Walking Along the Rio Grande

It was an interesting day today, starting with an early morning balloon launch. The balloons took off from a park down the street. At one point, it appeared as if they were being blasted by some strong gusts of wind, which would make sense as we had a fierce storm move in later in the afternoon. I counted nine balloons, but a few were already on their way north toward Corrales before I noticed them outside.

The little birds ate ferociously this morning. They always do when a storm is coming. They are mini barometers. I go through twice as much bird seed when storms are moving in. Then, they fluff their feathers so they look like little feather balls.

As the storm moved in this afternoon, we took a walk along the Rio Grande. We came to a farm with some funny looking birds. They look like a cross between a pheasant and a chicken, but they have clown faces. I counted 29 of them sitting on the wooden fences, watching us walk by.

There was also a beautiful black horse in the field. He walked over to the fence and let me pet his face. He was gentle and sweet, and when I took his picture, I would swear he was smiling.

The Rio Grande was stunning. It seems to be running a bit low. I watched the ducks and geese as they swam through the water, but occasionally, one would stop and stand up--a fairly good indication that water levels are low. After awhile, though, it started to rain, which is always a good sign. I'm surprised by how many dead trees I'm seeing in this area, though. I'm not sure if it's due to last year's drought or a pine disease. Either way, it's very sad.