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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Aftereffects of a Storm

Devil's Head in full bloom
After last night's big storm the humidity was horrendous this morning.  Bugs were swarming in the desert, including squadrons of irritating gnats.  Devil's Heads were blooming everywhere, as was a small green plant (image 2) I was unable to identify, although the leaves look familiar.  The red spider I've seen before, but I couldn't find an ID for it in any reference books nor on the internet.  The sun has been shining for a few hours; I'm certain more rain is on the way.

This green plant (?) had popped up all over the desert floor

Somewhat ominous sky

Clouds at the base of the Franklin Mountains (El Paso, Texas)

Small red arachnid (less than 1/2 inch)


Clouds below the Organ Mountain peaks

Listening to coyotes yelping close by

Soggy desert road

The road home

3 comments:

Dr. K said...

What a beautiful red spider. The rain brings out a lot of interesting critters.

Scott said...

The arachnid looks like some sort of mite to me, though it's the biggest mite I've ever seen--almost a contradiction in terms! It's great, though! Send some rain east--everything's parched and wilted. We've got rain forecast this weekend and Monday, but previous forecasts of rain have borne little more than sprinkles (or less) for weeks now.

packrat said...

We're going to hold the rain here as long as possible, Scott. Apologies.

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