Saturday. Last of the yellow aspen leaves on North Peak and way up Del Agua. Just whisps of clouds with no forecast for rain. Most I’ve seen of Cabezon in a couple of weeks, with wildfire smoke from other states clearing slightly. Drought, smoke and pandemic make some critters grumpy. Others stay busy, looking for …
First mountain bluebird I’ve seen at my elevation this morning. Been seeing plenty of Western bluebirds with the turn of the season but this was the first visit of their taller, sleeker, more thoroughly blue male cousins. Yesterday and today, the dark-eyed juncos started showing up. And the robins have been coming in growing numbers …
I had hope for a clearer day when I saw a streak of golden light from bed but was reminded how dry the ground was as I rose. I absorbed various facts as I put water out for the birds, made coffee, fed Cowboy, read the news. It’s still smoky to the west, over the …
Wildfire smoke from Colorado and Wyoming cleared some Sunday morning and more birds stopped by, including this Williamson’s sapsucker, the guy with the red throat and yellow chest. I wonder why he evolved with such colors, why God made him the way he did. I don’t see the questions as mutually exclusive. They come to …
Cooler weather. Fall traffic picking up. Non-migratory robins seem to have moved down the mountain. Still trying to get good focus and identify what I think is a very colorful sapsucker. I can’t tell whether it actually has some yellow on its breast, like a Williamson’s sapsucker, or whether that is morning light reflecting off …
I turned 71 last month and decided it was time to grow up. My Dream Ranch blog suddenly seemed immature. Weighted down by COVID-19, wildfire smoke and political gloom — and some wild criticism to boot — I stopped blogging on June 30. I’ve been searching for other ways to channel my morning words and …
I’ve grown to like the house finches at my place more and more. I see them every day now and guess that some have nested nearby. They often arrive in pairs. When these two perched over the water dish, I thought they were just love birds, but then I started to think it was an …
Not sure whether he’s a kingbird or another kind of flycatcher but he and his kin have been ducking out of the wind for drinks of water. Oops. How did you guys get in here?
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