New Mexico Rains

Rain falls in New Mexico quite strangely. Sometimes I can smell it, but don't see it. Usually it rains lightly or very heavily for short periods of time. We almost never have a good old fashioned thunder storm like Texas gets.

This evening, rain came from seemingly nowhere. We heard the rain, and looked out to see sunshine and blue sky.

Our front yard, however, revealed a gray sky.

We see rainbows pretty frequently here in the summer.

But my favorite rainbows are the ones that arch over the mountains.

Another New Friend

As I sat out on my back porch this afternoon enjoying another summer day, I spotted an unfamiliar bird. He stayed just long enough for me to go inside and grab my camera! My bird watching friend and son helped me identify him as a ladder-backed woodpecker looking for insects. I hope he finds some next time and stays around a little longer.