wading for breakfast
fuel for upcoming concert
cattail aria
your turn
hit me with a haiku
please
birding
Wordless Wednesday: turkey vulture edition
Wordless Wednesday: crane quartet
For Dillon
You never got to see a Northern Harrier, so here are two slightly blurred but fully authentic photos of the harrier I told you about exactly one week ago when we were shoveling that heavy snow together, when you were being your typical generous self and helping clear the enormous snowplow-created snow berm so that Zippy and I would be able to get out of our driveway if needed.
Both images by Zippy. March 11, 2024
You delighted in the fact I’d just learned from Zippy: Northern Harriers have owl-like faces that help them hear prey as they fly low above the ground. I wish you’d had the chance to see and identify one when working with your surveying crew so that you would’ve won the “Raptor ID Pie” for that week.
Even more, I wish you were still here with your easy smile and enormous heart. I wish we could have more conversation about birds and nature and dogs and streams, just a sampling of the many things that brought you joy, but I’m grateful for the time we did share and I hold those memories close.
My heart is shattered. I hope you knew how much you meant to me.
Rest in peace, Dillon.
Wordful Wednesday: Geese & Gaza
Isn’t this a serene image? Five geese winging their way through blue, blue skies? Aren’t you glad you can view this in the safety and comfort of your home?
Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. March 11, 2024
On February 1, I wrote about the Biden administration callously suspending funding for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) because of unfounded allegations against some of the workers. In the time since, Israel has offered zero evidence of those lies and one million people are facing starvation and the spread of preventable diseases. Per Jewish Voice for Peace: Today, one-third of children under the age of two in Gaza’s north are suffering from acute malnutrition, more than double the number from a month ago.
PLEASE take two minutes to email your Representative and two Senators, asking them to pressure the Biden administration to resume funding of UNRWA. That link contains a letter template you can personalize. I know we’ve already emailed them with this same demand, but we cannot stop pressuring them to do the right thing until they actually do the right thing.
As way of thanks, here’s another gooseful photo:
Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. March 12, 2024
Solidarity!
Sunday Confessional: crane overwhelm
As I posted last Wednesday, we recently had the privilege of witnessing a layover during the migration of Sandhill Cranes. This trip was fifteen years in the making as we’d planned to go to Monte Vista in March of 2009, but had to cancel for health-related reasons. And somehow, we never got our acts together until this year. All this to say, last week’s experience was a very big deal for a variety of reasons, and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, I literally have hundreds of high quality images from the two days we spent watching the cranes. For the last couple days I’ve been trying to rally my decision-making skills so that I can share photos (although not all that time was spent agonizing over photo selection as some hours were spent shoveling the 27 inches of snow we got in the storm that started Wednesday evening and finally ended Friday morning).
Decisions! This is where the overwhelm comes in: how can I possibly choose from all my wonderful photos? How can I convey the whole experience with just a sampling of pics?
Should I begin with the very first photo I took on Monday evening? (click all to enlarge)
Do I include the yoga-pose photo?
Do I share the majesty of cranes flying against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains?
Should I include an image showing how the camera sometimes struggled to focus on the closest crane when SO MANY OTHER CRANES were headed our way?
Or the very first crane dance I had the honor of witnessing? (According to BirdNote, Sandhill Cranes mate for life and they do this dance each spring to reaffirm their bond.)
And I should probably include an image that shows how close all of us were to these magnificent birds, right?
Maybe include an image showing another field we visited right as the sun went down (even though the photo doesn’t convey the sound of THOUSANDS of cranes), where many stood facing west?
Along with a photo showing how the cranes just kept coming?
And what about the next day’s photos–should I begin with this crane running before lift-off?
No doubt I should include this crane ‘s dance that began with a leap, right?
But then which of the other dance moves should I include . . .maybe this?
And which of the many photos I took at the other field when approximately three thousand cranes lifted off as one (leaving behind just three cranes who remained in the field for another hour) should I share?
Unfortunately (or not), I don’t have a photo of me overcome with emotion in this moment, tears running down my face. I can only say that being in the presence of all those cranes in motion/in community was one of the most profound experiences of my life. Minutes later, I stood in the silence they’d left behind, incredibly grateful for the gift of their presence and the peace of that moment, wishing that same kind of peace for everyone around the world.
I have an entire afternoon and evening worth of photos that I haven’t delved into here, but I’ll stop so as to not overwhelm anyone else. No worries, though! I’m absolutely positive I’ll be posting more in the near future. 🙂
Sandhill Cranes
We had a glorious time at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge with the thousands of Sandhill Cranes. This is just a tiny taste of what we experienced and one of the final photos I took yesterday evening. These four cranes were coming in for a landing at a popular feeding spot in the barley field.
March 12, 2024
I don’t know what it was about that corner but during each of the three feeding times we witnessed, cranes showed up at that spot which is within 50 feet of where people are allowed to stand. There’d be just a few to start and then others, like the four above, would drop in to join them. Zippy joked about the cranes having an agreement to take turns posing for the humans. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful for their presence. More photos to come!
Also happen to be magic
Trinidad Lake SP 10.12.23
My sister had taught me to look at the world that way,
as a place that glitters,
as a place where the calls of the crickets and the crows and the wind
are everyday occurrences that also happen to be magic.
~ Cynthia Kadohata*
*author of The Thing About Luck, one of my all-time favorite books.
Twofer Tuesday: feathered friends
Birds are keeping me going during these dark days. Even more than usual, I’m intentionally watching and listening for them with the knowledge that such interactions ground me and bring a moment of peace. And joy.
Today as Zippy, Emma, and I took a slow walk in the neighborhood, we heard a loud call. A hawk was perched in a tree above the street. I quickly pulled up my Merlin app in hopes it would help me identify whether it was a Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk. Unfortunately, the hawk went silent. But we were gifted with an up-close sighting as the raptor flew directly above our heads (and no, I couldn’t tell whether the tail feathers were rounded or flat) and then circled back around before landing in another tree. A gift to us.
Here’s another bird that brought me joy recently. A White-breasted Nuthatch exploring the tree trunk outside my window. I was thrilled to get a decent photo because these guys are always on the move.
January 13, 2024
And here’s a familiar face: male House Finch, of which we see many every single day. But every sighting brings a smile.
January 13, 2024
Once again, birds for the win.
Ending the year on a positive note
I deliberately went in search of natural inspiration and rejuvenation this afternoon as I wanted to end the year on a positive note. And during that time watching and listening to the birds and other wildlife around my home, the grief and anxiety fell away. I was at peace. Here’s a sampling of what I witnessed:
Scrub Jay
American Robin
White-crowned Sparrow (immature)
House Finch
Disgruntled Bunny (and yes, that’s a great name for a band!)
Dark-eyed Junco (and no, that’s not their mess)
House Finch
Goldfinch
Squirrel!
And lastly, Emma Jean-Jean, keeping an eye on things as I photographed yard visitors
I also saw Northern Flickers, a woodpecker, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Doves, and magpies. It was a bird buffet!
But that’s not all I did to soothe my soul. I also hoop-danced for 10 minutes today which brought my hoop-dancing total for the year to exactly 28 hours! In 2021, I hooped for 24 hours and in 2022 I hooped for just over 27 hours. So, this year is my new record. Woot woot!
Happy New Year to all! May the coming year bring more justice and peace around the globe.
Friday Haiku: crow edition
my camera ready
crows on ground man approaches
murder in motion
Nothing but birds
These photos were all taken after our first snowstorm on October 29th. We saw lots of different species that day and here’s a sampling of who came to visit the feeders and bath.
Black-billed Magpie
Dark-eyed Junco
House Finch
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
And one last Dark-eyed Junco, because how could I resist this delightfully round bird?
Wishing everyone a bird-rich day.
Osprey and clouds
Twofer Tuesday: American Robins
These are very hard days on the planet and so I’d like to offer these photos I took while camping last week. American Robins are quite commonplace and have a distinctive, easy-to-identify profile. Here’s one of the many I spotted in the forest surrounding Trinidad Lake:
What I hadn’t previously experienced with robins was them flying like missiles through the forest. As I stood there with my camera and big lens mounted on the monopod while listening to the many birds hidden in the trees, robins flew past just inches from me, wings literally whistling. It was wild! And at one point, about thirty of them flew out from the trees, coming from all directions, to fly across the lake. I was too stunned to even try to photograph that flock. Here’s one that generously posed:
It was a lovely morning in those final hours before we packed up to start the drive home. Even though I’m far removed from that setting, looking at these photos brings me peace once again. I hope these lovely robins do the same for you.
Fauna and flora
I spent the last couple hours working on my work-in-progress and decided to reward myself by looking through photos from this past week’s camping trip. Here’s a Steller’s Jay that did me a solid by posing long enough for a decent photo :
Such a handsome bird. And here’s a Yellow-rumped Warbler that also visited a nearby tree:
Gotta appreciate a bird with such an obvious marking AND a name that directly corresponds to said marking. Kudos to the ornithologist!
Here’s one of the many chipmunks that drove Emma to distraction:
Finally, here’s a sampling of some late-blooming wildflowers spotted while we hiked around Lower Cataract Lake:
My research says these flowers are called Mayweed / Stinking Chamomile / Dog Fennel which don’t really seem like names that suit the flowers. Granted, I didn’t give them a sniff but surely there’s another name that would better represent their appearance/demeanor. [Oops, just saw that they’re officially listed as a noxious weed here in Colorado, so maybe “Stinkin’ Chamomile” was just the most polite term available.]
Thankful Thursday: second time’s the charm
Almost exactly two years ago, Zippy and I attempted a hike to Eaglesmere Lake in the White River National Forest, but were thwarted in our efforts (in no small part because Zippy had forgotten shoes and was hiking in socks and Tevas + we’d forgotten to bring the trail info + we missed the turn due to a very faded trail sign). I wrote about that experience here. Today, I’m happy to report that yesterday we made it to Eaglesmere Lake!
Zippy took this wide-angle shot with his phone.
click to enlarge
It’s true that the last time we attempted the hike, the trail sign was old and faded. But what’s also true is that there was at least a mention of Eaglesmere Lake on the middle sign. Not so anymore. Here’s the new sign we encountered yesterday:
No mention of Eaglesmere Lake whatsoever. So, if we hadn’t been better prepared this time (as in knowing we’d started on Trail 61 and needed to turn right at Trail 60), we would’ve been hosed again. Fortunately, we had proper footwear AND trail info!
After hiking the 4.3 miles there, I asked Zippy to photograph me with the elusive lake in the background to show we’d prevailed. I wanted documentation, darn it!
And Zippy wanted a photo of me without the visor and hood:
Then we ate a late lunch. We were the only people there because, once again, we’d gotten a late start which meant that everyone else had already been and gone by the time we arrived. After eating, I clambered over the rocks to photograph the grasses (?) floating on the water.
click to enlarge
After a little more rest, we started back. Along the way, we spotted a Downy Woodpecker in the same area where we’d watched a woodpecker circle the trunk of an aspen tree two years ago. We grinned at the synchronicity. Then just a little farther down the trail, we were treated to a sighting of the larger Hairy Woodpecker! Hooray!
We arrived back at our campsite at 5:30, tired from our exertions but very grateful we’d accomplished what we’d set out to do. All hail Eaglesmere Lake!
Twofer Tuesday: two anniversaries
Today is a bittersweet day for Zippy and me. It’s the one year anniversary of his mother’s death and also our wedding anniversary. He suggested we go for a hike to soothe our aching hearts while also celebrating us. So, we got ourselves together and headed to nearby White Ranch Park where neither of us had been before. Here are two selfies taken along the trail, one by me and the other by Zippy.
The temperature was in the upper 80s which was pretty darn warm, but portions of the trail were shaded. And, to Emma’s delight, we had to cross a stream on the way out AND the way back, so twice she was able to be belly-down in cold water.
I also had the double pleasure of seeing an American Kestrel on the way out and way back, both times in the same area. And my second sighting included two kestrels! I was a great distance away so my photos aren’t great, but here’s a twofer of those majestic birds (click to enlarge).
Despite them being an invasive species, I’m very fond of thistles and their many, many permutations. Here are two I especially liked.
We only saw a couple Rocky Mountain Beeplants during the hike, but this one caught my eye for being two-headed. While I didn’t examine it closely, it truly appeared to have one bloom growing out of another.
It was a good afternoon and hike, the perfect excursion for today. We’re all glad to be back inside where it’s cooler. Zippy and Emma are already cleaned up and napping, and I’m guessing our sweet little doggie is dreaming of that refreshing mountain stream.
“May I please stay here forever?”
Red-eyed kinship
Feeling a kinship with this Spotted Towhee and its red eyes.
In my backyard. July 20, 2023
Just spent the last couple hours staring at my manuscript on my laptop as I made revision notes in the margins. My agent sent me a whopping seven pages of editorial thoughts/questions at the beginning of the week and after spending several days mulling over her email, I’m now plotting how to implement the changes I want to make. I’ll be honest: today’s session was harder than yesterday’s when optimism was high and I actually allowed myself to think “This isn’t going to take as long as I’d thought!”
But the cool thing about the writing process is that none of the emotions I feel last forever. Not the positive or the negative. So, I’m going to step away from the manuscript and rest my eyes, knowing that tomorrow will bring its own set of emotions. Whatever they are, I’ll be ready (but hopefully, not reddy). Sorry, not sorry. 🙂
Thankful Thursday: House Wrens
I just spent a whole bunch of time at my laundry room window with my camera, watching the House Wren family. In mid-April, I sent a wish into the universe for wrens to nest in the box Zippy put up beneath the deck (a nest box he found while cleaning out his mother’s home) and then in early June I noted wrens had moved into the nesting box!
For the past week or so, there’s been a clamor coming from that box. A frenzied wall of sound that prompted me to tell Zippy “Sounds like 16 babies in there!” The noise level goes WAY up when a parent arrives with food, causing many spontaneous smiles on our faces. But it wasn’t until today that I went down with my camera and, oh my goodness, what fun! Not only fun, but educational.
First off, all those sounds appear to come from just two babies. (I never saw more than two beaks poking out.)
Second, those wren parents work their butts off.
Not only does a parent bring food every food minutes, but they also remove poop after each feeding. (That was my guess after watching for a while, but I had no idea how it was done.) Per Wikipedia, the nestling produces a fecal sac within seconds of being fed, which the parent removes. The below image isn’t great (click to enlarge), but it does show the sac in the parent’s beak.
However, the poop saga doesn’t end there! If the nestling doesn’t produce a fecal sac, the parent will prod around the little one’s hind end (no, that’s not the correct anatomical term) to stimulate excretion. Which explains the next image.
After the nestling(s) took the insect, the adult waited a bit and then dove into the nesting box. This only happened the one time, so I’m guessing the little ones were doing a pretty good job of pooping right after eating. Probably not fun having Mom up in their business.
At one point, I was baffled by all the sounds I was hearing because neither nestling was visible at the hole. Who was so agitated? And where was the sound coming from? I stared and stared at that hole in the box. Then movement caught my eye and I noticed an adult with a moth in its beak on a timber below the nesting box. It made no sense, but it was clearly the one singing the song because I could see their throat move. Weird, I thought, singing with its mouth full. What’s up with that? And the dancing?
When I described what I’d seen, Zippy suggested that maybe the adult was trying to entice the youngsters to leave the nest. That made perfect sense to me, but a quick online search didn’t turn up any info to support or deny that theory. Either way, it was so delightful watching that tiny bird dance around with an enormous moth in its beak, all the while singing a beautiful song.
That was the most enjoyable laundry room experience I’ve ever had! Thank you, universe, for granting my wish. This wren family is balm for my soul.
Thankful Thursday: clean air hike
While many, many other communities continue to struggle with unhealthy and hazardous air quality due to wildfire smoke, the air has been clear in the Denver metro area. Zippy, Emma, and I ventured out into the open space for the first time in weeks after lots of rain made the trails too muddy. Hooray for them being almost completely dry again!
Here are a few highlights, beginning with the Turkey Vulture soaring overhead when we got on the trail:
One of a few blooming Paintbrushes:
And finally, an enormous bumblebee drinking from a lupine (I wish I could include audio because this bee was BUZZING):
I’m grateful for the clean air, the glory of the natural world, and my ability to move about on the trails. I humbly receive these gifts.
Wordless Wednesday: family outing
Twofer Tuesday: stillness
Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance. ~ Morgan Freeman
In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. ~ Deepak Chopra
Out my window. July 30, 2021
Friday Haiku – open mic
with long slender toes
walks atop vegetation
quite miraculous
Does this Common Gallinule inspire your own haiku? If so, please leave one in the comments.
Cleansing breath
My heart is heavy after watching today’s session of Montana’s state House vote to censure trans Representative Zooey Zephyr. The vote was along party lines, 68-32. She is now banned from the House floor and not allowed to speak on legislation, and will only be allowed to vote remotely. Zephyr’s speech in her defense was powerful and brought me to tears. She’s on the right side of history. Those who silence the voices of those speaking on behalf of the oppressed? Nasty, small-minded fascists.
*cleansing breath*
So here is a Bushtit photographed in September of 2021: 
This darling wee bird was accompanied by a whole bunch of other Bushtits that day and I post its photo in honor of the lone Bushtit that briefly visited the feeder as I hoop-danced this morning. It’s exceedingly rare for a Bushtit to travel alone, and I’m hoping it’s only because the rest of the gang was nearby taking cover from the rain.
I receive the gift of this bird’s beautiful presence and now share it with you.
Wordless Wednesday: roosting time for turkey vultures
Tracy Abell 