We awoke this morning to the call of a Common Paraque, a furtive desert bird that I’ve rarely seen but often heard. This one was in a tree just outside the Airstream but when I went out, barefooted with a flashlight, it flew off and all I got was bruised feet from the sticks and pebbles. Here’s a shot – not mine – of this elusive bird.

Penny and I took our normal early morning walk, just at daybreak, and wandered through the nearly-deserted campground. Many of the folks who stay here all winter have moved on (we leave Monday for another park.)

A pack of coyotes, not far off, started some wild howling, which always gets Penny’s attention. She listens but has no inclination to join her cousins.

The sunrise on our walk was spectacular, developing as we moved along, resulting in this scene as we neared the finish.

Just then, four cottontails pranced out into the roadway, freezing on the asphalt when they saw us. Not exactly Mensa candidates. Penny did her stalking routine and nearly pulled my arm off when they ran. As we got to our site, our resident Curved-bill Thrasher greeted us. It will be singing most of the day.

It’s sweatshirt and shorts weather this morning but will get into the mid-70’s later on. We are finally getting some normal Texas weather after a cool damp February.