backyard wildlife

We are having a very wildlife-filled summer, mainly due to the drought and fire. I admit I have my preferences with animals -- I like the night snake in our raspberry patch, even when it slides ticklishly over my bare toes when I water, but I don't like worrying about Maya encountering a bear in our yard.  Not that we've had many bears come by, but enough to keep me on alert.

We've had a lot of deer and elk too.  They mostly stay outside our fence, preferring the empty lot behind us.  When they do come in, Maya takes her job of barking at them very seriously.  Her brave defense of our garden almost makes up for all the plants she playfully smashed immediately after I planted them (I guess I seemed to be having so much fun with them, she wanted to give it a try too).

Deer leaving our back lot to go check out the neighbor's yard.

At dusk, a hummingbird family always stops by.  First it was a pair, but now a littler bird accompanies them.  I don't know much about hummingbird families, or about how long the babies stay in their parents' territory, but the relationship seems clear.

Lots of other birds too -- finches, sparrows, jays, flickers, an acorn woodpecker, a family of robins, a pair of beautiful tanagers, ravens who like to tease Maya.

Besides the night snake, we have lots of western terrestrial garter snakes.  I am fond of snakes, though I have been putting a lot of effort into making sure Maya does not learn to reflexively chase them.  I don't want her to be as stupid about snakes as she already is about running mammals (such as mountain lions, bears, and squirrels). 

Our garter snakes are sweet and shy, and smile at me from their hiding spots in our rock wall.

back home

Since coming back home, Maya has done this:

 

And a lot of this:

When she is not sleeping (which is to say, any time I walk around the house) she follows me around with a big, goofy grin on her face.  I think she's at least as happy to be home as I am.

It's just as well she's so sleepy, since there is nothing to do here.  All hiking trails are closed, and there is enough smoke in the air that strenuous activity outside would be a bad idea.  At least all that smoke makes for beautiful sunsets.

The red color is mostly the effect of sunset on the smoke.  But as the sky gets darker, the ridge line glows orange and red with leaping flames.  This fire isn't done yet, even if it is pushed back.  In a way, I like being able to see it.  Because it had such a profound effect on my week, and will continue to change everything here for a long time, there is some satisfaction in meeting it face-to-face.

Even with fire on the horizon, it is good to be home.

stir crazy

I am going just a little bit nuts.  Which is normal.  I tend to handle crises with reasonable calm during the most acute parts, but the day after day of uncertainty, emotional roller-coasters, and general upheaval eventually get to me.  In particular, it drives me crazy to have nothing productive to do, no routine to fall back on, and no opportunities to just go out and hike.  Most of our favorite places are on fire, the rest are closed, and the air is filled with so much smoke that being outside is difficult, so I feel extraordinarily confined.  Well, that and the effects of the stress of the past few days -- thinking we might not have a home anymore, or a town anymore, and not quite knowing what to do while we waited to find out.

The good news is that we have a home and we will get to go back to it sometime.  Even better, there are no reports of casualties or injuries, in spite of the massive scope of this fire.  So I am just trying to let the frustration and anxiety wash through me, reminding myself that this is normal, and figuring out ways to work around it.

Links to photos of the fire, our town, and the beautiful places we live near.

Las Conchas Fire photos from The Big Picture

Las Conchas photos from the Albuquerque Journal

Oh, and we saw Maya today.  I didn't pack enough food for her extended stay in the kennel, so I picked up a fresh bag to drop off.  She look relaxed and happy, but I didn't linger where she could see me -- too distressing for her to have us visit and then leave again.  I miss her more than I can put into words.