My old Newhall garden was on the strip between a planned community's private golf course and the chaparral. Bobcats; an infrequent mountain lion; ever-present quail, jack and cotton tail rabbits, gophers, rats and mice, ground and tree squirrels and coyotes inhabited the place daily. Over the eighteen years it existed, birds of all kinds were frequent visitors. Several kinds of owls, hawks, my favorite Bush Tits, were daily companions. There was a short period when a trio of Road Runners took up residence. Two males and a disinterested female ran up and down the golf course many afternoons. The two males strutted their stuff while she ran from one insect catch to the next, completely ignoring both of them. I'd found piles of smashed snail shells at the bottom of the concrete retaining wall holding back the facing hillside capped with homes. I figured they were the result of a snacking possum or something. It wasn't until I was out watering and had the delight of watching one of the males stalking snails in the garden it dawned on my what they were. He'd dive into a bush to snag something, glide across the fire road to perch on the wall cap then smash the shell and gobble its contents. Then, back across the road to resume his browsing. The males would click their beaks and fan their wings and tails to impress the female in attempts to outdo each other. She always ignored them, continuing to gorge herself on the abundant insect populations drawn to the oasis of lush, luxuriant turf surrounded by the hilly chaparral. One afternoon, I heard what sounded like an injured dog crying. I couldn't find it for the longest time until I discovered one of the males sitting in one of the Mexican Honeysuckles. It was the Road Runner making the sound. I'd never heard them make anything like it before. Another afternoon, I went out to water and the two males were chasing each other from the golf course into the garden along the main path. I stood completely still watching them, until they nearly ran into me. I know I startled the dickens out of them as they hit the breaks like the Road Runner cartoons, turned into a bisecting path until they hit the top of the slope where they each turned the opposite direction and ran off into the brush. They were beautiful, amazing and completely entertaining creatures! I'd resisted using chemical controls for anything in that garden because of the stream of inhabitants and visitors. These Road Runners confirmed my resolve not to bring in any chemical measures. I hated the snails, but the image of finding one of them injured or killed by something I did was too much to bear. Quail were interesting and rather annoying. There were many fifteen gallon cans of roses I wished to keep contained and the quail would nest in them for protection. I would begin watering and once I'd get about two feet from the can, several quail would explode in all directions from them like shrapnel, scaring the life out of me. I was always on heightened alert for snakes (NOT my favorite!) as there were Black Racers, Gophers, Kings and Rattlers out there. I met them frequently and did my best not to molest them as I knew they all did their part to keep the rodent population in check. Usually, a strong stream of icy cold water from the hose was sufficient to convince them I was staying and THEY weren't...except for the Black Racers! They were attracted to the water, probably because it meant their food supply would be nearby. One afternoon, I encountered one of them and began my water assault to encourage him to vacate the place while I was there, only to discover he FOLLOWED the stream of water instead of avoiding it. Once that finally sunk in, I was already impaled on a large rose bush and the hose went one direction while I struggled to head in the opposite! Fortunately, the snake took the watery path so I could regain my composure! That garden was the first place I got to watch a rattle snake catch and swallow a rabbit. It was fascinating, like a science experiment with shivers! The Jays raised a real ruckus in the bush tops while the other rabbit watched his fellow become lunch, until it was over. I tapped with my water wand on the rocks I bordered the path with to encourage him it was time to leave. He struck at the wand convincing me it was time to use a colder, wetter "encouragement"! As he made his way up the slope toward the brush, two Jays dive bombed him while in the open. It felt as if they figured since he'd eaten already, they were safe. Back to quail... I was flooding a bed desperately in need of some deep water. Toads had excavated several holes into tunnels which collected the water. I hadn't noticed the adult pair of quail with their brood in tow until I heard the noise erupting from one of the flooded holes. A baby quail was dog paddling in the water while the rest of the brood raised all manner of noise. I reached in to rescue it and then worried that perhaps the parents would abandon it because I'd touched it. After drying it off with paper towels, I placed the small bird in a large bucket to keep something from eating him. I figured I could keep him fed until he was large enough to set free, then went back to my watering. In very short order, the mother quail was on the potting bench where the baby was raising Cain to get out of the bucket. The father was on the fire road out from the bench, feigning an injured wing in an attempt to draw me away from the mother and baby to give her a chance to try to free their child. I'd never thought the parenting instinct was so intense in quail! I studied their tactics for a few minutes, how the father remained just out of my reach while the mother tried everything she could to free her child. The other children were well out of reach under the surrounding bushes making an incredible racket! I carefully made my way back to the potting bench and placed the bucket slowly on its side to allow the infant escape without injury. As soon as he was clear of the bucket and me, both parents raced to him, herding him and the rest of the brood quickly into the under brush. What a relief! I didn't WANT to raise one of those noisy little things, but I felt if I'd caused him injury, I owed him remedy. Two things impressed the heck out of me about those birds. The intense parental instincts for each and every offspring, and the ENORMOUS feet that tiny bird had! As if he was hatched with full, adult sized feet! The experience was fascinating and amazing. There was a large, paved area at the bottom of the fire road separating the garden from the landscaped area of the community. Cut worms were a spring event in that garden. We'd find them weeding or planting, collecting them in a bucket to put out on the hot asphalt to the delight of the bazillians of lizards who kept the place swept for bugs. The cut worms would become very active from the heat of the paving while many lizards would watch from the safety of the sidelines until one would break from the circle to grab his choice of bug. The worms were very plump and hard. Occasionally, one would burst from the lizard chewing him and the lizard often dropped it and ran, probably from the surprise of his dinner "exploding" in his mouth! It was a frequent enough event, it seemed the lizards had come to expect the feeding and entertainment. The pleasure of watching their antics was well worth the stiff back from weeding and discomfort of the high heat in that canyon. It was a FUN and educational place!

First, I want to thank all of you who offered advice. You are so open and willing to give advice to a stranger. This forum is a wonderful tutorial on many topics. I've learned a great deal by reading old posts, and know I have much more to learn. Spruce: I wanted to tell you that "Knowing Your Trees" arrived last week. The copyright is 1947, 9th and revised printing, November 1947, 806 illustrations, so it must be similar to your copy. The book is exceptional. Before it arrived, I bought two field guides on Eastern Trees (Peterson and Nat'l Audubon Soc) - the layout and design of each is quite different. So far, I prefer "Knowing Your Trees" (except it won't fit in a pocket); it presents a great deal of information about each tree and the illustrations are outstanding. I took the advice I received here, loaded up with tulip trees and red maples, a white oak, a Shumard oak (which is in dire straits), a pin oak, a tupelo. Also bald cypresses, dawn redwoods, river birches, and sweet bay magnolias. I'm looking for more oaks and conifers (except loblollies) but should probably wait until fall. I don't know how many trees this property will support. We've had near constant 15-25 mph winds for 3 weeks so I'm having difficulty planting the remaining trees. All the leaves on the Shumard oak are brown and desiccated. The maples were blowing over so I started using rebar - so far, this is working. I also want to thank you for the warning about thistles. We have a bounteous supply everywhere. I ended up killing them wherever I found them, by whatever method was handy (roundup, chopping). They grow so fast, I'm still at it. Spruce, on a personal note, I hope your surgery is behind you and your shoulder is better. I had back surgery a few years ago (rewired with titanium parts). I procrastinated until I was having great difficulty doing nearly everything. Less than 3 weeks after surgery, I was walking 3 miles a day and all pain and numbness vanished. I know I am very fortunate in having such a good outcome. I also had an excellent surgeon who LOVES backs. I have questions about how to do a mixed planting of hardwoods and conifers either along a long driveway or maybe in the field so it looks natural. I'll create a different post on that topic since it may be of interest to others. Take care, Pam

Hi Molie, ahh...more water envy. Great pictures of a great bird! My suggestions for bird guides: In paperback, I like 'The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America' which Claire recommended to me a few years ago. I like Sibley's very much because it shows drawings of birds with their changing plumage at various stages of development. That one feature of Sibley's Guide has helped me often. (but I still confuse little brown birds) When out in the field looking for eagles, ospreys and everything else the Connecticut River offers, I bring my iPod Touch because it fits in a shirt pocket and I loaded it with two apps from the iTunes Store - 'iBird North' and 'The Ultimate Audubon New England Field Guide'. If you wanted one app for your iPhone for the sake of portability, I suggest the Audubon NE Guide because it offers birds, mammals, fish, plants,butterflies, spiders & insects, wildflowers, trees, seashells, and the natural history of New England. Plus, it has multiple voices of most birds and animals,their ranges, etc. It is the most complete guide I've seen, and the pictures and sounds are crystal clear throughout each category. The iTunes App Store lists it as"Audubon Nature New England", if you're interested. "5 Top Bird Guides for iPhone" Jane

I agree, thank you so much for sharing the details of your trip! It sounds like you are truly having the adventure of a lifetime :-)