Yesterday’s Birds

Moon in Tangle Heart Tree at sunset

We have cloud cover tonight with snow predicted by early morning. Therefore, I’m posting the birds I photographed yesterday.

Flicker at the tiptop of Susan’s Tree at dawn.

Actually, there were two flickers at the tiptop of Susan’s Tree at dawn.

The other flicker.

Owls’ Backs

The Canadian Geese complained that I have not been giving them enough attention.

The Pter in a tangle.

Downy Woodpecker

Grazing

Cooper’s Hawk in the top of a cottonwood between the clearwater ditch and the irrigation ditch.

 

Afterglow

“It looks like the wind is blowing in a nice afterglow tonight.” Wise words Daddy Owl.

Crows on the crow highway.

Ducks basking in the afterglow.

Cranes, ducks, and geese enjoying the glow.

More crows heading south.

Sandias catching the afterglow long after sundown.

Clouds from the bosque view.

Frosty Morning

Frosted backlit leaves.

We had a light dusting of snow combined with frost this morning. The sky cleared in the early morning hours and the temperature dropped to 20ºF (-6.66ºC).

Cranes and geese in a frosty mist.

Frosted links.

Marina’s Incognito Pear tree all cold and frosty.

Snow and frost on the black bamboo.

 

Reyes in the Snow

Gwendolyn: “You woke me up to tell me about some dumb celebration in the cold and snow?”

The first year we celebrated Reyes in Madrid, Spain it snowed. Not common for Madrid, and apparently Madrid got a lot of snow today. We stood outside in the cold and snow and watched a parade where the three Reyes Magos rode into town on Camels. Then we ate Spanish Chocolate. We have continued the tradition of eating Spanish Chocolate for Epiphany ever since. Today we celebrated outside in the cold and snow with a space heater, chimenea, fire pit, and a camp stove all burning to keep us warm. Since January 6th was on Wednesday, we waited until tonight, January 9th, to celebrate. However, instead of having our normal party with friends and neighbors coming to join in, we had family only. This was the first Reyes in the last 20 years that we didn’t invite everyone to partake in Spanish Chocolate.

The fires.

Silver napping.

Enjoying the heat when the temperature was 35ºF outside.

Spunk napping.

The end of the party before I turned the torches and lantern out.

Glenda: “You are dumb enough to be outside in the cold. I’m staying in my cozy cubby.”

EEK!

“EEK! A mouse!” “Nice jump Dude!”

“That was close.”

“I’m not impressed.”

Intermission

“Did someone say ‘Mouse’?”

“Meh!”

“False Alarm!”

The excitement in the Rio Grande and bosque this evening. Cranes and owls. Spunk and Sasha had to comment.

Memories

Setting Moon over Teagan’s Trees at Dawn.

MEMORIES
Lyrics by Ruelha
Music by Timothy Price
Vocals, Guitars, Bass and virtual percussion by Timothy Price

Memories is a new song collaboration with Ruelha at https://ruelha.com/. She posted the poem called Memories on December 20, 2020. I commented that it would make a good song. Ruelha gave me permission to see what I could do with putting her poem to music. The first go-around I used the poem as written using the reaping stanzas as the chorus. The first version is really long at 6:05. I asked her if I could cut out all but three of the choruses, and then I reworked the song. The final version is posted above. Ruelha posted the long version with her poem at https://wp.me/sb0Mrv-memories if you would like to hear the first take in comparison to the final.

The Rio Grande and Sandias at sunset. January 2, 2021.

Colorful clouds at sunset looking north on the levee. January 2, 2021

Travel Photo Challenge Day 9 Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Powdered paw prints look like tuft.

Tuft luck Paparazzo. Don’t look at me. Those ain’t my stinking powdered paw prints.

Jupiter with moons and Saturn are becoming more distant. December 30, 2020.

Day 8 of the Travel Photo Challenge is photos from Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, New Mexico about 45 miles north of us on the Pajarito Plateau at the base of the Jemez Mountains. These photos were taken in November 2015. The Tent Rocks are formed from pyroclastic rock in the volcanic tuft. The softer tuft erodes under the rock-forming tent-shaped hoodoos. The only other place on earth that has formations like this is in Turkey.

The travel photoblog of the day is Jet Eliot’s Travel and Wildlife Adventures at https://jeteliot.wordpress.com/. Jet & Athena are serious travel photographers and adventurers who go to many exotic places around the world. Jet is also a novelist, and Athena is a wonderful photographer who does a lot of the photos on Jet’s blog. We have followed each other for many years.

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument