poetry

new to the neighborhood

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looking down at El Capitan Lodge from the slopes of Taylor Hill

new to the neighborhood

they peek out and test our scent
Goldie the ground squirrel
popping up from the rocks at the edge of the deck
the pair of pine grosbeaks
decorating the aspen before leaf-out
and the mountain chickadees
unabashedly evaluating a nest site
while I gawk five feet away

in mid-morning
violet-green swallows careen about the eaves
regardless of where we are
and any time we’re in the woods
the gray jays find us first

I try to strike up a conversation
introduce myself
but their eyes are on our palms
wondering whether we’re handout types

exactly 28 minutes after
hanging up the hummingbird feeder
I hear him pause midflight
I rush to the window
just in time to see him take a sip
seemingly not to his satisfaction
then he buzzes up a story
looks me in the face
as if to say
puh-lease!

we’ve seen deer tracks in the dirt
and woodrat scat in the shed
(beside the ripped-open recycling)
and this evening
a ball of sunset glow came trotting
down the hill to the east
lighting up the family room windows
jovial, unconcerned

we leapt up
and as if to put us in our place
the red fox squatted
marked her territory
and nonchalantly kept going down the road

we’re summer people, after all
unlikely to make friends
(despite our best efforts)
glad to settle for some
curious new acquaintances

photography

Gray Jays and Mountains

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Yesterday we went on a short hike up the road near our cabin, and we observed the first Gray Jays of the trip! These birds are very intelligent, familiar, and are actually the national bird of Canada! They are somewhat common at high elevations, and are also called Canada Jays and “camp robbers” because they have recognized campsites as sources of food and steal food from the occupants. Also during the day the clouds over the mountains parted and created apparent pools of light on the mountainsides. Here are the photos!

Gray Jays are very trusting, and this one flew up to the sundial on the deck right in front of me!
This jay took almost no notice of me, as it was busy foraging.
For some reason, this jay was did not seem to notice the sundial, which made me think that they are commonly seen here, even though this was our first sighting.
After perching on the sundial, the jay flew down to the snow and actively foraged for seeds.
In this photo, the jay was successful in finding some food.
We continuously have a wonderful view from the deck, but the soft light enhanced the photographic opportunities.
These mountains are unnamed, but you can see on the left the slope rising up to Homestake Peak.
The green blanket of forest transitions surprisingly quickly from dense trees to snow and rocks on the slopes of these mountains.
This is the most complete view of the mountains from the deck in this sequence, and you can see Homestake Peak on the left and a the trees near our cabin in the foreground.
jokes

6 June 2019 Joke of the Day

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highlight the black block to find the answer

Q: What’s green and has wheels?

A: Grass. (I lied about the wheels.)

poetry

eating apples

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some things are hard to swallow
thirty years believing
nothing was going down
all that ending
in daily chitchat
about nonsense

my grandfather
after his stroke
begging for ice
me not knowing
which was compassion
giving in or denying him

immune tonic
so vile I shake
each time I take a swig
sitting there on the shelf
through my coughing spell
an open challenge
I’m not ready to meet

the orange pills
that let me run
and keep my sight
but claimed my gut instead

our sweet son
grimacing at an apple
refusing to obey
his need to please

oh as antidote
to all the bitter herbs
stored in my little chest
I’m gonna chew on pine needles
and Old Man’s Beard
swallow big draughts
of sun and snow
wash them all down
with muddy meltwater
and the strong tea of tannin
make my own tincture
of silence and time
wait for the healing to come

photography

Birding and Errands (but mostly birding)

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Yesterday we went on a short walk on the Mineral Belt Trail. The trail provided many opportunities for birding and provided excellent views of Mountain Bluebirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Pine Siskins, and many more. Additionally, the birds around the cabin were particularly active, such as Violet-green Swallows fighting for food, and Mountain Chickadees visiting a potential nest site right on the deck! Here are some of the highlights.

For some reason, the Violet-green Swallows around the cabin all desire this one little ledge, and repeatedly fight for it. This one is holding on to the side of the apparent “prime real estate”.
It is extremely difficult to get good pictures of flying swallows, but as they landed frequently, I was able to acquire several good shots.
Mountain Chickadees are some of the most charismatic birds there are. One flew up on to the deck and perched on a hole right in front of me! We now think that there may be a nest located in that same hole.
Chickadees are also very noisy, and, despite their small size, their sound can carry far.
We did not just have birds for visitors; this is a Golden-mantled Ground-squirrel, one of the most common high elevation mammals.
This is a Dark-eyed Junco, a common winter bird, and one of the most variable bird species in the world. This is either a “Slate-colored” Junco or a “White-winged” Junco.
Pine Siskins are classic high-altitude finches. They look a lot like female House Finches, but the golden wing bars and the sharper bill separate them.
Pine Siskins usually inhabit, as their name suggests, pine forests, but this one was out of character and posed on an aspen.
Adult male Mountain Bluebirds are some of the most beautiful birds in Colorado. Their coloring is glacier blue getting darker on the wing and the head.
Mountain Bluebirds are rather skittish, and since the light was not favorable, I couldn’t get as good photos as I wanted to. However, the bluebird let me get a few.
This small bird is a White-crowned Sparrow. They are very common in the mountains, and are very trusting, allowing close views.
On the Mineral Belt Trail, there was a huge flock of these Brown-headed Cowbirds, maybe numbering in the forties or fifties. These birds are actually nest parasites, laying their eggs in other birds nests, and kicking out the other eggs.