Javelinas!

The forecast for Tuesday was cool, cloudy with rain likely.  So we stayed home and got several house-related tasks out of the way. 

We put a normal birdfeeder on the other arm of our stand, to attract songbirds.  We have had success on that count – perhaps too much success.  There is such a procession of finches, sparrows, cardinals and even a pair of gila woodpeckers coming to the feeder that there are fights to access it and some of the birds perch on the hummingbird feeder while waiting.  This seems to have intimidated and chased off the hummingbird.

While we were rethinking the issue, the rain began.  The clouds descended until the Catalina mountains were no longer visible.  Then visibility dropped to about 100 feet, and it began to snow!  Big wet snowflakes about the size of nickels and quarters.  We actually got some accumulation, with the desert shrubs behind our house sporting a white coat. 

Eventually, the clouds lifted, showing us the mountains draped in white.  The sun came out for a hour or so, evaporating most of the snow from the ground and most of the way up the mountain.  We went to Home depot to by a second stand, with the idea of moving the songbird feeder to a position some distance from the hummingbird feeder.

We took advantage of the sunny break to put up the second stand, and move the seed feeder.  Kathy had given us a second hummingbird feeder; we thought we would put this on the now empty arm of the original two-armed stand.  Elfrida opened the garden gate, and went outside to hang it.  She noticed a strong smell, and then saw a javelina, staring at her from about six feet away, closer to the safety of the garden gate than Elfrida was! 

Javelinas look like wild pigs but are not – they are actually more closely related to the rhinoceros than to boars.  But they weigh about 50 pounds, are solidly built, have 2-inch canines and will bite if cornered. 

Elfrida beat a hasty retreat and called me.  From our side of the fence, we watched while about eight or nine javelinas moved past us, through the brush in the wash behind our house, over about a ten-minute interval.  Sorry, we were too engaged to think of breaking off to get the camera.

When we thought the coast was clear, Elfrida resumed her attempt to hang the second humming bird feeder.  No sooner had she picked it up, when the hummingbird flashed over to check it out.  It paused, looked up at her once or twice, and then perched on the rim of the feeder to drink from it. 

Snow, javelinas, woodpeckers and another close encounter with a hummingbird – not bad, eh?