A more astute observer would figure out immediately that this image was not captured this year.

Since the little maskless heeler's panic run and subsequent four days and nights alone in the wintry desert last February, and her recovery solely because of the blaze orange bandanna she was wearing, neither heeler is out and about in the country any more without her bandanna.

So. This is the masked heeler, wandering through a Stipa and larkspur patch alongside our western breeding bird route last June. The patch was still there this year, but the blooms much less dense and impressive.

If all the rain we've been receiving in the past week or so had arrived a month sooner, things might have been similar out there in the desert. As it is, we're quite happy to accept the rain now, even if a little late.