Winter's Final Grasp

Every year, I make my winter trek down to Willcox or the Whitewater Draw and say good-bye to the Sandhill Cranes and Chestnut-collared Longspurs.  For some, this experience is comparable to a holiday or birthday celebration.

It's also my way of saying good-bye to winter.  It's hard to let go of the colder days knowing that those unbearable hotter ones are only a few months away. I now can sense when the migration is beginning to move. I can't explain it.  I can't plan it. I just know.  

I leave my car and listen carefully to the wind and focus on longspur titters in the grass

So I moved quickly on my day off to see the cranes one last time.  When I arrived, they swirled high above me.  Then......

......they began their descent all around me. Again, I can feel their patterns.  I can't plan it.  I just know the moment when they are going to do it.

  I am in sync with certain species while with others, I still have a long ways to go.

Their departure marks the end of winter and the beginning of our spring migration.  I am excited about what's to come, but I will miss these cold and windy days.  These are the days when I can play outside all day long and just enjoy the weather.

As we finish up with the AZ winter series over the next couple weeks, we'll begin a new chapter of exploration.  Stay tuned for more.....