Unwelcome Weather Change

1st 2:  yesterday afternoon view of Tortugas and the Organs

Really icky out there this morning:  sunny, hot, very humid--the exact opposite of conditions for yesterday's hike.  We followed our regular route, nevertheless, enjoying the sights and sounds of our section of northern Chihuahuan Desert.  We saw no one else out there today except for construction workers getting ready to work on the sides of Tellbrook Road.

Northward down the right branch arroyo

Medusa ocotillo

Creosote bushes in bloom

Barrel cactus and the flank of Tortugas

Buds of the previous barrel cactus

Cute Willow

Ocotillo green

Shadows of we three

 

Flowers of this plant almost always nearly closed for our hike

Small White-thorn Acacia and Soaptree Yucca

This & next:  same barrel cactus buds

Yucca in the middle branch

Cool Morning Trek

1st 2:  ocotillos on hills

Really cool this morning for our daily hike; just a sliver of blue sky every once in a while amid heavy cloud cover.  Dr. K, Willow and I didn't mind the break from the heat.  We followed our normal route, seeing no one along the way.

Nipple Beehive Cactus buds not quite opened for business

Tortugas and the Organs

This & next 3:  barrel cacti with buds

Willow and yucca

Heading south up the right branch arroyo

 

Haze, not Purple

Ocotillos on a hill

Dr. K had an early appointment so it was just Willow and me on the morning trek.  We did our usual.  Recent rains have resulted in more plants flowering, including creosote bushes, barrel cacti, White-thorn Acacia, Desert Unicorn-Plant (aka "Yellow-flowered Devil's Claw") and Nipple Beehive Cactus.

Gnarly old ocotillo

Desert Unicorn-Plant (Proboscidea althaeifolia)

Barrel cactus budding

Willow on shade break

White-thorn Acacia

View from the middle branch arroyo

Small barrel cactus with a few buds

Big Bang (actually an extruded creosote with lens flair

Hiking too early to catch the Nipple Beehive Cactus flowers

 

Back Home

Sacramento Mountains vista

Very tiring trip down the mountains today so I'm too pooped to write much.  Forest hike.  Pack for return to lower desert.  Had to make a long round about drive down due to a possible accident in the tunnel on Route 82.  Had to follow a street sweeping bulldozer nearly all the way down Laborcita Canyon Road until it finally pulled off on a dirt side road and we were able to make our way through La Luz and back to Rt. 82.

Scene from a forest hike

Morning mountain moon

Willow leading the way

Trees

Some type of lace pincushion?

Lace pincushion?

Last 2:  Organ Mountains

 

When the Rain Came

Haynes Canyon

When the rain came, Dr. K and I had already returned from a grocery shopping trip at Lowe's Signature Market in Alamogordo.  Earlier she, Willow and I had done a hike in the forest behind the cabin.  Yesterday we got .08 inches of rain.  Already today we've received .41 inches, and the possibility for more is good.  We need the precipitation, but Willow detests the thunder and lightning.

Sunny and bright early

Willow heading down our road

This & next:  morning hike in the forest

Coy Willow