Time has slipped by again, and this time it was labeled as the month of January. A quiet and cool morning (32° F) with little wind activity and very clear skies for the sun to wrap its arms around this piece of Earth. It was again that brief hour of the morning when bird activity flourished, much like traffic on its way to morning business.
The wind blew and the wind blew. Two days of wind out of the Northwest as a low pressure trough moved through New Mexico and dropped temperatures into the low 20°s (F), letting loose with only a light dusting of snow. Most of the smaller birds were hidden within the boughs of the Piñon and Juniper, but the Ravens (Corvus corax) seemed to enjoy the winds and joined one another in large acrobatic groups flying in and out of the local valleys. Personally, I cannot stand the wind.
Back from Santa Barbara, California and into another beautiful and brisk 26° F morning - especially when there is no wind to complain about. A bustling morning when the sun finally rose high enough to begin warming the forest. Much bird activity, including my first seasonal sighting of an Western Blue Bird (Sialia mexicana), in addition to a fair number of Piñon Jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus); the later have been absent for much of the winter season now.
Cold at 17° F, but calm. Not a cloud in the morning sky. Birds not yet moving about. The sun only barely above the eastern horizon, soon to bring warmth into another January day.
What a beautiful morning - snowfall to open your eyes to and find quietly falling to the ground. No more than an inch of soft powdery snow. By 8am, the clouds parted and the sun began melting what fallen snow came down from this brief and silent storm. A noon walk to the faulty trail refreshed my mind and allowed dos perros to stretch their legs. And the celestial blue January afternoon comes to an end as the sun falls behind the mountains.
