Tad Humid

Morning crescent

It felt quite humid when Dr. K, Willow and I were doing our morning hike; we're supposed to get rain later today.  Followed our regular route, spotting three hikers with dogs bushwhacking in the desert northwest of us; one appeared to be Two-White-Dogs-Lady.  We saw no one else during our outing today.

Picacho and environs

LDR-A arroyo

Organ Mountains

This & next:  Willow on the cross trail

Willow's tongue

Backlit Black-throated Sparrow

Barrel cactus with a view

 

Warmth

Yuccas west of LDR-A

Much warmer for Dr. K, Willow and me on the morning hike; 52F at the start.  Bright sunshine and no wind made conditions feel quite comfortable, almost balmy.  We followed our regular route, stopping near the ancient Soaptree Yucca for a short break.  From there we thought we spotted Two-White-Dogs-Lady bushwhacking far to the west; we couldn't be sure it was her, though, because we never saw two white dogs--nor one for that matter.  We got some good exercise in today.

Clouds over the Organs

Willow smelling something

Colorized Soaptree Yuccas

Normal color photo of Soaptree Yuccas

 

Trek on Tuesday

Lousy photo of a Say's Phoebe

Overcast the entire time that Dr. K, Willow and I were out on our morning hike.  Despite the lack of sunshine it wasn't very cold, having already reached 50F when we started off.  No wind nor breeze were stirring.  Followed our regular route.  After we returned home I got ready and left for my weekly shopping trip to Albertsons.  Dr. K went to Target after I got back. 

SoaptreeYuccas and the Organ Mountains

Headed up the left branch toward the ancient Soaptree

Willow and Dr. K

Willow at rest in the left branch

The ancient Soaptree Yucca

Triple barrel cactus south of the left branch

Florida Mountains near Deming (58 miles as the crow flies)

 

Kestrel de Nuevo

Willow having a lie-down

Pleasant weather for a morning hike:  lots of sunshine, little wind. We saw Mr. and Mrs. Basset along with their hounds trekking northward on a ridge far east of us.  The hounds barked at us, and Willow, spotting them, wanted to head in their direction.  That was a hard "No."  They've encountered each other before with mixed results.  We followed our regular route seeing no other outdoor enthusiasts today.

Prickly Pear and Soaptree Yucca

Wils having a stand-up

The rest: American Kestrel, perhaps the one we saw yesterday

 

Kestrel Morning

Yucca in the middle branch arroyo

Warmer this morning with lots of sunshine and little wind; none of the rain we were predicted to receive.  Dr. K, Willow and I enjoyed our daily trek, following our regular route.  We saw vehicles at the Tellbrook/Sonoma Ranch parking lot, but spotted no other outdoor enthusiasts in our section of northern Chihuahuan Desert.  After the trek we took a long drive listening to Matt and Myron on their Sunday Morning show.

Triple barrel

Soaptree Yucca (looking west toward Picacho)

Sky with clouds and moon

Willow headed up the right branch

This & next 2:  American Kestrel

Kestrel and moon

 

Saturday's Sprinkle

Picacho and environs

Warmer this morning (45F), but cloudy with only sporadic sunshine; also a pesky cool breeze kept making its presence known.  We followed our regular route, and at one point we saw the Basset Lady and her hounds; as usual they (the hounds) were braying at something.  There were vehicles parked at the Tellbrook/Sonoma Ranch corner lot, but we never saw the occupants.  Took a long drive after the hike listening to 600 ESPN out of El Paso which has had a lousy signal for over a week now.

This & next:  morning sky southwest

Some rain there

Tortugas and the Organs

Organ Mountains closeup

Willow leading the way

San Augustin Peak

Last 2:  long distance view of Tortugas and the Organs