An hour in, we can finally see.
Many days in the forest, birds blur at the edge of our peripheral vision, nothing discernible except “small,” maybe “brown.”
Now, sitting in a grove of ponderosa pines on Armijo Trail, nuthatches resolve into focus. Once they do, we see them everywhere: sailing from tree to tree, corkscrewing up and down trunks. We identify their testy chirps.
“Small” will resolve itself at other points today into woodpeckers, two sparrows in a spindly pinon, a flicker brushing a ponderosa’s crown.
Butterflies emerge, too: the orange and pink of painted ladies, swallowtails highlighted blue and black. Tassel-tailed Abert’s squirrels wrap around tree trunks, gallop up the trail like dogs.
When we began this hike, along Cienega Trail’s spring, a riot of wildflowers attracted so many butterflies it was tough to zero in on any one.
Before I could see anything, I had to hear. How a grumpy person’s heavy footfalls on a rocky trail sound just like grumbling.
I’ve had a low-grade grouch on all week – exactly the amount of time since our last soaking rain. Exactly the amount of time since the humidity rose and some of this year’s epic grass pollen washed away.
Building above the ponderosas: the kind of towering cloud that could make something happen. Ten, 20, 30 percent chance – these numbers mean little in monsoon season. It will rain when it will rain.
Until then, the abundance of this year’s growing things burn my eyes – but I can see.
Hike length: 5 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Wildlife spotted/heard: woodpeckers, nuthatches, flicker, sparrows, lizard, butterflies, cicadas, Abert’s squirrels
Trail traffic: busy at trailhead, none for the first half of the hike
Woman Seeks Elevation 