January 27, 2005
It has continued to rain--according to my rain gauge, we've had over 2 inches already since January 1, which is quite a lot for a town that averages 12 inches all year. This morning when i went out to get the paper it was SO BEAUTIFUL! There was fog rising from the mountains and giving everything a soft look, like a watercolor. The cactus and other desert plants in our front yard were also pastel--a whole palette--and the mountains looked close enough to touch. The air was cool and filled with that great desert-y post-rainfall scent. Accents of bright color: a male cardinal on the phone line and a goldfinch on the ocotillo outside the bedroom window.

Meanwhile, back at the pond, I have gazillions of cardinals and pyrrhuloxia using the feeder in its new position. This afternoon a pyrrhuloxia flew to the place where the feeder used to be, and you could see the thought balloons over his head: "Whoa! Where are the seeds?" He looked around, up and down: "I could swear they were right here the last time I visited." He hopped out from under the porch roof, looked around, and then suddenly spotted the feeder and immediately flew to it.