2023 February – Desert Breezes News

SPRING FEATURED PETS: SUKI & NEWMAN

:Meet Suki and Newman, the newest canine residents of Desert Breezes. Suki and Newman moved from Whidbey Island, Washington, in December to Via Magellan along with their owners Carol and Dennis Colar. Both Suki and Newman are pure bred boxers. Newman was a rescue dog named after the mail deliverer character on the popular TV series, Seinfeld and will be 9 years old on February 14^th. If you remember the character in reference was always met by “Oh Newman” whenever he made an appearance and, as boxers tend to be goofballs the Colar family unanimously voted on the name. Suki was purchased from a breeder and her birthday is November 15, 2020 and she is 2 years old. Suki’s name is Japanese and it means “one who is loved”.

The Colars adore both their dogs and they have had a love of boxers for their entire married life. They were drawn to the playful and goofy nature that this breed demonstrates and their previous boxers were always great companions to their children growing up. Suki and Newman do require a lot of exercise so you will see Carol and Dennis walking the dogs all over the complex greeting neighbors and adjusting to their new environment. The house Carol and Dennis purchased has an exceptionally large side and back yard so the dogs can run and play while safely confined to their own property. The dogs love to eat anything given to them and look forward to their daily Milk Bones treats.

Carol is now retired but her last job was Manager of a Non-Profit organization that provided transportation to seniors in need on Whidbey Island. Dennis still works as a Sales Manager for Parallels, a large software company located in Bellevue, Washington. The Colars are a welcome addition to our community and they look forward to meeting all our residents. When you see Suki and Newman out walking feel free to introduce yourselves and greet the dogs. They may be large but they are just big playful puppies at heart.

Cheryl & Paul

This is a story everyone is going to enjoy from how they met to how they ended up in Desert Breezes and all that happened in between. Cheryl Lauridsen and Paul Stoddard met over 40 years ago. Cheryl was the youngest Assistant Vice President for a bank and Paul was the attorney. Her boss told her she should meet “this guy”. She went to Paul’s office, they met; and the adventure began. They resided in Rancho Cucamonga and Paul became House Council for the bank. Early in the relationship Paul bought a 25 foot Catalina sailboat which they still keep in Dana Point. Without any knowledge of sailing Paul took Cheryl out into the open ocean off Dana Point. They soon realized that more education was needed so they took a course with Annapolis Sailing School in Marathon Florida, and obtained their “Bareboat Charter Certificate”. They sailed this boat to Catalina many times as well as to Dana Point, to Newport, Long Beach and as far south as Oceanside. Then the bank they worked for closed in 1955. Paul grew up in Palm Springs so they moved and opened a law practice and maintained a satellite virtual office in Ontario. He specializes in Real Estate, Corporate and Civil Litigation and Cheryl is his legal secretary and paralegal, and both still work at the practice. When Paul turned 50 he was overweight (350#) and things began to ache. He was told to exercise and riding a bike was all he was able to do. He started a diet and bought his first bike: a heavy “comfort bike”; and from Dec. 2006 to Oct. 2007 he lost 125 lbs. The bike became his “miracle drug”. On his birthday in October 2006 he bought his first carbon fiber bike; and in February 2007 he did his first “Century ride” (a one day event where you ride 100 miles).

Cheryl was not left out. She began riding and now owns her carbon fiber Specialized Ruby. To keep the “miracle drug” interesting both would attend bike events. Their favorite is the Tour de Tucson, a 100 mile ride around Tuscon. Their events are fun and provide them a goal to reach. They bought a tandem bike that they rode across the State of New York from Buffalo to Albany. In 2013 they decided to downsize and relocate closer to work in Pam Desert. Also, Palm Desert has better bicycle paths. Paul walked in to see the first listing and said we would take it as Desert Breezes felt safe and comfortable and the neighbors have proven to be exceptional and friendly and kind. They said they plan to live here with their dog “Lulu” as long as God will allow. Paul and Cheryl are on the middle left in yellow breakers.

DESERT MOCKINGBIRDS

In late spring our desert Northern Mockingbirds start to defend their nests again, harassing just about every living thing that comes near. Their absolutely fearless defense probably puts it in the running for bravest animal in the desert. It certainly makes it a contender for most annoying, at least to some people. Mockingbirds are one of those wild animals that do much better in cities than they do in the wild; they have a tendency to build nests near houses. Residents of such houses may find themselves being strafed by a tiny, two-ounce bit of feathers and beak in April & May. The single thing mockers seem to hate most is cats. The parents can even solicit help from outsiders as unrelated Mocker often defends other’s nests. A persistent alarm call from a besieged mocker can recruit several other adults to the area to harass the stubborn cat, or whatever.

The babies fledge in summer and the adults blood pressure declines slightly, though mockers never really become unaggressive. Mated couples may part, or they may start the process over again. A pair can raise two or three broods in a breeding season, and go on monogamously to do the same thing next year.

Both sexes sing, though it’s usually unmated males who are the loudest, and who keep on going after last call. Skilled mimics, a mocker can sing another bird’s song well enough to fool an accomplished birder, though actual birds seldom seem to be taken in. A male mocker can learn as many as 200 distinct songs in its decade-long typical life span, including not just other birds’ songs but even car alarms:

In the Bay Area, a neighbor inadvertently trained a generation of local mockers to imitate his overactive car alarm and for the next few years you could hear the mockingbirds’ imitation persist, slowly gaining improvised passages and becoming modified here and there with other bird’s songs being folded into the auto security mix. A mockingbird’s song is an echo of the chorus of sounds that surround it. Whether by singing us awake at 3:40 or dive bombing us on our way out of the house too few hours afterward, they remind us that there’s a natural world just outside our door.