About the Image(s)

Since buying our ranch in mid-2015 we’ve worked to restore the land after it had been neglected and overgrazed. Upon moving in, the main house was surrounded by many decks and structures, so we have worked not only to get native grasses back in the pastures — instead of mustard and thistle -- but also to remove much of the man-made clutter. No where is this more evident than in what is now the north garden. Where the previous owners had built an ugly deck over the septic tank (which then failed as they never pumped it in 15 years,) I now have a lovely, somewhat overgrown, bird sanctuary. We have confirmed sightings of 58 different species of birds ranging from tiny Alan’s Hummingbirds and Bewick’s Wrens to our 8 different raptors species and the wild turkeys that make daily pilgrimages in the summers to drink from the bird baths.
This Black Phoebe, while not one to partake in the the seed offerings in the north garden, approves of the reversions we have enacted. We have several in residence feeding off the insects in the pastures. Unlike our hundred-plus barn swallows though, the phoebes are birds-in-residence living year-round at Purgatory.

Processing: cropped and tweaked the highlights a bit.