birthday weekend sightings - Los Olivos, March 6-8, 2020 - Acorn Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Magpie, Mountain Bluebird, Mourning Doves
It is odd to think about how things have changed in the last 3 weeks since the trip to the Cabin. I won't focus on that here too much. COVID was on our mind because we were paying attention, but we were more preoccupied with missing our boy, who was on his way to Argentina.
The quiet beauty of our special house in the long canyon was a great way to be together and dream of our future. The highlight of our weekend was the stunning walk we took on Saturday before the rains arrived. I was amazed at how quiet it could be while also only being 10 minutes away from downtown. The air was fresh and animals surrounded us - horses, cattle, and amazing birds.
I had a number of new sightings while we walked - acorn woodpeckers never left our sights and we stopped to admire the cubbies they carved in the oaks to store future meals. The yellow-billed magpies were hanging on the telephone wires in such a way that you had to study them from multiple angles to find their identifiable markings - that long tail! On the way back we had a surprise visit from a breath-taking mountain bluebird. It cooperated and allowed us to study him for a couple of minutes. The colors live in mind so vividly even now.
By the time we got home, I had seen three new birds, which was the best present you could have given to me. The rains came and washed the canyon. It grew a little colder and even more still. We looked out the window to the fence and were surprised once more to find two very still, purposeful mourning doves. The seemed to be waiting, but not for a particular event. Maybe it was just for more perfect time to accumulate - a sort of collection of little beats under their breasts as the cattle passed by and nothing else seemed to matter.
Thank you, love.
The quiet beauty of our special house in the long canyon was a great way to be together and dream of our future. The highlight of our weekend was the stunning walk we took on Saturday before the rains arrived. I was amazed at how quiet it could be while also only being 10 minutes away from downtown. The air was fresh and animals surrounded us - horses, cattle, and amazing birds.
I had a number of new sightings while we walked - acorn woodpeckers never left our sights and we stopped to admire the cubbies they carved in the oaks to store future meals. The yellow-billed magpies were hanging on the telephone wires in such a way that you had to study them from multiple angles to find their identifiable markings - that long tail! On the way back we had a surprise visit from a breath-taking mountain bluebird. It cooperated and allowed us to study him for a couple of minutes. The colors live in mind so vividly even now.
By the time we got home, I had seen three new birds, which was the best present you could have given to me. The rains came and washed the canyon. It grew a little colder and even more still. We looked out the window to the fence and were surprised once more to find two very still, purposeful mourning doves. The seemed to be waiting, but not for a particular event. Maybe it was just for more perfect time to accumulate - a sort of collection of little beats under their breasts as the cattle passed by and nothing else seemed to matter.
Thank you, love.