Forest Heat

1st 2:  almost same view of the Sacramentos

Not going to kid you, it felt hot in the forest behind our mountain cabin while Dr. K, Willow and I were out for a morning trek.  We did our usual route, stopping frequently in the shadow of trees for shade and water breaks.  All in all, though, it was a good outing; we got our exercise in while seeing a few interesting birds.  It was very hazy, probably due to wildfire smoke sifting in from the north.

Juniper berries apoppin'

Wils on our driveway

New Mexico Yellow Flax

Small bear approaches Willow (actually a tree stump)

Mountain Mang

Our old spare tires

 

Low, High

1st 2:  young mockingbird

A little more than half our usual hike this morning before returning home to finish packing for our trip to the high country where we are now.  Presently 80F here at 7,000 feet in the Sacramentos; 103F down in Las Cruces.  Nice to be out of that kind of heat for a few days.

Willow and Dr. K in the left branch arroyo

A flycatcher

Ripe prickly "pears"

Haynes Canyon

From our high country property

 

Bird, Snake, Flowers

American Kestrel

Dr. K, Willow and I did our regular route in hot conditions this morning; fortunately there was a slight, persistent breeze to help with evaporative cooling.  Because we noticed different Nipple Beehive Cacti with healthy buds I decided to go back out in the early afternoon to see if I could photograph some in bloom.  I was not disappointed.

Spectaclepod

Happy Willow

A small Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Sleepy Orange on Nipple Beehive Cactus flower

This & next 3:  Fishhook Barrel Cactus flowers

Largest Nipple Beehive Cactus I've seen (3'X4')

Another Nipple Beehive Cactus

 

Heat

Spectaclepod (White) and Dayflowers

The heat out there this morning was muy draining; that's why Dr. K, Willow and I cut our regular hike short again.  We saw no other outdoor enthusiasts braving the elements.  We took a fairly long drive after the trek, all three of us recovering, with the help of the CR-V's air conditioning.  By the time we got home we were pretty much back to normal.

Down LDR-A arroyo

This & next 2:  Roundtail Horned Lizard

Looking back down the left branch arroyo

Trailing Four O'Clock

Dr. K and Willow in the right branch arroyo

Wils on shade break

Prickly pear cactus loaded with fruit

 

Another Abbreviation

Wils in LDR-A arroyo

We cut out about half of today's morning hike because it felt pretty brutal out there, and it was obvious that Willow wasn't enjoying the outing.  Proof that I didn't like it, either:  I took only four photos today.  Since Dr. K agreed that we shouldn't do the entire regular route her vote iced it.

Prickly pear cactus

Dr. K and Willow

Looking back at the way we came up the right branch arroyo

 

Dayflower Daze

Dayflower and friend

Hot, humid and breezeless conditions caused Dr. K and I to cut the hike short this morning; Willow didn't dispute the call.  Ants are still prevalent, which makes finding spots for Willow to lie down in the shade difficult.  We trekked long enough for Ms. Willow to deposit two #2s, and that was good enough for all involved.

Willow is so cute

This & next:  Dayflowers

Who's in charge here?

A male House Finch

Soaptree and the city

High school football players descend A mountain

 

Heat, Humidity, No Breeze

Desert Marigolds are back

Brother was it ever humid out in the desert this morning during our daily trek.  It crossed my mind once that we might shorten the hike, but we opted to do the entire regular route--with plenty of shade and water breaks of course.  The ant population out there is incredible, and we're always eyeing the desert floor to make sure Willow doesn't plop down on or step into a crowd of them.  She's been bitten several times in the past and it's no joking matter.  The last few occasions we've given her Benadryl to blunt the allergic reaction.  A breeze would have gone a long way to ameliorate the heat today, but it wasn't in the cards.

An ocotillo we've know since it was a tyke

Willow in the Statue of Liberty's shadow

This & next: you can see hundreds of ocotillos in the foothills

Tall ocotillos