Dawns bloggy blog

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Christmas Bird Count Red Rock

Howdee all,

So how exciting is this..To participate in the Christmas Bird Count at Red Rock Canyon…we were thrilled.We arrived a little before 6am

There were 12 of us in all..we split up into two groups to cover different areas.

And the set out to find the birds..

First stop Red Springs in Calico Basin…it was pretty quiet..

We did see Phainopepla’s, White Crowned sparrows, Mockingbirds, Rock Wren. Meadowlarks, Juncos

The next stop was at at water tank bubbler, built years ago by the Corp of Engineers.

We saw distant views of Western Bluebirds and this resident Big Horn sheep.

A four wheel drive to another birding spot brought, Juniper titmice, tons of American Robins, Coopers Hawk, Juncos, Yellow rumped warblers, Ravens And Scenic beauty

With these sights…its ok that it wasn't too birdie Our Coopers…

From there both groups of six met at Spring Mountain Ranch state park.

A resident Roadrunner greets us.

The group split up again..some of us birded the pond while others walked the trail.

See the tiny dots on the pond..

Mostly coot…

Again..who cares about lack of birds..Loggerhead shrike allowed me great views.. A distant Great blue heron…hunting for chipmunks? As we have lunch the resident Roadrunner comes out and asks for a handout…

Sorry …we don't feed wild animals.. We leave the park and travel a bit further to a wash..to see what we can see..

more beautiful views…but..slow birding..

Onto the town of Blue Diamond…

I felt we should have spent more time here…lots more birds..but we just did a very brief stop thru town to find the Mexican Black-throated Magpie Jay..

The story that the ranger told us was that the Jay was spotted in town after a hurricane in the south about 4 years ago…and has been here since..Escapee..maybe..

We found the bird ..we had obstructed views….but Wow…what an incredibly cool bird with its long tail and tufted head.

We are going out again with my twitter friend @Patbumstead from Canada and Bird Canada Blog she is visiting family in the area..

We are hoping for some good views of this Jay. We did find a few sleepy Eurasian Collared doves hanging out.. Christmas bird count red rock canyon_069

A Red-naped sapsucker was another good find in town..

the visit was so brief..cant wait to go back and see what else we can find in town..

We finished the count at 2pm

Total bird species of the day 47

Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center

Howdee all,

Its been about 4 years since we visited Vegas, Red rock Canyon area.

There is a new visitor center.

With an amazing window that captures the panoramic view Red Rock Canyon Visitors Center (3)

Isn't this so cool! Red Rock Canyon Visitors Center (6)

While visiting the new Center we found out that there were a group going out the following day for the Christmas Bird count!

We signed up …

Next post..

the count!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Homey renovations

Howdee all,

Finally I have put together a few pictures of the Redo on Homey.

My computer crashed and I lost most of the before pictures.. so, I am just posting the after pictures.

The window box fabric has been changed as well as the sofa and pillows. homeys redo_018

The Living room area window boxes..a Faux silk on top with embroidery and faux suede on the sides. I used some of the extra tiles to add a bit of accent

See the kitchen Glass tiles? The back splash used to be strip mirrors…outdated and a pain to keep looking clean. Here you can see how all the colors blend nicely We used the same glass tiles for the Bathroom. New Window coverings in the Toilet area..and sheersBedroom Roman shades

Close up of the fabric..both faux silk..the top with little knots throughout Roman Shade above the bed and the wood end table tops replaced with Corian.

The entry….Glass tiles and linoleum steps.

I am loving everything…only thing that bothers me is that you can see some roll marks on the back left side of the sofa….where the chenille fabric had been rolled up.

I am hoping it will eventually work its way out…

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thanks to Millie and Family from Millie's Draperies, Junction City, Oregon for the fantastic job on our Sofa and Window treatments. 503-689-0066

Thanks to David and Chad from Rutherford RV Service in Junction City, Oregon for the tile work! Awesome job. 541-359-8489

Thanks to Sean from Davis Cabinets, Junction City, Oregon for the corian nightstands and cabinet refinishing…always a pleasure to work with.

And a special thanks to Carrier and Sons RV service Center for getting our Homey running smoothly and on the road again…Best place to bring your coach in for any type of RV work. 541-461-1673

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Dawn Goes horseback riding

Howdee all,

My second time on a horse…

A neighbor of Mark and Debbie's likes to take a ride everyday…she has two horses..and likes to exercise the other..

So she invited me to ride.

This is the horse i am riding…Jeannie

View while riding I was a little concerned about uphill's with all the loose rock..

but..Merilee took it easy knowing it was my first time Jeannie was a very mellow horse she knew the area well .

Jack the dog..followed us..

Petroglyphs Rocky path…I didn't take any pics of the real rocky ups and downs..

to busy concentrating..though i probably didn't need to do that..Jeannie was quite capable Merilee and Shiloh Me on Jeannie..Turtle peak in the background.