Lower Desert Again

Southwest of Tortugas

Dr. K, Willow and I were back in the lower desert this morning, dressed to ward off the chill, but enjoying the sunshine.  Still a bit windy in our section of northern Chihuahuan Desert, but not as bad as the overnight wind nor the all-day blast we experienced on Thursday at the cabin the result of which was a lengthy power outage that sent us back down the mountain.

The Wilster

Looking back at the way we came

A lot of yellow still on 4210 hill

Willow and Dr. K on a chilly morning

West of 4210 hill

Ocotillo leaves showing their age

 

In a Rut

This bull elk was making a racket bugling this morning

When I took Willow out for her morning business meeting we heard a bull elk bugling and bellowing loudly.  I spotted him and quite a few cows out in a grassy area across the valley from us.  Took a few pics of him and the girls.  Later Dr. K, Willow and I did a hike in the forest near the cabin following our regular route.  Afterward Dr. K and I drove down to Alamogordo to dump some garbage, buy groceries at Lowe's Signature Market, and put gas in Red the CR-V before heading back up the mountain.

One of the cows in his entourage

Elk cows

High on juniper berries

This & next:  Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

Willow spotting critters

Flesh fly? on Golden Crownbeard

The rest:  Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

 

Happy Hump Hike

1st 3:  Dark-eyed Junco (Red-backed)

A bit chillier for our morning hike due to stronger winds; once we got into the forest, though, the trees acted as a shelter from the gusts.  Starting tonight and running through tomorrow a backdoor cold front is coming in from the east and is slated to drop temperatures significantly.  Fortunately our trek today was non-eventful weatherwise and Dr. K, Willow and I enjoyed the outing immensely.

American Robin

This & next:  mock vervain

This & next:  lengthwise Willow

Golden Crownbeard

Haynes Canyon

 

Fine Forest Hike

Willow on our road

Dr. K, Willow and I had a pleasant morning hike in the forest behind the cabin.  The temperature was in the mid-50s with wind, so that made it clear that we would need to wear our Marmot PreCip jackets to ward off the chill.  It really wasn't at all cold, though.  Did our usual high country trek and enjoyed both the views and the exercise we got on the outing.

Townsend's Warbler

Robin

This & next:  Sacramento Mountains vistas

From the driveway

Fendler's Bladderpod

Mock vervain

Flower girl

Golden Crownbeard

Indian Paintbrush still blooming at 7,000 feet

 

Down Before Up

Wils!

Willow and I did a regular hike this morning before returning home to finish packing for a trip to the high country where we are now.  63F when we got up here at around 12:30, 70F now--fifteen degrees cooler than Las Cruces.  For a bit it seemed as if we might get a few showers, but mostly clear this afternoon.  According to our rain gauge here we got more than six inches of rain since we were here last.

Distance

House finch yucca clatch

Looking west

This & next:  view of the mountains from the steep hill

This & next:  ocotillos still very green

Organ Mountains from Baylor Canyon Road

Yellow flax

Davis Mountain Mock Vervain