Life on the High Plains

I'm spending some time in the Arizona desert with my daughter and her family this week.  While they're all at work or school I've been exploring some of the trails located in the midst of the city. Yesterday I wandered over to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert.  The preserve was created in 1999 by the city of Gilbert to combine water resources, wildlife habitat, educational programs and recreational opportunities.  It covers 110 acres including 70 acres of seven water basins. I was there to explore some of its 4.5 miles of trails.  I'm always amazed to find water and lush vegetation in the middle of the desert. The parking lot was full when I arrived so I circled the lot for awhile before I noticed a small sign that said additional parking was available at the library that was only a block away.  The trails were beautifully maintained and despite being in the midst of a metropolitan city I didn't encounter too many people. I didn't make it by all t...

In February we were in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics.  Most of our time was spent at the various events, but we did take one day to enjoy the city's culture. The one landmark that can't be missed in Milan is the Duomo.  It's the largest Roman Catholic church in Italy.  (Before you tell me that St. Peter's Basilica is the largest, remember that it's located in the Vatican.) Construction on the Duomo began in 1386 and it wasn't finished until 1965!  This is the Gold Madonna at the top of the tallest spire. This church is so large that my camera couldn't capture its entirety.  It's the fifth largest Roman Catholic Church in the world. Can you tell the architecture style? Yep, definitely Gothic with those pointed arches. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside.  All the marble came from one quarry--the Candoglia Quarry.  To this day, the Duomo has exclusive use of the marble from that quarry.  It's still needed for repairs and renovations...

We're at that time of year when there can be big weather fluctuations here on the high plains of Colorado. This was last Friday.  We were supposed to get a trace to two inches of snow.  We ended up with six inches.  Predicting the weather along the front range of the Rockies can be difficult.  The unexpected moisture was more than welcome as we are experiencing drought this winter. By Monday the snow was melted and we were once again in high fire danger warnings because of the high winds and dry conditions.  We decided to go check out a trail we had only visited once before.  Maisy is always happy to go on an adventure. There were a couple geocaches along the way that my hubby had to check out.  I waited patiently on the trail while he went prodding and poking in the dead snag to find the cache.  This is the time of year those rattlesnakes are waking up and I wasn't about to venture into the "bush". An old, worn down bridge along the way. Looking ...

Back in 2019 my husband decided our pasture needed a raptor roost. (Here's a link to my original post about the building of the raptor roost:   Irv's Raptor Roost ) Every summer since then we've had a pair of Swainson's hawks show up in the spring to rebuild their nest and lay eggs.  We've even had a few babies.   We've been keeping an eye on the nest because it's about time for the hawks to return from Argentina.  We were quite surprised last weekend to see that someone else has made their home on the roost. Some very distinguishable ears were poking out. She was keeping a very good eye on us while we were out there working on the pole.  Thankfully she stayed in the nest and didn't fly away. My husband received a bat house a few months ago and it was time to put it up. Yes, there were safety issues with the ladder setup. Underside of the nest.  The pair has done a good job of fortifying the nest.  One of Colorado's infamous hail storms would...