Firsts, Cats, Close to Lasts

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First bloom purple crocus.
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First bloom yellow crocus.
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Mama owl sitting on her eggs.
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We should start seeing owlets in a couple of months.
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The not quite full moon had an interesting color just before sunset.
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Marble being silly.
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Spunk being handsome.
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Sasha being beautiful.
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Cottonwood in the bosque basking in the late afternoon sun.
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Maybe the last of the cranes.
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¡Hasta la vista!

Porcupine Promenade

We got out late last night for a walk under the stars after putting up our third sack of green chiles, making power bars, and doing various other chores that took up all of our daylight hours. A few hundred feet before the bridge that we use to cross the clearwater ditch, I saw what looked like a weed moving ahead of us. I shined my flashlight on it, and, as I suspected, it was Porky, a very large porcupine, waddling along on its way to cross the bridge ahead of us. I pulled out my phone to see if I could get a video, but by the time I got the phone convinced to take a video in the dark, Porky had crossed the bridged and headed down into the cottonwoods between the clearwater ditch and the irrigation ditch. I managed to get a short, 15 second video of Porky waddling into the undergrowth by a large cottonwood.  I assembled and arranged a short piece of music for Porky’s promenade.

The photos below are an assortment of critters and fall colors.

Cosmos & Roses

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Can you find the Painted Lady butterflies?

Our cosmos have started to bloom, and the roses are putting on another round of blooms. The little white and green flowers in the second and third set of photos below are a wildflower that busts open like fireworks. It reminds me of dill, and the wasps and butterflies love it.