National Park Diary: Last Day of Leisure Before Beginning Work

Silly me - scoffing at the 2-3 day prediction of 50% rain here at Big Bend! Today I prepped to hike the Hot Springs trail but somehow the Weather Channel managed to make their prediction come true. I was only about 1.5 miles into my hike when it began raining. Darn! I was really psyched to hike today.

Oh well, I took a few pictures then went home, put on my new flannel shirt and sweat pants and hunkered down with Zuni to read, watch TV and wait for the rain to go away. Daisy and Steve (my counterparts in the backcountry) arrived today. As experienced Big Ben volunteers they were amazed to not see the Chisos mountains as they drove the many miles into the park and agreed they had never seen everything look so green.

Cactus and grey skies.

Blackhawk nest from this earlier year. Maybe they will use it next spring, too.

Fall colors appearing and monthly irrigation begins.

I think these are mergansers, but they were very wary and I could not get close enough for a truly positive ID.

A hawk keeping an eye on the mouse hunting scene.

To me this looks like a bone embedded in limestone, but Steve and Daisy say that sometimes plant roots look like them, too.

I was hiking in an area where I've seen owls and hope one day to see the resident bobcat. Whoever the hunter this was definitely the site of the demise of some birdie.