
Field lies plowed, seeds sown
Irrigation ditch still runs dry
Sky burns red through trees
A dozen geese fly north
Mare has seen better days





Dawn’s pinks and purples
Wait for Sun to show its face
Daybreak colors pale


What happened to eggs
Ditch is dry brutal drought’s woes
We will never know


From flatulent frogs
Bubbles rise ripple water
Laughing in the lake




Bullfrog watches me
From a puddle drying up
Ditch has done gone dry




It is so like men
Breaking wind water bubbles
pulled a frog’s finger



Trees form a green crown
Against the sunset’s orange grays
Another day gone



Dawn

What looked like moss in the shallow water running at the bottom of the irrigation ditch turned out to look like tiny eggs, but I have no idea what laid them if they are eggs. It looks like thousands upon thousands of eggs and it’s hard to imagine what could lay so many eggs.



A closer view of what looks like eggs on the bottom of the ditch.

Sliver moon through the slats in the miniblinds
The clouds cleared after sunset and we were able to see the sliver moon through the window in Beaker’s and Søren’s room.



The moon through the window.



The Rio Grande was still running higher this afternoon from the rains up north.

Some one’s white duck was in the irrigation ditch tonight.




I spotted a Beaver on the other side of the river.


He slithered into the water.

Swam toward me like Jaws.

He made a right turn,

Then a left turn.

Then Splashed me after I was yelling at him to splash for quite some time.


Daddy Owl

Is there a dragon in the clouds?

The Sandias with a soft pink.

I got water for my first irrigation tonight. It’s so dry the land soaks up the water for a long time before it keeps flowing. Furthermore, the water level in the acequia madre keeps fluctuating, which changes the water pressure. Between bone dry land and changing water pressure, it’s going to take a long time to get everything watered tonight. I may not get everything watered tonight.

That little fuzzy head in the darkness is Mama Owl’s and Daddy Owl’s new owlet sticking its head up for the first time to say “Hello world!” I was talking to Jim between calling the owlet and taking photos, and Jim asked “Why don’t they stick their heads up when it’s light?” I told him that owls like darkness.

Mama Owl and Daddy Owl in a cottonwood in the bosque looking for Junior’s dinner.

If anyone has suggestions for names for Junior, I’m open.

“¡Hola Mundo!”


The left fork in the Y in my irrigation ditch flows through a culvert where Scrappy Skunk was sleeping. Poor Scrappy was rudely awakened by the water and he came out one end of the pipe but got offended that I was videotaping him. He crawled back in the culvert, came out the other side, went back in, and stayed in the culvert until the water got too high and finally forced him out. He was an embarrassed wet skunk when he finally climbed out of the ditch and ran off. You can watch Scrappy Skunk in all his wet glory in the video below.
Tonight’s flowers, bunny and moon follow.

Beatrice Bunny

I irrigated this morning. When I went out to let in the water at 5:30 am, there was a bullfrog at the gate. The temperature was 45º F (7.2º C) and Mr. Frog stood his water and held tight even though the gate made a lot of squeaking noises as I cranked it open, and the current from the water rushing into the culvert tugged at his buoyant body.
I got a video of a Coachwhip Snake (Masticophis flagellum testaceous) swimming in the irrigation ditch. I know a lot of people have trouble with snakes, but they are really quite beautiful. It’s not often I see a Coachwhip Snake taking a swim. After we got back from checking on the owls and walking in the bosque this morning, I wrote a song to go with the video, appropriately named Coachwhip Snake. I recorded the song and put it all together in the above video this afternoon. Enjoy!
Coachwhip Snake
Lyrics: Timothy Price
Music: Timothy Price
Verse
Slither swimming in the ditch
Sloppy sine wave between the wake
Slips the bank scales in cross-stitch
Stops and eyes me with suspicion
Bridge
We stand we stare he and me
Paparazzo and snake admiration
Chorus
Masticophis flagellum testaceous
That’s what I said
Beautiful snake, braided scales
Colubrid whipped up in western red
Verse
Slither swimming in the ditch
Sloppy sine wave between the wake
Bridge
We stand we stare he and me
Paparazzo and snake admiration
Chorus
Masticophis flagellum testaceous
That’s what I said
Beautiful snake, braided scales
Colubrid whipped up in western red






