Beaded Horse

Sarah had to make a stop at the Dona Ana courthouse where there was a beaded horse she wanted me to see. But first as soon as we got there I saw palm trees. First palm trees I had seen in about 10 years. The drought has taken it's tole on the palms as did a very hard freeze last spring. I had seen were lots of the palms hadn't survived but these had done well here. This is the biggest, fanciest county courthouse I have ever seen. The one where I live is very small and looks to be over a hundred years old. Makes me wonder how Dona Ana County can afford this new building.
The first horse we saw was right inside the building and is life size and beaded. Yes, beaded with those very, tiny, seed beads that the American Natives like to use to make jewelry. There was actually a picture made from the beads that showed the Rio Grande Valley going through Dona Ana County. There were lizards, roadrunner, an owl, on the horse made out of beads. It was very beautiful. That is me standing by it. Next we went upstairs and saw a horse made out of newspaper. Yes, I said newspaper. It was made by a grade school class to show that recycled newspaper can make some nice.

Climbers Climbin'

So it seems like we are in the middle of an extraordinary stretch of good weather for late April in the PNW. Some motivated people have been making the best of it and getting out for some really fun looking climbs. Rangers have been mostly in pre-season training and prep work so thanks to those who sent in some conditions updates and photos, we will continue to live vicariously through your reports until we hit the mountain full time in a couple of weeks. Check out recent beta on the Ingraham Direct, Fuhrer Finger, and Muir Snowfield posted in our conditions page.

Climber on the Fuhrer Finger - Photo by the Next Adventure crew

If you are heading up for any overnight stays on the mountain make sure you register for a permit. Self registration is still available all hours at the Paradise Old Station but the Climbing Information Center will be open this coming weekend May 4th and 5th from 8:00am to 3:00pm. Stop by to say hello, talk to a ranger and get any last minute info you need for your trip. Also remember if you are parking overnight at Paradise the overnight parking is in the lower parking lot. Please follow the signs to keep your car and wallet out of trouble.



For those of you wanting to access other areas of the park, it looks like Cayuse Pass (SR 410/123) will be opening this Friday May 3. Chinook pass is still a few weeks out so don't try to go to Yakima this way yet. The road to WR campground is still closed to vehicles but should be mostly clear for those who want to bicycle in for an Emmons climb.



For those of you who want to know if its sunny at 10,000' the Muir webcam is back in operation!

Where is Spring?

We had a couple of warm days so I have the erge to plant some seeds. I know it is way to early. But I did pick up a handfull of morning glory seeds at the store anyway. Altho it is warm I am sure it will turn cold again. March always had to throw another storm or two at us before it will allow Spring to arrive. My roses are starting to think about putting on leaves, and the flower buds on the trees are getting bigger each day. It will be so good to see green leaves on all the trees, and srubs, and plants again. In the mean time it is clouding up again. I guess it was just the barest of hints of the spring weather to come.

Late Summer Fog, Susie Islands

Susie Islands and fog in late August. Rock of Ages Lighthouse (part of Isle Royale National Park) can be seen in the distance on the horizon.

Maple Canopy

Taken along Rengo Road on the Grand Portage Reservation in Northeast Minnesota. The Maples were already past their peak but the trees along the road were still plenty beautiful. One nice thing about when the leaves begin to fall is that they usually fall from the tops of the trees first. This reveals glimpses of the blue sky above while the lower halves of the trees still have plenty of color. While most people are concerned only about when the peak will occur each year, I find every stage of autumn to be equally enjoyable.

Babies

The location of the Barn Swallow nests was a mystery this summer. The old nests were still there, but empty. (Had the European Starling cursed the building by hanging himself there?)

They visited regularly in the spring, to swoop down and carry off small chicken feathers for their nest building at an undisclosed site.

Suddenly this week, we have fledglings! There are about thirty of them, sitting on the wires or splashing down onto the pond to bathe in mid-flight. So cute!




Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica): the most wide-spread swallow, from Canada to South America, as well as Europe, Asia, and north Africa.

The juveniles have shorter tails than the adults, and are paler.

In other baby news, Shannon finally gave birth! So maybe she's through throwing up for a while.

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Interesting info on Barn Swallows, from someone who makes artificial nests for them.

More interesting stuff about other birds' nesting activity, from the same site.

Some great Barn Swallow photos.

Big Bend Revisited :: Boquillas Canyon Trail

Sunday, March 3rd - - On my last day at Big Bend, I decided to hike the Trail to Boquillas Canyon, going in mid-morning to avoid the heat that was coming later. It was forecast to get near 90 degrees today, the hottest day yet.





It is a short trail - only 1.4 miles round trip - but it takes you up a rather large hill, then back down the other side.





The trail provides some nice views. Blending into the distant landscape is the the town of Bouquillas. If you look closely you can see a few white buildings in the center of the photo, just beyond the green area. Actually, the town is not far from the Rio Grande Village area.





One of the many bends in the river. The man in the foreground was fishing. I wonder if he caught anything?





On my previous visit in February .. I had the pleasure of hearing "Victor, the singing Mexican" but he was on the other side of the river then. There were several bottles set out along the trail, asking for donations for singing. Some bottles were identified as Jesus, others as Victor. This man was standing beside one of the bottles identified as Victor but when I asked his name, he said Jesus! Anyway, while I was in the canyon area, I was being serenaded.






The path leads you to the river...





The canyon walls go straight up, and the river disappears around the bend.




It was cool in the canyon, but as I walked back out, I could feel the heat. It was indeed going to be a hot day and it felt good. A few of the buildings in the town of Boquillas can be seen in the far right corner of this photo. As always, double-click to view a larger version.

Campobello Island :: Sunset

Thursday, September 20th - - Another very nice day was coming to an end. I was driving around Campobello Island looking for a good spot from which to view the sunset. The weather had been as close to perfect as you can get for this time of year and clouds had developed in the western sky, foretelling of the rain that was forecast for tomorrow.





Do you see that streak of color on the left? I had seen something like that a few days before but had not been in a place where I could stop to photograph it. Today I was able to pull safely off the side of the road... It wasn't a rainbow since it wasn't raining and it certainly wasn't in the shape of a traditional rainbow. The streak of color remained in the sky for about 10 minutes then gradually faded away.



And the sunset? Oh, yes. It was magnificent. As an old man I spoke with the next morning put it "The sky just went ballistic!" He was so right. And the photos don't really do it justice.

















I couldn't resist taking a panoramic shot, which included the moon (that little white streak in the upper left-hand corner). You're gonna have to double-click the image to view a larger version.





I moved to a location a little further along the road for a slightly different viewpoint. A few minutes later the color had disappeared from the sky.



My one day on Campobello Island was
almost over. The next day (Friday, September 21st) I would travel
west, back to Belfast, where I would spend 3 days with my cousin
Anita (my dad and her mother were brother and sister) and her husband
Tom. We got caught up on everything since my
previous visit 3 years ago. We talked about so many things during
our time together, reminiscing about our younger days and discussing
various family members (both living and dead). Yes, it was a very
good visit. Thank you, Tom and Anita! I treasure the time we had
together.

Stream and Flowers