Moving On:

In this, our last week, we prepare to get “on the road again” with anticipation flavored by nostalgia for the Aplomado Falcons and the dynamic open spaces they now consider home. (OK, the anticipation is mostly Erv’s and the wistful nostalgia mine.)
The falcons have become increasingly self sufficient and this week are fed on an every-other-day schedule. We use “off” days to work on photographs and reports for the Peregrine Fund summarizing our experiences and the falcon’s development. We’ve also taken time to pamper ourselves with a restorative soak in one of Truth or Consequences’ hot springs and to explore more of the ranch delighting in a “find” of petrified wood and checking out the “big house,” Ted Turner’s understated ranch house which blends well into the environment. I was particularly drawn to a Spanish-era door there.
Next week we return to Socorro where Erv will tend to his Tracker (sorely abused by multiple trips on ranch roads) while I reconnect with family in Albuquerque, then drive to Big Bear Lake, CA to savor mountains and present our Bald Eagle and Sandhill Crane programs. We’ll start up the blog again in October from our volunteer post at Laguna Atascosa NWR in southeast Texas near the gulf coast. Please join us there!
I’ve enjoyed being “blogmaster” from the Armendaris and hope to have given you a taste of the challenges and pleasures we’ve experienced here. Please share your feedback and comments via email: sjnoll@msn.com.