Critters: a postscript

Was I too precipitous in declaring that the ravens had abandoned the Courthouse nesting area? A comment from DDD appeared this morning: hanging around outside the Arts Prescott Coop last evening gazing at the Western facade of the Courthouse I saw two ravens courting (HA! no pun intended!) They were in the nest area then went up on the top and the male was presenting twigs to the female to see if they were good enough for her home. Then! Along came another male and the first spent about ten minutes chasing the intruder all over the square while the female went back and inspected the nest. Finally the nest preparation resumed as the sun set. Good to hear! Sounds like ravens are nesting later this year; credit the chilly weather, perhaps? I am reminded, too, that my lone robin has located him/herself a potential mate; I've heard call and response warbling the past couple of days.

Which reports -- since they have to do with critters -- reminded me that I finally got pictures of Max busy at one of his favorite occupations: tipping over, then climbing into any waste basket he can find. Once he is ensconced, he is quite happy. I'm not; he doesn't pick up all the scrids and scrads of paper, etc., that he spills in the process of getting comfy. But -- I have more to say about cats. Consider the idea of a felis like Max, except that he weighs, oh, 150 or 175 pounds. He's up on that tree branch....

...or the wall at the front of the downtown library. Isn't this new life-like mountain lion sculpture just the greatest? He's only been there a couple of weeks. I would hate to see those yellow eyes sizing me up out on a trail -- or in my back yard, as has happened on the fringes of the city.

To complete my brief update on critters -- I bought myself a new little owl yesterday to add to my small collection. Unlike catamounts/cougars/pumas, owls don't frighten me, though if I had a small kitten, I'd be quite careful out of doors.

Honoring Spring: Haven't collected enough evidence of spring for a proper post; Home Depot had few flowers that I wanted; all I have blooming is a handful of daffodils plus an apricot tree up the hill. So... in the right hand column, new links to 10 past posts dealing with the flowers that bloom in our spring (and summer and autumn). And you might be amused at the Aussie Bro dealing with American security measures in Perth. Next morning: speaking of critters, I was quite wowed by this post by the Backyard Arthropod Project, all about the ichneumon wasp and, just incidentally, the mongoose.