Regular Route

Goosefoot Moonpod (Acleisanthes chenopodioides)

Because it was a tad cooler this morning Dr. K, Willow and I decided to do the entirety of our regular route.  An inconsistent breeze made conditions slightly more bearable, but it was still pretty miserable.  A Western Diamondback rattler gave us a scare as we passed within a few feet of the bush it was under in the right branch arroyo.  I photographed its tail, but couldn't see the whole snake.  After lunch I took a drive in the Jeep Commander back out to the upper flatland road near the trailhead to photograph a Nipple Beehive Cactus I knew would be blooming in the afternoon.

Young dove

Twin-leaf Senna

Desert Marigold

Desert Willow

Cinchweed

Barrel cactus

House Finch on ocotillo branch

Curve-billed Thrasher on ocotillo branch

What we heard rattling under a bush

 

The rest:  Nipple Beehive Cactus

No Prizewinners

Wils, sand break

It was hot out there already when Dr. K, Willow and I began our morning hike.  We decided early on to cut the trek short because Willow wasn't really into it.  After my 45-minute afternoon bushwhack to photograph blooming barrel cacti yesterday I wasn't into this morning's outing that much, either.  We heard a young bird calling for its mother (we think) and then I spotted a hawk on a yucca stump way over on top of 4210 hill.  I got some pics of it, but not good ones.  From a YouTube video of a  baby Red-tailed Hawk calling for its mother I think the raptor I photographed was a young Red-tailed Hawk.

This & next 3:  distant pics of a young Red-tailed Hawk?

Right branch arroyo

 

Afternoon Delight

All images are of barrel cacti this afternoon

I went back out alone this afternoon to photograph barrel cacti I felt certain would be flowering.  It felt brutally hot: sun directly overhead, furnace breeze, no shade to stop in for relief.  I was in the desert approximately forty-five minutes, and when I got home I had to take shower #2--a cold one!

 

Bad Bad Air

Yellow, blue and purple flowers

We don't know where the smoke was coming from--northern New Mexico, perhaps--but the air was atrocious this morning during our hike.  Nevertheless, Dr. K, Willow and I did the entire trek.  We could feel the smoke in our lungs, though it wasn't overly irritating; still you wish you didn't have to breathe that type of pollution on a morning outing.

White-winged Dove

This & next:  5 White-winged Doves

This & next:  Desert Marigolds

This & next:  really ripe prickly pear fruit

Barrel cactus buds, some flowering

Post-hike heeler

 

Nothing Much

Desert Marigold

It felt pretty uncomfortable out there this morning for our daily trek; it seems as if humidity is creeping back into the atmosphere.  Dr. K, Willow and I decided to cut the hike short for obvious reasons.  We were out there long enough for me to get a few fairly decent photos.  The beetle I'm never able to capture a decent image of--I learned today from conversing with Gemini--is a desert blue-ball blister beetle.  Apparently they are extremely dangerous if touched; they release a chemical that can burn the skin.  Good to know, though we'd never try to pick one up; and now we'll always make certain that Willow doesn't get near one.

LDR-A arroyo

Willow on sand break

This & next:  desert blue-ball blister beetle

Cysteodemus wislizeni

Curve-billed Thrasher