
A teenage Towhee
Was as sassy as could be
Foraging for bugs



Resa’s Tree was having a wild hair day at dawn.



Towhee singing a morning song.


A Mountain Chickadee made a quick stop on the garden cart. I barely got in two shots edgewise.

Butterfly on Brian’s favorite flower.
Lady Banks. Our first rose to bloom.

Contrails at dusk disturbed the ghosts, who went plasmatic on me.




Venus and Sliver Moon in western sky. Clouds, contrails, and stars in southern sky. Stars over luminous cottonwoods in northern sky.
Resa’s Tree blowing off steam after having wild hair at dawn.

Hmmm! Temperatures aligned.



Juncoku
Hops from branch to branch
Looking out for predators
There’s a Cooper’s hawk


Hawku
Perched on iron arch
It sees prey over yonder
Oops, prey flew away










Sparrowku
Like a ball of fluff
Imitating angry bird
Winter is so cold



Towheeku
On the river’s edge
Dining on Russian Olives
Big seed to swallow



Craneku
Oh, they want to fight
Bumping bird breasts, flapping wings
They showed each other

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
The Dance Floor Lyrics and Music by Timothy Price
The Dance Floor is an original song I wrote and recorded recently. It’s a song reminiscent of the days when people could gather together, dance, and put on whatever charm they could muster in attempts to go beyond the dance floor. Maybe Dancing Daze will make a comeback.
After another long day of dismantling the old office, configuring VPNs, and breaking into the WiFi units in the new office building and configuring them, I did manage to get out to see Mama Owl and Daddy Owl after I got home at sunset. I couldn’t see Mama Owl in her hole when I got in view, but I called her, and she gave me an ear tuft up to let me know she was still steadfast on her nest. Daddy Owl was gazing out at the bosque and gave me half eyes over his shoulder for my calling out to Mama Owl.
Speaking of chicks, I did see a few on my way to and from my visit to the owls. Our mini daffy’s bloomed.
The pTerodactyl posed perfectly in the Tangle Heart Tree for Valentine’s Day.
Daddy Owl snoozing at sunrise.
A congregation of cranes at dawn.
Cranes celebrating the frosty sunrise.
The other side of Miss Stripy Sparrow.
“¡Hasta la huego you silly goose!”
As a thunderstorm blew in this evening lots of crows were flying all around us.
The morning started off mostly cloudy, and clouds blew around overhead all day long producing some interesting skies. In the late afternoon, we had dramatic pre-storm light. It’s overcast and raining this evening, so no moonshot tonight.
“¡Hola! Buenos Días. Me llamo Cara de Calavera (Skull Face).”
Blanca: “¿Qúe pasa? Cara de Calavera.” Cara de Calavera: “Hay un paparazzo en el dique.”
Blanca: “Oye paparazzo, ¿qué pasa?” Me: “¡Disparándote con mi Bazooka!”
Susan Hunter identified this bird as a Song Sparrow. It was foraging on the river’s edge.
Pre-storm dramatic light on the cottonwoods.
How many robins can you find in this tree?
The many faces of Tommee Towhee.
Mama Owl and Daddy Owl trying to get some rest after a night of really hooting it up.