUDOBON SPEEDS AND SURELY WOULD HAVE KILLED THIS PRECIOUS ONE.

desert tortoise

desert tortoise, originally uploaded by majamom.


My brother and I stood celebrating the universal timing that led to this rescue. I had missed th road we were to turn on into the Mojave national Preserve. My brother asked after seeing the green marker sign"hey were you supposed to turn back there?"
It was during the retracing of our road that my brother spotted this little fella!
"See mi hermano, If i had not screwed up, you would have missed seeing little tortoise,and he most likely would have been killed by that speeding car."
The little one began to peek out of his shell and begin again.

i can hear you

i can hear you, originally uploaded by majamom.

what a magical surprise to read my favorite blogger in England is having bunny adventures as well!

You might be looking at this saying

"wait just a second".....

-this does not look like a desert to me.

Well..there are parts of the desert where water seems to be in abundance. In these places you find lush grasses and bountiful flowers and most importantly, "adorable baby bunnies"

My hour laying belly down in the grass with these precious creatures

bumped "thrifting" heaven , down into second place on my" top 3 favorite things" about our weekend get away, in Rancho Mirage.

bunny wonderland -

bunny wonderland -, originally uploaded by majamom.

coyote ugly

gutsy coyote, originally uploaded by majamom.

not at all ugly in appearence-actually this fellow is exceptionally healthy and well fed.

The Coyote, also known as the Desert Wolf (although not really a wolf) belongs to the Order Carnivora and Family Canidae. Coyotes are very adaptable mammals often seen in rural and urban habitats of deserts, fields and farmlands. They can be recognized by their thick bushy tail, long pointy nose, and pointy ears. About the size of a German Shepherd Dog but slimmer boned and half the weight, an average coyote weighs about 14 kg (31 lbs). As in domestic dogs, the males grow slightly larger than the females. In winter, their coat grows very thick. They can be told apart from their larger cousin the wolf and domestic dogs because coyotes carry their tail low when running whereas wolves and dogs carry their tail high.

B E A U T I FU L BOBCAT

B E A U T I FU L  BOBCAT, originally uploaded by majamom.

from the archives~~ A  sacred time  caring for a beloved hospice patient who lived in an amazing area tucked up against "The Joshua Tree National Park"

Take Action

Creatures of All Sizes Cry Out as Global Warming Threatens Habitat Forward to a Friend >> Biologists suspect that the first mammal to disappear from the Lower 48 states because of global warming will be the pika. This tiny relative of the rabbit lives at high altitudes in cold climates. When temperatures warm up in even the coldest places, pikas have nowhere to turn. And the pikas are not alone. Scientists say that 20 to 30 percent of all species could be put on a path toward extinction if global warming continues unchecked! Sign the petition >> New legislation called the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 2191) has been introduced to the Senate. This act would not only be the biggest step ever taken to reduce global warming pollution that threatens wildlife, it would also set aside billions of dollars for conservation of natural resources affected by global warming. For animals like the pika that thrive in alpine climates of the Pacific Northwest, the Southern Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, our conservation efforts cannot come soon enough. What's more, snow that covers mountain slopes in winter serves to insulate pikas from subfreezing temperatures. As year-round temperatures rise and snow packs decrease due to climate change, some pikas could, ironically, freeze to death. Now is the time for an important new approach to combat global warming that works for our environment! Urge your Senator to support the Climate Security Act today >>

finally!- a proper I.D on these little cuties!

,
finally!- a proper I.D on these little cuties!, originally uploaded by majamom.

 

So good to see you again!!

well its about time! so good to see you again!!, originally uploaded by majamom.

I have always called these little~ Cuties "desert chipmunks"; however, they are actually a ground squirrel.

Baby bobcat

Baby bobcat, originally uploaded by majamom.
Welcome to the Joshua Tree National Park
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