Lush

Indian Paintbrush

"Lush" isn't a word used very often in reference to a desert--even a high desert.  But a two-hour hike along the Bridal Veil Falls Trail this morning proved otherwise.  Due to an abundance of precipitation in recent weeks, the landscape at an elevation of 6500-to-7000 foot was overgrown with plant life.  There were even grasses 18" to 24" tall.  Today we barely beat the rain back to the Jeep, getting showered upon for the last one hundred feet of our trek.

Thick grass growing by Fresnal Creek

Looking into the Tularosa Basin

White Sands National Monument

Temporary increase in elevation

Heading down canyon

Rich red earth in the inner gorge

Descending toward the gorge

A desert plant called Fairy Duster

Fairy Duster

Don't know what these little beauties are

Rufous-sided Towhee

?

Juniper berries (deer love them; they're poisonous for humans)

Ever closer to the inner gorge

Sacramento Mountains Prickly Poppy

You can see why it's called Prickly Poppy (look at those leaves)

Flower of the Apache Plume

Berries of the Creeping Barberry

Cottonwoods growing along Fresnal Creek

Fields of tall grass were everywhere

More Indian Paintbrush (it was growing all over the area)

Could be a female Rufous-sided Towhee

Racing the Rain

Trying to beat the rain on the Grand View Trail

Since we had an 80% chance of precipitation this morning Dr. K, Becca and I hightailed it over to the Grand View Trail to get in a quick hike.  Only got spat on a little.  Drove down the mountain to the Brewer's convenience store at Stone Corner to pick up staples (beer) and back without getting rain.  Used the weed eater to cut grass and weeds all around our property without getting any precip.  At 1 p.m. when Dr. K took Becca up the drive for a short walk they got rained on a bit.  Still no significant wet stuff.  Perhaps it will come later.

White Sands in the valley below

I swear there's something out there

Pinyon/Juniper forest

Having a sit-down in the Rails-to-Trails ramada

This Sotol is twice my height

Sotol flower stalk

Closeup of Sotol blossoms

Sand Verbena

So far only a drop or two has fallen on us

I'll bet these cabin owners have a heck of a view

Hard to believe cactus can grow out of rock like this

Hedgehog Cactus growing out of rock

Chamisa (aka Rabbitbrush)

I thought these might be Cinquefoil, but I don't know what they are

Not shiny enough to be Buttercups

Flower of the Coyote Gourd

Some of the neighborhood gang show up for petting

Lowdown on the High Country

Little fella Ocotillos

Becca and I did a quick hike in the low desert before heading home to shower (me, not her), pack and head to the high country with Dr. K.  It's a lot cooler up here, but still humid, and rain is possible.  We got 3.15 inches since we were last here two weeks ago.  Because of the precip, though, we have yard work to do.  No rush on it, however, because we're spending five days in the mountains.

Trudging along in the high humidity

Loggerhead Shrike

Rain encourages growth of the Devil's Claw (see the ominous shadow?)

Two aliens we encountered on the trail

Becca near the pumphouse in High Rolls, NM

Rain seems a distinct possibility

Dr. K and Becca on our narrow driveway

I ID'd this ground cover last year, but I don't recall what it is

Railroad ties in our drive, meant to keep you from going over a cliff

Clouds building over the Sacramento Mountains

Sweet Peas growing in our yard

Whew!

Which angle would you assign to this slope?

The sun was out full-bore this morning, and, boy, did we feel it.  Plus it was humid as all get out.  We had a nice steady rain early yesterday evening, and then it rained some more overnight.  A steady breeze would have made conditions more bearable, but there was barely a breath of wind in the desert, making for the exact kind of weather I tolerate least.

It's a lot less steep on the foothills trail

Marlboro Country

A very large Ocotillo resplendent in greenery

That's a Roadrunner in the Yucca

Becca doesn't see it yet

There it goes--almost too fast to photograph

Now she sees it!

A late-blooming Cholla

Same pose as above, different Ocotillo

Desert Cottontail hightailing it