A cup of coffee with my closest friends

Published July 8, 2026

Waking up in the desert is a special treat. My morning routine is a labor of love: refreshing the terracotta basins, scattering seed, and watching the landscape come to life. 

While sipping coffee, my friends my begin to say hello. First the sharp, double-note "whit-WHEET" of the Curve-billed Thrasher never fails to make me smile, and I love watching the Gambel’s Quail dutifully usher their fuzz-ball chicks to the water’s edge. Between the Cactus Wrens busy in the prickly pear and the sleek, crested Phainopepla dropping into the Palo Verde for a visit, my backyard feels like a private sanctuary where every creature has a story.

Living in this vibrant ecosystem means embracing all its residents—even the ones that test your agility. Watching a Clarke's Spiny Lizard stake out the perfect basking rock is a morning highlight, and if I’m patient enough to sit perfectly still, I’m often rewarded with the sight of a Regal Horned Lizard scuttling toward cover. When a local pest control expert recently offered to "rid" me of a busy Red Harvester Ant colony marching across my driveway, I couldn't help but laugh. I told him, "Then what would my Horned Lizards eat?" He just chuckled at my response, almost unable to comprehend. To me, those ants are just another vital thread in the incredible tapestry of my home.

As I adjust a solar light knocked askew by a late-night visit from the neighborhood Collared Peccary squad, I’m reminded that we are all just sharing this space. Whether it’s the larger mammals looking for a midnight drink or the smallest insects fueling the food chain, there is profound joy in acting as a steward for such wild, wonderful neighbors. As I head back inside to escape the rising heat, I always look back and whisper, "Enjoy, my friends—I’ll see you at sunrise."