tracks

A light snowfall two nights in a row revealed a recurring visitor to our back yard. Field mice had become a problem at the job site D was working at and rather than kill them he collected them in a live trap and transplanted 5 of them to our compost heap at the back of the garden, a very hospitable place for homeless mice - lots of food scraps and conveniently close to some bird feeders, and also warm if you dig deep enough. We noticed lately that something had been digging big holes in the compost over night. Sure enough the track told us that the"something" digging up the compost is a fox who has visited the back yard several times over the last two nights. Wonder if he got all the mice?

winter photos

We went for a walk this afternoon at around 4. It was rather cold, somewhere between 20 and 15, probably closer to 15 when we got back. The wind picked up in the park and from there on it was fairly bone-chilling. Glad to get home. Saw a few interesting things along the way- a peeling fence, ice crystals, melted snow and river tracks.

WINTER... SIGH

Note the temperature the other morning. We seem to be in a cold spell for the last week or so. But my paper whites are blooming so that's a bit of a cheering sight.

A few more shots of some winter clouds. High winds tend to make the wave clouds.

Snowmelt

Chinook winds came up yesterday driving the temperatures above freezing and causing the snow to start melting. The resulting pools of water mixed with slush presented some interesting reflections of the sunset sky, almost like abstract paintings.
If you are wondering what a chinook wind is, it's caused by adiabatic warming of downward moving air from the mountains producing a warm wind on the plains below. According to Wikipedia: "A popular myth is that Chinook (Indian word) means 'snow eater', as a strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels."
Today it is 60 degrees.

Tucson

Various interesting bits of Tucson, listed from top to bottom: San Xavier Mission; snake door handle at the mission; Lady of Guadalupe shrine with candles at the mission; Indian baskets; decorative tile samples at a tile maker in Tucson; thrasher singing in the back yard.

Catalina State Park in Tucson

Pictures from a hike at the park, from top to bottom: view of the mountains; mouse-eared saguaro; bird's nest in the cacti; the river vanishing into the sands in the park; the river at sunset; evening sun on the hills; cactus at sunset; me taking a picture.

On the Road Again

Some scenes from New Mexico, from top to bottom:
The river running through Hillsboro; a house in the same funky little art town of Hillsboro; road signs in town - the Geronimo Trail; prickly pear cactus clump along the way; an extinct cinder cone; a small falcon by the roadside.