Side Arroyo Saturday

Yellow flowers still dominate

Dr. K, Willow and I descended LDR-A arroyo, crossed northward across the Tellbrook, and did yet another exploration of the many side arroyos in the area; it's one of our favorite hikes, especially revered by Willow because she has a lot of sandy places to lie down in the shade.  We carry water with us so we all can stay hydrated, but now that the temperature has begun to fall it's not such a necessity.  Good outing today.

Long view of Tortugas and the Organs from LDR-A

This & next:  Sacred Datura

Willow in arroyo

Another side arroyo

Mushroom, hedgehog and prickly pear

Yet another side arroyo

Hairy False Goldenaster

Yellow flowers and tree

 

Vax Day

Say's Phoebe with bed hair

Dr. K, Willow and I did a regular hike this morning on a pleasant start to the day, weather wise; sunny in the low 60s when we set off from the trailhead.  Good exercise before we headed home, showered, and left for Walgreens for our yearly flu and Covid vaccinations.  We had made appointments, and, fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long to get called in for the shots.

This & next:  hill east of LDR-A

This & next:  Curve-billed Thrasher with yucca leaf shadow

Desert Marigold

Twins in Desert Marigold flower

Black-throated Sparrow

This & next:  Willow among flowers

 

House finches on yucca bayonets

This & next:  slightly different perspectives on same scene

Ragleaf Bahia, I think

Blackfoot Daisies

Roadrunner Redux

Flora and mountains

The morning weather was nice for a regular route hike; Dr. K, Willow and I weren't even overly hot by the time we finished the trek.  We saw no other nature enthusiasts while we were out there today.  The best part of the trek was the roadrunner we encountered early on in LDR-A arroyo; it preceded us by a few yards while we descended the arroyo, at times stopping at the side of the sand to check us out.

This & next 2:  Roadrunner hanging close to us

Yellow blooms

4210 hill, Tortugas and the Organs

Br'er roadrunner

Desert Unicorn-plant

Wils in sand

The base of 4210 hill is covered in yellow flowers

 

Superbloom

1st 2:  bee on our windshield this morning

A bit warmer this morning for Dr. K, Willow and me on the daily trek.  Not long after starting off we heard, and then saw, the Basset People and their hounds.  A bit later we saw the guy with the SUV EV and his dog driving north up the long dirt road.  When we were nearly finished with our hike we saw them heading south toward Tellbrook, finished with their outing.  Just as we were leaving we spotted the Pickup-Truck-Lady's pickup at the Tellbrook/Sonoma Ranch parking area.

From here to the Doña Ana Mountains

Velvety Nerisyrenia

Amaranth

Willow on gravel

Hill east of the left branch arroyo

Yellow superbloom

Last 2:  Curve-billed Thrasher on yucca stalk

 

Tuesday Trio

1st 2:  Western Wood-Pewee I think

Dr. K, Willow and I did half a hike this morning due to other obligations; Dr. K had to meet with a League of Women Voters member and I had to go shopping.  The timing of Dr. K's meeting determined how long we could spend in the desert today.  No worries, though.  We got to see the things necessary for a successful outing, including what may well have been a Western Wood-Pewee, a bird I've never photographed before.

Still flowering

Soaptree Yuccas

Still green

Last 2:  Amaranth