What's going on, Albuquerque?

flowers, doves and things like that

I'm psyched about the plant growth these days -- the vegetable garden is in and everything is currently thriving. The flower seedlings (such as cosmos and nasturtium) are coming up nicely and there are even flowers already blooming around the yard, brightening things up after what seemed like a long winter.

But we've also upped the number of bird feeders--from one to four--so there are all kinds of new birds showing up in our yard. Since I'm terrible with identification guides, I couldn't even guess what they might be. Some have yellow breasts and one looks like an oriole.

A really tame white dove has also been hanging around our yard the past few days. I'd like to take it as a sign--that universal peace is truly a coming reality--but I'm afraid that if I acted like it was a sign, that I'd also have to take it on faith that it's a sign when the neighbor's cats come and eat it. (Okay, so hopefully that won't happen, but I'm just nervous about jinxing either the white dove or the possibility of peace.)

But perhaps the coolest thing to show up in the yard lately? Juvenile praying mantises.

And yes, I'm procrastinating on a Friday afternoon.

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Comment by Lady Noodle on May 31, 2008 at 2:53am: Nice post, I spirited a 1/2 inch long mantis from the heat of our first grilled outdoor meal this week, a very cool little bug. And, sad and tired of dead birds and seeing our "neighborhood cats" harrass the wildlife, including roadrunners, I finally called the city (dial 301 or 768-1975) and got on the waiting list for a cat trap rental. Yes, there's a short waiting list, but luckily in this city there's also a leash law that happens to include cats! Perhaps I'm a different version of The Crazy Cat Lady?

Comment by magoo on May 31, 2008 at 5:57am: Great idea! I didn't know the city rented cat traps, I will be calling today!
happy cat trapping....................

Comment by Phil_0 on May 31, 2008 at 2:14pm: Those white doves are Eurasian collared doves...they were introduced into the Bahamas in the 70s, spread to Florida by 1982, and have been working their way west ever since. There have been plenty of sightings in New Mexico before - mostly in the southern part of the state - but this is the first year I've noticed them in large numbers in Albuquerque. They're pretty, although I find their kazoo-like call a little disconcerting.