We stopped in to the local Benedictine monastery on our way to Bisbee the other day. Mostly because it looked like an interesting place and the sign said Visitors welcome. Also (and I know there are some who will appreciate the concept) there was a sign saying Thrift Shop.
The shop, alas, was not open, though I did pick up half a dozen books at the sale table in the reading room.
There were a couple of interesting walks around the place. We were lured in by the sight of ...... peacocks. And peahens. Just what you'd expect to find in the middle of the desert.
And we've been on a bird jag ever since. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at the Whitewater Draw Nature Conservation area, winter home to 40,000 sandhill cranes. And a few other birds. We caught them in a between-meal moment, just hanging out and chatting with each other. You'd think 40,000 cranes chatting would be loud and obnoxious, but actually it was kind of.... well, soothing. Like water running in the background.
We also saw one of the thousands of hawks that winter here. I'm sure I recognized this one -- he hung over our hill a lot last summer.
There are, as we'd been led to expect, a gazillion kinds of birds in the southwest. So far, we've seen three roadrunners at relatively close range, but not when either of us had a camera to hand. There's a Gila woodpecker that hangs out around Birdsong Ranch where we're staying which I've been unable to capture either. However, I had better luck with a couple of others.
Phoebe
George
There are others, but they'll have to wait. It's 5:45, there's hardly any light and it's hovering around 7 degrees. I know. It's colder in Canada and I'll quit whining now.
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