Bosque del Apache Crane? Festival

Yesterday afternoon, my parents and I headed south to the Bosque del Apache. They had never been, and I wanted a chance to see how many cranes were in town for the festival. Well, we had an interesting time watching the smoke from a large controlled burn close to Soccoro; as well as, the thousands of Snow Geese. The cranes stay the night on the northern edge of the bosque. While we were waiting for them to make their nightly fly-in, I had fun watching the surface of the lake reflecting the fire's cloud, smoke, and a wonderful tree in the middle of the water.

We did pay our tariff for the day, and as I was waiting for change, I noticed the sign beside the toll booth window. Geese, both Canadian, and Snow were a very large amount. Sorry, I am a victim of my own age, and can't remember the tally. However, I was really concentrating on 2 statistics: cranes, and the Bald Eagle. Well, the number for the cranes was a mere 4,000+, and 1 for the eagle. I was slightly disappointed in both categories.

First I live in Los Lunas, near 2 huge, and I do mean huge, dairies. The result is there are several fields in the area. Where there's cows, there's corn. Where there's corn, there's cranes. Wa-hoooooo. I must admit there aren't as many cranes in the fields as there were last year, and I don't have a clue as to why. However, can you guess...there are more than 2,000+. Okay, so it's not 4,000+, but they are accessible to me all day long. I don't have to wait for evening for them to fly in because I can't see where they are during the day. I can watch them whenever I want to. Morning, noon, or evening before they fly out for the night. Wonder upon wonder, they're right back again the next day, all day. Of course, for photogs, early morn, and early evening are the best shooting times. Me, I love spending time with them whatever time I feel like it. YEA!

What I don't get to see as often, and thankfully I do sometimes, is see the Snow Geese. This photo does give you some idea of the population at the bosque. What you don't get a sense for is the incredible noise these critters make. At times it's almost deafening.

They are beautiful though aren't they.

I just wanted to share this photo with you. These guys are landing with the sun behind them, and their feathers are translucent in the sun. I am so grateful that God is so good to allow me to capture shots like this one.

Here's a parrot that I caught during our evening meal. LOL.

and, I thought you might enjoy seeing the ducks.

I thought you might enjoy a photo of the geese as they trip,trip,trip across the water before their wings can break them free from gravity.

Cranes, geese, ducks, parrots, and now for one last animal, the iron horse:

What a great day!

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to trapse across some of the beauties that the Monzanos has to offer. What a delightful day, not to warm, nor cold. As Goldie says, it was just right. While it was a joy to abide for a time among the bright colors, just a few miles down the road the sights weren't as pleasant. This past spring, fire ravenged the woodland leaving nothing but the charred remains. Last Oct. I snapped a beautiful spot on the road that serves as my logo for my cards. That location in that condition no longer exists. But hope springs as the first peekings of new growth was evident as we made our way up the blackened mountainside. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we were rewarded with this saved retreat. Just 2 miles down from this site another blessed area retained its beauty and grandure, Inlow Camp. So many people across the state prayed for the safety of this campground, and I added in the top of the mountain. My heart soared as I scooted my boots through these gorgeous colors of fall once again still in its pristine condition. Thank You Lord for Your Goodness.