When Jack and I hit the trail this morning, I saw faint curtains streaming from the clouds in the sky and thought, rain. And maybe a little rain did fall out there in the basin under those faint curtains, but none fell on me and my dog.
We had a good hike, though—17 species, most in a while. Got a glimpse of a tanager and three Black-throated Gray Warblers and another coop. Back home in hot, sunny afternoon, a monarch in the garden.
My first rainless experience. Kinda makes you think and wish and hope.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:55 a.m. (7:55 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
A week or so ago, I thought the Cooper’s Hawks might’ve flown the nest—or perhaps, thanks to the record drought, the nest might’ve failed. But yesterday I heard two youngsters and an adult in the nest area. And again today: the voices of two juvies and an adult.
Then one of them—adult male, I’m pretty sure—left the trees in a riot of calls and perched in a maple not far away. And stared.
I’m a long-time vegetarian (vegan, in fact), but I’m delighted to know the local accipiters are fit to survive. We’re fellow animals, after all—the hawks, my dog, and me. All part of Nature’s miraculous web of life.
And we’d all of us appreciate a little rain.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:56 a.m. (7:56 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
Clouds covered much of the sky for much of this warm summer day. We hiked this morning, dog and I, under the blanket of an overcast. It kept us rather warm, that blanket—but not so warm that we didn’t throughly enjoy a rather uneventful time of it.
There were moments, though: a surprise visit from goldfinches, the voices of three Cooper’s Hawks (two of them youngsters, a chase of three hummingbirds. Missed some photos, got a few others. A comfort.
Back home, I had two surprises: the red-tail returning to its tall utility pole (the overcast likely made such exposure more bearable), and a Downy Woodpecker popped up on a tree trunk just off the back deck. There’s even a chance of a thundershower out there—and will be for a day so.
Gotta admit, little rain would be appreciated by all us living things.
Grandeur Peak Area List Beginning at 6:47 a.m. (7:47 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
