Category: Rio Grande

The Sacrifice

Timothy Price59 Comments

I buried a raccoon pup at dawn
Found him by the steps
Heartless and emptied
Secretly sacrificed
Under half-moon? Rose at two
Such a mystery

With last rites fitting any innocent soul
Tucked in under spadefuls of sandy soil
Laid to rest, secured for eternity
A spark of life lit
Snuffed, sacrificed
So much misery

The poem above was inspired by a poor baby raccoon, gutted and left near our doorstep. I don’t know what killed it, but it seemed very sacrificial. I’m packing several day’s worths of photos into this post because of the possibility that other things will come up, and many of the photos not get posted.

Click on the galleries below to see a slideshow of the photos in their correct aspect ratios.

Grosbeaks, Hummer, and Towhee the Line

I am Wood Duck hear me roar!

Got Your Goose and Goslings with Cormorant

Cooper’s Hawks’ Hanky Panky

Fuzzette, Major Tom Peppers out of the nest with Mona Lisa and Sleeping still in the nest, Mama Owl, Daddy Owl, Daddy Owl, Mama Owl, Daddy Owl

Dog Paddle

Timothy Price50 Comments

Fido blowing in the wind in Saturn on the Rio Grande.

We got lots of rain today as promised by the forecast.

A slight break in the weather about 30 minutes after I got all wet carrying groceries from the store to the car and then from the car into the house in the pouring rain. Les choses sont contre nous!

¡Un Dos Tres¡ Pink Moon… NOT! Again!

Timothy Price74 Comments

One Owlet. Major Tom Peepers.

Two Owlets. Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers

Three Owlets. Mona Lisa, Major Tom Peepers and ????

How about Sleepy for the third Owlet?

Actually Major Tom Peepers ran out of steam, also.

Sweet dreams Major Tom Peepers.

Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers thought it was a little bright out as you can see them squinting in the next two photos.


Another year. Another no show for the Pink Moon. Marina had clicked on my Pink Moon post from last year and reminded me that tonight is April’s full moon (maybe April’s fool moon) known as the Pink Moon.

Cloud cover thwarted me again. The Pink Moon would have risen near the towers.

The extent of the pink southeast of the Sandias.

We got a slight big of clearing to the west.

Fuzzette

Timothy Price47 Comments

Under crystal clear, blue skies I made a very interesting discovery.

Fuzzette, Fuzzy, and Nora Owl

Fuzzy has a big sister, Fuzzette, who Nora Owl finally allowed to come out into the world so we can admire her beauty and cuteness.

Ducks in a row.

Fuzzette

Sucker

Fuzzy

Fish

Osric Owl napping in his outpost about 200 feet from Fuzzette, Fuzzy, and Nora Owl.

Bucky Bullfrog

Fuzzette

Marina’s Incognito Pear Tree looking rather pear-shaped.

Nora Owl napping with her ear tufts blowing in the wind.

And you thought Unicorns were equestrians!

Fuzzette is rather intense.

Tulip tortured by the heat and sun.

Fuzzy wide-eyed and presumably bushy tailed.

Lady Banks

Fuzzette has expressive eyes.

Tulip with a slight blush of pink.

Osric Owl doing ear tuft semaphore.

A sunny bunny.

¡Adios muchachos, muchachas!

Eye Eye Eye

Timothy Price39 Comments

Cary Kingfisher: “Eye see you Paparazzo!”

Finnegan Finch: “Eye see you Paparazzo!”

Terrance Turkey Vulture: “Eye see you Paparazzo!”

Mama Owl: “¿Qué pasa Paparazzo? ¿Te gustan las plumas de mi cola?”

Cary Kingfisher who happens to be a Belted Kingfisher: “I’m outta here! ¡Sta luego Ese!”

Minimalist Skies

Timothy Price44 Comments

Jupiter above the moon at 6:15 am this morning.

Daddy Owl blowing in the sunset.

Crows play in pink.

Sparse clouds over the Sandias.

Mama Owl is still “tufting” it out.

Washboard clouds

Minimal clouds to the west.

Paint the Light Dramatic

Timothy Price69 Comments

We did get rain, snow, and high winds last night and most of the day. We got rain in the valley, but the Sandias and foothills got snow with really high winds.

The afternoon light from the sun peeking through the clouds was intense on the cottonwoods.

Looking SE to SW after sunset.

The Sandias with clouds at sunset.

Cottonwoods, dry irrigation ditch, and gate.

Looking west.

Dramatic light on the Sandias.

Spring Walk

Timothy Price55 Comments

After spending five hours dismantling desks, tables, and chairs and moving them to our new office building, I went on a walk to check on Nora Owl. On the way, I saw sparrows, a muskrat, an echelon of cranes, a cinnamon duck. No owlets popped their heads, up and Nora Owl gave me “mad dogs” when I called to see if any owlets were around. One good sign that the owlets might have hatched is Osric Owl was watching over Nora Owl from a nearby cottonwood. On the way back I saw a Flicker, a squadron of crazy Cormorants, a bluebird of some type, and another sparrow feeding on buds in Marina’s pear tree. The clouds were beautiful in the low sunlight about 30 minutes before sunset.

Muskrat nibbling on grass near its den.

Muskrat swimming with its mouth full of grass.

Nora Owl giving me “mad dogs”.

Osric Owl on his lookout branch.

Cinnamon Duck.

Sandhill Cranes still hanging around.

Intermission: My desk we moved from the office downtown to the new office. I build the desk in 1990. That is a light table on the left-hand side I used for sorting slides and transparencies before digital cameras. The desk on the floor is Dede’s desk that she designed and I built for her in 2007, I believe. it will go in the corner to the right of my desk. I will build Bruce’s desk in the corner to the left of my desk.

Flicker

A squadron of crazy Cormorants.

A hover dove.

Barney Bluebird

Jack Sparrow

Clouds over the Sandias.