Category Archives: Roadrunner

Wait For It!   

Spring is on the Way

February 10, 2026

One of my virtues is impatience ……. when it comes to Spring ….. and its arrival ….. finally. 

Admittedly, winter has its perks. After a long, hot summer and fall, winter’s crisp air is a mood lifter, and cooler air temps allow for cozy sleeping under piles of blankets. Longer nights mean my favorite constellations hang in the sky longer, and somehow the moon always seems brighter and friendlier. In New Mexico, winter hiking about is more casual without having to watch every step for rattlesnakes, and certainly any snowfall we’ve been fortunate enough to get helps recharge water tables, tempers our risk of wildfire, and is absolutely beautiful to watch while falling. 

But ….. since Winter Solstice and with daytime hours lengthening, I’m ready for Spring. And the closer it gets, my impatience for the upcoming change in season is obvious. My nature journal, pencils and 10x magnifying loop are packed and ready, each daily hike begins by plucking from a yucca one of last year’s flower stalks to poke the ground for signs of growth, and I’m anxious to snap photos of any passing migrating bird or resident roadrunner in search of a perfect nesting spot.

Meanwhile, I’m thankful for my late winter attack of impatience, because it get’s me out there every day, in anticipation of the first flower bud!

As always, Thanks for stopping by!

June “Littles” ….. a buzzy, buggy, snake-y month

June was hot, Hot, HOT

Two-page spread with 14 June Littles + Flambé

June was dry, Dry, DRY

Close-up

June was the month of bugs (from the big tarantula hawk wasps, to the microscopic gnats), withering flowers, disappearing birds, and snakes! We seemed to encounter an extraordinary number of snakes this month, including gopher (bull) snakes, diamondback rattlesnakes, patch nose snakes, garter snakes, and one very scary prairie rattlesnake. Read on for that story.

Another close-up

Luna and the Prairie Rattler! Our scariest encounter was with a 3-foot prairie rattlesnake right in our front courtyard. One day he had crawled out from the shade of a blue spruce to warm up in the morning sun. It was Luna that had changed his demeanor from placid to pissed off. Prairie rattlers don’t typically alert trespassers; that’s the secret to their hunting success, and Luna didn’t recognize the danger. She began sniffing around and unintentionally violated his personal space. The snake responded by instantly coiling and violently rattling his tail. The noise seemed deafening and was definitely alarming. As I came running to Luna’s rescue, Roy noticed the commotion and quickly arrived with snake stick and bucket in hand. By this time the snake had backed into a corner, furiously rattling, but was relatively easy to capture. Snake temporarily out of the way, we then carefully checked Luna for signs of snake bite (none detected! Lucky Luna).

Another close-up
Another close-up

Now back to the snake in bucket. It had taken less than 30 seconds for Roy to capture and slip him into the 5 gallon bucket. It was then that I was able to take my first photos, from a respectable distance just in case the snake decided to leap clear of the bucket!. If looks could kill, well ………….. About 15-20 photos later, the bucket lid was secured in place, and we took the snake for a little ride about a mile from home where he was carefully released in an uninhabited area, unharmed.

After release

Again, a big shout-out to “Made by Fay” for the inspiring “Littles” idea!   Stay tuned for the next installment of “Littles.” 

July 27, 2023