days wind down

I am down to the last 2 days of work here along the Rio Grande doing bird surveys. Although I am tired of the hard work and hours we must keep, I am thoroughly enjoying my last days. The river that I was afraid to cross in May and June is now a pleasure to stroll in - shallow and cool - as we make our way from one end of our site to the other. It sure beats crashing through the Russian olive.

Yesterday, I came upon this Woodhouse toad sitting on a sandbar among some coyote willow. He sat there calmly as I dug through my pack for my camera. He didn't even seem too rattled by my "man-handling." On the other hand, I was thoroughly rattled when I almost stepped on a rattlesnake about one hour earlier. I didn't even consider taking HIS photo - you will just have to use your imagination!