Desert Oasis at the CE Miller Ranch

With the recent rains, 2015 is starting out wonderfully!  As one friend stated, “Everything is blooming except the rocks!”   In April, a botanist/plant ecologist from Texas Parks and Wildlife and a land snail researcher from the University of New Mexico were here for several days, and it was exciting to see two men so enthusiastic  about their jobs and what they were finding on the ranch.

The cattle are fat and happy, with lots of little Hereford and Angus calves making us laugh with their antics.  With the return of the mice, kangaroo rats, rabbits and other small mammals, the owls, hawks, and eagles have come back to enjoy the pickings on the ground and the skies above the ranch.  This week we have also seen Short-eared Owls and Burrowing Owls out in the flats.  Even though there are many plants blooming everywhere, the Black-chinned Hummingbirds are still coming to the feeders.   Orchard Orioles and Blue Grosbeaks have joined all the other little birds in the yard.  Jody has made sure over the years that this yard is an oasis for the birds!