The Landscape of Bosque del Apache

After seeing a sampling of the wildlife to be found here, I thought I'd also show you what the place is like.

The fields of stubble are where farmers are paid to plant crops just for the birds to eat during the winter. Some fields are left alone, others are mowed but the grain and straw left in the field. In either case, the birds get food to over winter here and it clearly works. The farmers get paid and the birds get fed.

There is a kind of beauty here even in the very early spring before the trees are green. The colors are more subtle, but they are rich and inviting.

Across the fields we see mountains in the distance in their shades of blue and purple. And if you look closely, you can just make out a truck or two on I-25 out in the dry parched rolling hills of the desert. Once away from the Rio Grande and the water it brings to this section of ponds and lakes, you are back to the desert quickly.

The golden grain stubble and the blue sky make the scenery striking even if all there to see is a bare tree.