More from Mayhill

The weather continues mild here in the Sacramento Mountains with morning temps of low to mid 50's and the afternoon rising to low 80's.

Young fauna of furry and feathered creatures abound. A herd of mule deer visits the park almost every evening. Many of the residents feed them, a practice I don't agree with.  My NWR training says this is dangerous for the animals and humans alike as they are relatively tame and fearless.  I was able to walk within 15 feet of them without spooking them.

She was alert but not necessarily afraid. 

This young spike male almost tasted the air as I passed him. 

Spotted-breasted young Robin are the same size as the parents. 

Birds are becoming more visible as the fledglings begin to move about. 

Tuesday, we explored Miller Flats Road from Hwy 130 just south of the rv park to Hwy 24 just south of Weed. A 10 mile drive up and over the mountain to the dryer side and different habitat. Our primary objective was a futile search for Juniper Titmouse, our nemesis bird. 

A Say's Phoebe was seen leaving this nest inside a cavity in the bank of a dry gulch...












to perch on this exposed root dangling close by.

By the time I snapped the photo, he was gone.

The most amusing sight of the day was the Common Raven flipping the cowpies in the pasture in search of edible insects. Again, my camera skills managed only fuzzy images. Another cute sighting was a pair of Brown-headed Cowbird standing in the shade of a grazing cow. Near the same pasture we found Horned Lark and Lark Sparrow. Canyon Towhee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, and both Western and Cassin's Kingbirds, and Red-winged Blackbird seemed to favor the open dryer areas, while the higher elevations with towering pines supported the Spotted Towhee, Mockingbird, Robin, Chipping Sparrow, Western Bluebird, and Dark-eyed Junco.


Although the Juniper Titmouse eluded us once again, we did locate a small noisy flock of Bushtit, no photo of them.

At the end of Miller Flats Road at the junction with Hwy 24, just Southwest of Weed, we found our first Mountain Bluebird.

There is no other BLUE quite like the BLUE of a Mountain BLUEbird. (Sometimes I get lucky with my camera)

Full of character and sharing the building with the Post Office, Weed Cafe is definitely worth the drive for Green Chile Cheeseburger, so since we were in the neighborhood, why not.  Take my advice and consider sharing one with your favorite traveling companion. Yes, they're that big. The place seems to be the local gathering place, too. As we ate lunch, local cowboys and cowgirls stopped by. Horses wander free and one stopped to check out the back of a pickup truck. He probably had found food there before.  

Next stop was Weed Cemetery, right across the street behind the school and community center. 

Foraging in the meadow beside the cemetery was a Wild Turkey hen with 12 little "turklets"!

 She was in panic mode with half her posse of poults inside the cemetery fence and the others at the base of the retaining wall. The little ones could pass easily through the chain link as the mother 

paced back and forth clucking softly. 

When we approached she ducked back through the fence to the meadow, I'm assuming she was able to round up all the wandering chicks again. 

A brief history of Weed, NM. Founded in 1884 by George and Elizabeth Lewis at an elevation of 7047 ft, the village was named for William H. Weed who opened a branch store there. The post office was opened in 1885. The 2010 census listed 63 residents. Weed is the birthplace of actor Glenn Strange who played Sam Noonan, the bartender on Gunsmoke. 

Up and over the mountain on Hwy 24 to Hwy 130 where this historical marker to Mary White stands at the intersection. My girls attended Camp Mary White near here once upon a time. 

I shouldn't include this fuzzy photo, but the species is obviously Silver-spotted Skipper. 

I signed up this morning for a digital photography newsletter, I can certainly use the help.