At the Beginning

Smoke on the western side of the Organ Mountains

Didn't feel exceptionally hot this morning when Frio, Willow and I set off on our daily trek:  66F when we hit the trail.  There wasn't much of a breeze, though, and no clouds in a hazy sky.  Turns out the haze was smoke; it was clear against the western face of the Organ Mountains.  On our way back I had a slight hacking cough that stemmed, I'm fairly certain, from the thin layer of smoke hanging over the desert.

The pesky bees were back, following us and making circles around us for nearly the entire hike.  We got a brief respite from them when we stopped for water in Second Arroyo, where we all saw the huge Desert Spiny Lizard pictured below.  I couldn't get a decent shot of it, though, because I was holding the Heelers at bay with my left hand while photographing the lizard with the camera in my right.

Although we did spot a distant jackrabbit or two, they were the only critters (besides the lizard) we saw on our outing today.

Brighter green vegetation where the water runs

Soaptree Yucca in Second Arroyo

This & the next:  Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister)

Willow and Frio in Second Arroyo

Willow

Frio

Mesquite shadows

Mesquite et al.

Mesquite

Heelers

Smoke as haze