Talking Trees

The oak trees on the south side of our house are having a discussion. I can watch them out the side window as I write this, and I am pretty sure they are discussing whether the weather man is wrong about rain this afternoon. As the breeze blows through their tops, they lean over and whisper to one another about the clouds that are drifting over us from the Manzano Mountains to the West. Our tree-rex lives in that particular patch of oaks. He is a branch that sticks up above the others and looks like a T-Rex with its mouth open. This will be the third year that he has been with us and today he seems quite vocal. Right now he is a bit spotty, but I think he will take on more substance as the leaves continue to come out. Guess he likes it here, and I enjoy watching him.

This morning dawned with a blanket of clouds covering us and going right up to the mountains. There a bit of sunlight managed to sneak through to light a strip of green just below the tops that were hidden in the soft white. The day tossed the blanket off and the sky has been mostly clear, just a few white flecks punctuating the blue to give it character. But now as the sun sets the clouds are forming again, and I can see rain falling from them in places. But alas, it will not reach the ground. The air here is dry, and I can watch the rain vanish into the air as it drops toward the thirsty earth. Our here they call it virga or Katchina hair. We often watch it sweep over us, with maybe a drop or two reaching us. We often get six inch rains, that is one drop every six inches.

Our phoebes, the birds nesting in the corner of the porch, have stopped their frantic activity. I think that they have finished upgrading the nest for the spring, and are probably now sitting on eggs, or laying them. Susannah has been moving the yard around and has moved the garden cart which was a favorite spot for them to stop at before entering the nest. It was funny to watch one of them land on a tire when the cart was overturned and have the wheel ever so slowly turn until they had to hop a bit to stay on top. I wonder how many families they will raise this year. Last year we think they raised two, three the year before. We pretty much leave them alone since we wouldn't want to be disturber all the time either.

The moon has been full, and that means both of our cats would love to spend the night outdoors. We try not to let them, owls and coyotes take their toll and we would kind of like to keep the cats around for a while. But night before last Amber refused to come in, running across the yard at full speed, then hiding in a bush only to dash back to pounce on a grasshopper, or maybe just a stick. She always comes around when we call her, I think to let us know her intention, then vanishes if she has decided to stay out for the night. I was up early yesterday and here she came, walking across the yard, tail high in greeting, ready for me to open the door and let her in. Breakfast first, then she retired to our bed for the day, one paw across her eyes to keep the light out. Don't know what she did over night, but she sure looked like "the morning after the night before." Been kind of quiet since then.

The sun is behind the mountains now, and peacefulness seems to be sweeping over the high plains. There are still patches of blue sky to the east, but mostly slate colored. Over head the virga looks white and twisty, and when I stuck my head out the door there is a warm breeze blowing from the mountains, but the trees remain still. Our tom cat, Oliver, is sleeping in his bed on the desk next to me and all is well. It has been a good day. I did some work in the wood shop, then did my exercise, and now having had dinner I am ready to rest for the evening. Perhaps a soak in the hot tub on the porch, looking at the starts are the lights of airplanes, and then to bed, preparing for another day tomorrow.

Hugs to all,

Mike L