The AWB are at it again with another parody video. This one is lamenting Sliver’s big beautiful balls, which he lost when we had him neutered. I think he recovered better than we did. Lyrics are posted below the video for your reading pleasure.

Big Balled Wizard

Big Balled Wizard

Music: Pete Townshend
Lyrics: Timothy Price
Vocals: AWB
Silver Kitty: Silver
Vet: Anonymous

When he was a young cat
He had big silver balls
He laid out on the counter
On display to one and all
Ain’t seen nothing like them
In any amusement hall

So guess what the vet did?
She cut off his silver balls.

He laid there like Adonis 
He licked his silver things
Feeling proud and smug
He always kept them clean
His pride and intuition
He showed them off to all

So guess what the vet did?
She cut off his silver balls.

He was a big balled wizard
But with an evil twist
The big balled wizard he lost his catliness

Why did we have to do it
I don’t know
His balls they looked so good

He didn’t have no distractions
Didn’t care about buzzers and bells
Surgery lights were flashing
He thought he was in hell
Doesn’t want a replay
He never saw them fall

So guess what the vet did?
She cut off his silver balls.

So we had to take on the big bally king
We just took away his big ball crown from him

When he lays out on the table
He doesn’t get no rest
He’s cute when he’s all sprawled out
You can see he’s lost his best
His tail’s like a crazy weiner
He never saw them fall…

So guess what the vet did?
She cut off his silver balls.

Munching on and along the bank on the other side of the river.

Beaver like to come out and play after sunset, when the dusk is turning to darkness or later. So we look for beaver along the river's edge almost every evening, in what has become a "beaver spotting" ritual, because they are not always out when there is barely enough light to see them, let alone get a 3200 ISO shot or two of them. But every now and then we spot beaver on the opposite bank of the Rio Grande eating, swimming or just hanging out having a beaver chat. Sure enough the other evening, not long after sundown, two beaver were munching on the bank across the river from where we were standing. Once they saw we had "spotted" them, the one in the water took a dive, while the one on the bank slid down into the water and started swimming south. When the pesky paparazzo kept clicking away, the southward swimming beaver became annoyed, slapped the water with its tail, dove under, came back up a few yards later, and continued swimming south. If I had a long enough lens, I might be able to get the serial numbers on their teeth.

Note: I looked up in the Urban Dictionary to see if "beaver spotting" had any weird, common slang associated with it. I couldn't find anything specific to "beaver spotting", only the normal slag for "beavers", and a reference to "spotted beaver". So we are making "beaver spotting" — the act of looking for and "spotting" Castor canadensis, the furry "bucktoothed builders" with "golden slappers" (see Bite 'Em ON the Old Shin Bone parody video by the Angry Beavers and AWB) —  a legitimate activity.

A quick and blurry slip down the bank.

Swimming south.

"Take that you pesky paparazzo!" Excellent tail slap.

Onward! Southward!

Cooper's Hawk roosting at the top of a cottonwood.

Bothered by the paparazzo pointing a big lens at it, the hawk takes flight...

...and fly, flies away.

A pair of geese had four goslings on the beach this afternoon.

There is "Train Spotting" where you spot a train, photograph it, and mark down the number on the locomotive. In Britain train spotting is often done while one is standing on the platform marking down the numbers on trains that pass through — train spotting in bad weather is thought to be the best way to go about it. Out here in the desert southwest, we get lots of sunshine and wind when we go off train spotting.

Speaking of the British, there is a British movie called "Trainspotting" that came out in 1996. It was rated R "for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and some violence." Apparently some people think it is an incredible movie. I can't say, I never saw it. A sequel called "T2 Trainspotting" came out last year. Twenty years later "T2..." gets an R rating "for drug use, language throughout, strong sexual content, graphic nudity and some violence." I find it especially interesting that part of the R rating is for "language throughout". Is that like a British talkie that goes on and on? I didn't see T2 either. 

On the darker side of life, trainspotting is said to be a euphemism for shooting up heroin where a black line forms on the addict's arm at the injection point that looks like a track. Addicts try to "spot" optimum veins with no tracks. A "hit" from heroin is thought to feel the same as the impact from a locomotive. I don't want to experience either.

Then there is "trainspotting" as the act of looking over DJs' shoulders to see what records they are playing.

Double Delight

We got zero measurable precipitation in April; however, today, May 1st, we have a lot more roses and flowers blooming than we usually do this time of year. I was able to start watering using the drip system for the few hours the hoses would thaw in the afternoons on weekends in late January. I steadily increased the time on the drip systems every weekend as it got warmer. We were still getting frost every night until about two weeks ago, but without the frosty nights extending through April into May like it has done in years past, many of the roses and flowers decided it's safe to bloom early this year. I also irrigated at the end of March and the end of April, so the plants are happy despite the super dry conditions.

Multi-colored Iris

America

Allium

Baby Blanket

Iceberg

Bronze Iris

Purple Iris

Elle

Yellow & White Iris

Fragrant Memory

Light Yellow Iris

Abraham Darby

A tangle of wisteria

Blue Iris

Betty Boop

White & Purple Iris

Pink Iceberg

Sensation Lilac

Double Delight

Neotropic Cormorant - Phalacrocorax brasilianus on a log in the middle of the Rio Grande in Corrales, NM.

The Phalacrocorax brasilianus AKA Neotropic Cormorant has a "resident" range from central Mexico south throughout South America according to a Wiki page about it. If it ventures this far north up the Rio Grande valley it's an "accidental occurrence".  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds website has a map that shows Neotropic Cormorants can be found north in the Rio Grande Valley to breed: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Neotropic_Cormorant/maps-range (the spot in New Mexico on the Cornell map is about where Bosque del Apache is, 100 miles south of Corrales). This Neotropic Cormorant may be an accidental tourist. Or it could have come up here with another Phalacrocorax brasilianus to breed and then got dumped by its mate. Or it could be a lonely Phalacrocorax brasilianus that ended up "accidentally occurring" in Corrales (much farther north than usual) while looking for a mate. Whatever the reason this silly bird decided to occasion our stretch of the river will remain a mystery, but apparently it is a rare, and welcome, accidental occurrence to see a Neotropic Cormorant this far north.

Testing the breeze.

Anyone looking?

Hang eight dude!

Neotropic Cormorant in flight

On your mark

Ready

Set
 

Go!

Collage of silhouettes of bat flying under the almost full moon.

The bats were out last night flying around while we were walking on the levee. Bats are fast and erratic and they come out after sundown, so I rarely get clear shots of them. Last night the moon was almost full, and the clouds made a bright background that I was able get some fairly clear silhouettes of the bats.

Red-eared Sliders hoodooing while a Mallard quickly swims by.

Some of the Red-eared Slider turtles that live in the duck pond at UNM were balanced on thin stumps in the middle of the duck pond, which made them look like hoodoos (geologic). There are a lot of turtles in the duck pond that like to lay out on the rocks in the late afternoon sunshine.

Red-eared Sliders and a Softshell turtle on the rocks.

The turtle on the right stuck his head out to check out the homeless man who decided to take a bath in the duck pond while we were there. The man, who was undressing as we walked by him on the edge of the pond, asked me if swimming was allowed in the duck pond. I told him I couldn't say (there are no "No Swimming" signs posted), but I advised him not to get in the water. He then asked me if he could go swimming. I told him I had no authority to say one way or the other about swimming in the duck pond, but I advised him not to get in the filthy water. He then asked me if I minded if he got in the water. I told him it was up to him. When the turtled poked his head out, I looked over my shoulder and saw the man out bathing in the middle of the duck pond. 

Swimming slider

Reflecting

Synchronized Sliders

Rocking in the later afternoon sun

Lady Banks

Lady banks started blooming late last week. This week, while we were attending the annual spring medieval lecture series at UNM, Austrian Copper bloomed, along with Altisimo. Double Delight started to bloom today. While walking on the levee at sunset tonight, the moon finally rose above the dense clouds and presented itself soft and fuzzy as it climbed above the tree line of the bosque, behind a veil of thin clouds.

Lady Banks

Austrian Copper

Altisimo

Double Delight

Pink Sandias through the bosque

On our way out of Las Vegas last Sunday morning, we stopped by the Springs Preserve nature center to see the botanical gardens and butterfly exhibit. We didn't have time to explore the desert tortoise habitat or any of the indoor exhibits. But it's a great place with very friendly staff and lots of things to do and see if you have a full day to explore.

There are several curious aspects to the University of Nevada Las Vegas, UNLV, we noticed the first time we walked onto the campus. First of all, it's right under the flight path from the airport, so jetliners, with an occasional military plane, are taking off every five minutes or so all day long. Secondly, it's hard to see the buildings for the trees, which helps to make it a beautiful campus. Third and most curious, besides a few "Go Rebels" posters on light poles, the mascot for UNLV is missing from the portions of the campus we were on. "UNLV" is prominently displayed on most everything down to the soap dispensers in the restrooms, but "Rebels" and their mascot is not to be seen. Contrast that with the University of New Mexico Lobos, where "Lobos" and their mascot of a cartoonish wolf can be seen everywhere on campus. We finally saw the mascot on a commercial building selling "Go Rebel" clothing across the street from UNLV. The mascot, a cowboy of sorts (a mountain man according to the UNLV website), is hard to read and brought up various speculation about what the various parts of the mascot were until we figured out it was a cartoon characterization of a cowboy-like person — we are not quite sure how a mountain man is a rebel, either. James Dean was a rebel, Elvis with his pelvis was rebellious, but a mountain man? You can read the history of the evolution of UNLV's mascot at https://www.unlv.edu/campuslife/mascot-nickname.

Trees

Big 'ol jet airliner.

More trees

Cactus in bloom

wildflowers

Celebrating 60 years

USAF jet

Striated mountains

There is a lot of superstructure in the structures.

12 Steps + 18 more on the way to overcoming ignorance.

Great-tailed Grackle drinking from a dripper.

"What are you gawking at? Haven't you seen a Great-tailed Grackle drink before?"

Kitty paw prints in the concrete sidewalk.

More steps

EPA building with Ferris Wheel behind.

Looking west, the campus buildings blend into the buildings on the Strip.

Desert landscaping.

Adobe sculpture

'Stache the Rebel mascot on a store across the street from UNLV.

Priscilla on the left, Elvis on the right.

Meet the Embassy Suites Swans, Elvis and Priscilla. They are beautiful white, Royal Swans who live in the water feature at the hotel. They are calm and friendly, but Elvis is much more out there for the camera. Pretty similar to their namesakes, I'd say.

Priscilla getting a snack.

Elvis with reflections.

Priscilla with abstractions.

Elvis

Elvis

Elvis

Elvis