Triple digits in the desert

Hot, Hot, Hot is the only way to describe July and August where I live.  The birds are panting and looking for any shade that they can find to get a brief respite from the intense heat.  Today it was 106 here, but a whopping two-degree difference below the forecast high.  We’re in for it all week, those days when you have no energy to do anything except sit under a fan.

There’s a lot going on here at the moment, wildlife wise, people wise and work wise, so I’m going to do a few short posts.

Today I downloaded my camera card.  This is the first time I’ve had it full since I got it several years ago.  I guess I must be taking too many pictures, or maybe I need a bigger card.

About a week ago, Koki’s outdoor friend, a lizard that lived behind the shutter on the front of the house, was caught and eaten by a passing roadrunner.  This broke Koki’s heart as she witnessed the whole event, which shows how cruel life is in the desert for the animals.  But as we all know, it’s all about survival and the smaller animals are prey for the larger ones.  I caught this whole episode with my camera and Koki sat glued to the window, her eyes large and focused on the scene.

Let me say Koki and the lizard played peek-a-boo a lot with it engaging her from its home behind the shutter, darting in and out, as she pawed at window.

As I said before, it’s like watching National Geographic around here.  I’d never seen this much action before involving a roadrunner catching its prey.  They have very sharp teeth and are definitely not afraid of us, as we’ve chased them off many times, only to have them stand up to us and not actually leave until we’re within a foot or two.  Of course, they’re right back in a minute or two after disappearing behind the wall for a short while.

As if catching the victim by the throat wasn’t enough, it went on to beat the lizard to death on the concrete wall to the side of the house.  Once it was satisfied, it shook it violently from side to side before taking off to the vacant lot next door to eat its prize.

Koki

 Poor Koki’s been sitting at the window looking for her friend.