Fall has arrived!

I could feel the wind pick up yesterday during my hike. This morning I woke up to the mountains shrouded in dark clouds. Bobby our orange tabby was outside meowing, so I let him in as I drank my coffee and went over my photographs from yesterday. I could hear the wind howl. I love fall in southern Arizona. Things come to life!

I didn't take the dogs out until 1pm, taking all four dogs including Sammy. Sammy hadn't been out in the woods all week and he needed his turn. Sadly. my camera battery had died after only 20 shots and 1/4 mile into the hike. This was perhaps fine for Sammy who still got to sniff the dead grass, but not fine for the other hiking dogs. I turned around and went home. The battery is so old now that it dies out too fast. It had registered as fully charged before I left for the hike.

There was another hike scheduled for 3pm that Ryan was leading on the meet-up group, a 3+ mile loop hike along the San Pedro House and the river. Lidia and Jim were also on this hike. I met Lidia two months ago and really hit it off with her. She's about my age and works as a contract nurse for the military. Next week she is moving to San Antonio for four more months, so I may not see her again. She is a fascinating woman who loves the outdoors, especially birds. She is a small woman of 4'9" who appears so tiny standing next to Ryan

We didn't see any birds today. The one blue heron we caught was spooked by Minnie jumping into the water. It flew away before any one of us could capture it on film. We didn't see any owls in the trees, either, although we heard one toward the end of our loop hike.

The Huachuca mountains were in clouds all day. The storm that was overhead seemed to get more intense by 4pm creating a beautifully haunting backdrop to my photos. The trees are losing their leaves, but there are a few cottonwoods with canopy leaves still on top. But no doubt in two weeks the trees along the river will be naked again.

Minnie stayed close-by, but she always had a stick in her mouth. I had her leash around my neck, making sure she wouldn't chase anything, but as long as I held a stick for her, her attention was on that stick. She never noticed the white-tailed deer prancing in the nearby field.

This loop went around two ponds before returning to the trail head. I had not been on this walk in years! This is normally a popular birding route, but perhaps the dark clouds were a deterrent today. Recent rains have filled the ponds quite well, and one could see where the overflow water had gone. Beavers are known to be very active in this area as well. This was a mud pit, I'm sure, during the September rains. Things are drying up again. The river is returning to its pre-flood levels.

We hiked a path along the river that last half mile, but we picked up our pace because the gate to the San Pedro House closes at dusk. That means around 5pm now, especially with dark overcast skies. We were back at our cars at 5pm. Lidia was on call starting at 6pm, so we made no plans for an after-hike beer in town.

Thus ended a thrilling three days of fun. A cold front is due in overnight, dropping daytime temperatures starting tomorrow by 20 degrees, with highs in the mid 60s. I welcome the change.