Friendly Encounter

Hairy False Goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa)

Becca and I got an early start this morning on our trek west of Tortugas Mountain, although the desert heat was something we didn't have to deal with due to cloud cover and a steady breeze; it simply never felt hot during our outing.  We saw several nature enthusiasts on and about the mountain, including mountain bikers who were rolling along the upper foothills trail.

On the way back in we encountered our friend, Jimmy, on the road to the mountaintop.  He and I talked briefly while Becca lay in the shade of an Ocotillo.  Jimmy was heading all the way up for his daily workout.  I had to get back and place a call to Overhead Door to see if I could make an appointment to have our garage door fixed; one of the springs snapped yesterday as Becca and I were going out.  The repairman is supposed to come between 2 and 4 this afternoon.  This last bit of news is just the kind of information required on a nature blog.

This and the next:  two different spots in the same arroyo

#2

This and the next:  western foothills of Tortugas Mountain

Don't bother counting the Prickly Pear pears

The route we just traveled

Beige patch (lower center) is a sliver of the Rio Grande

Rocky trail

Scoping out the territory

Still scoping

The area of Becca's shady spot in the sand

Natural or manmade?

Tortugas's western slope

Utility road

We've been this way before

Torrey Yucca fruit