Dawn

Dawn

Update on the orphan owlet from the raptor rehabilitor:

“The owlet is eating like a pig and doing well. He’s spending days outside in the GHOW enclosure with foster dad GHOW Royal to ensure he knows he’s a GHOW, and enjoy fresh air and nature sounds. For now, when he’s in the outdoor enclosure in the daytime, he’s in a large sheltered nestbox with wooden slats so he can see and hear Royal but will stay secure in the nestbox while he’s still smaller. I’m bringing him in at night because it’s still a bit cool overnight here and he doesn’t have siblings to snuggle with for warmth. Eventually he’ll be staying in the outdoor enclosure with Royal 24/7 and he’ll have room to learn/ practice flying.”

If you would like to donate to Wildlife Rescue, Inc. in New Mexico to help the orphaned owlet and other rescued wildlife, go to https://wildliferescuenm.org/donate-give/.

Mama Owl waiting for Daddy Owl to bring breakfast.

House Finches in silhouette

House Finches

The Mudback of Notre Pond holding his head up

Another turtle checking things out

Still Dawn

Ducks in the mist

Tracks on the beach. The trail is from a beaver’s tail dragging in the sand.

Sunrise

Mudback of Notre Pond changed position after sunrise

Blue Grosbeak

The Lone Owlet looking east after sunrise

Laurie caught El Vato Kitty sitting with the silver-haired Sasquatch

Sunset

The Lone Owlet at dusk

The moon, Jupiter and Venus were line up nicely tonight.

Line Dancing With The Stars

The moon dancing around in line with Pullox and Castor. A jetline on the left, Jupiter on the right.

A few stars

What’s El Vato checking out?

Did you guess?

Loki iridescenting it the sunshine

Spunk tried to be iridescent. Fail!

While we were out in the garden, Spunk brought his tail out and blessed the deck.

Loki

Fuzzy moon

Sunset

A two-headed Gooseness monster in a sea of red.

Red hue at dusk

Twilight Awakens Dawn

Scoopy and Jake watched Twilight awaken Dawn
She blushed as coyotes made love under the sliver moon
Daddy owl gave a hoot, like his opinion mattered
Cranes whispered soft clucks, while the geese murmured nonsense
Incomprehensible discussions in the waning darkness
A big ‘ol jet airliner almost clipped the moon
Geese got bunched up in the corner of my viewfinder
Pink and purple clouds separated orange from blue

Marble slept through it all

Sunset

Glenda Watched…

Resa’s Wolf Tree soon after sunrise

Roses are blooming again after battling the dry heat. We have not had irrigation for over four months. Getting enough water to the roses, fruit trees, and other outdoor plants was challenging.

pTerodactyl

Glenda watched a big ‘ol jetliner fly over

Mud swirls off the grass in the river

Reflections in muddy water and gas balloon over powerline

Clear sky and muddy water.

Resa’s Wolf Tree at golden hour

9th Annual Corrales Rose Society Dr. Huey Tour

We had our 9th Annual Corrales Rose Society Dr. Huey Tour this afternoon after I went to a “hanging” to help Susan Graham hang her photos at the NM Cancer Center for a Gallery with A Cause show titled “On the Rise – Artists in Early and Mid-Career.” I also helped another artist hang her paintings. She was by herself. Susan and I discovered it’s hard to hang the art and get it right as per the curator who didn’t give particularly clear instructions. When I came out of the restroom after washing my hands, I noticed the artist was starting to rearrange her paintings after the curator had set them where she wanted the paintings. I told the artist not to change the order of her paintings or she would have to rehang them. After Susan and I were done hanging Susan’s photographs, and Susan was waiting for final approval, I noticed the artist having a little trouble hanging her paintings. I went down and helped her. It’s a two-person job to hang artwork and get everything aligned and spaced properly.

I had been to the Cancer Center a week ago for my annual checkup, but it turned out to be my last checkup. My doctor said the scan was clear and my immune system was almost up to normal numbers, so he fired me as a patient. No more scans or checkups unless I get symptoms.

For new followers, Dr. Huey is the rootstock used to graft roses in the western United States. Corrales is a cold spot. A lot of roses freeze at the bud unions in the winter killing the rose grafted to the rootstock. Dr. Huey is cold hardy and drought tolerant. Once the bud union is dead Dr. Huey grows. Therefore, there are many Dr. Hueys growing in Corrales. Starting in 2014, we had done an annual tour of Dr. Hueys in Corrales or simply on our property since we have more Dr. Hueys every year.

We have a lot more Dr. Hueys this year because we had a cold and very dry winter. I was not able to water much during the winter because it never warmed up enough for the hoses to thaw. So we lost more roses over the winter.

Most rosarians don’t like Dr. Huey, but Laurie, Susan, and I love Dr. Huey. It only blooms once, but when Dr. Huey blooms it produces a lot of beautiful red roses with yellow centers. While many of our other roses are struggling due to the drought, Dr. Huey is thriving. Rosarians who live in other parts of the country that don’t have harsh climates like New Mexico can be snobs and hate rootstock roses, but Laurie, Susan, and I appreciate any rose that can thrive in New Mexico, and Dr. Huey is thriving.

A large Dr. Huey along Corrales Road.

Well Hung

Thirteen of sixteen photos Susan has in the show.

Paul flew over to the trees between the ditches leaving Mary behind. Daddy owl was keeping an eye on Mary. We didn’t see Peter in the trees between the ditches, so we presume he flew over to the Bosque. We’ll have to go over and see if we can find him in the Bosque. Given the rate of growth and flying, the owlets might have each hatched a week apart.

The wind blew clouds through for a decent sunset.