FIve Dog Day

🎶 Ave Maria . . . 🎶

About a quarter mile into our trek we met a woman hiker and her dog, Molly, a very young Beagle.  After a quarter mile more we bumped into a guy and his dog Thor, a 1 1/2-year-old Husky.  Thor was so strong his male owner could hardly hold him away from Becca.  After we climbed into the high foothills, dropped into the lower desert and took a break in the shade of a large Ocotillo, three dogs galloping ahead of two men running behind came over to greet Becca--a Chocolate Lab, a Black Lab and a Lab mix.  They were all friendly, as were their male companions.  Becca seemed pleased that on a short hike she got to meet five different dogs.

Down the single-track

Is that Jughead's profile silhouette at right?

Chihuahuan Desert landscape

Happy dog

Happy dog taking a breather

Looking through Ocotillos (Fouquieria splendens)

Crissal Thrasher

Crissal Thrasher (Toxostoma crissale)

Same Crissal Thrasher

Pushing It a Bit

The sky at start

Because it was mostly overcast and significantly cooler this morning Becca and I stretched our hike out by about a mile and a half.  We started off hugging Tortugas Mountain's west side, climbed into the high foothills, dropped down into the lower desert and hiked north along the outer loop road before turning west for about a mile.  Then we crossed the Crosscut Trail, followed the trail back up the mountain into the high foothills and retraced our steps alongside the western slope of Tortugas.  A very satisfying trek for both of us.

Becca spots a guy descending from above

Long view west, virga on the horizon

It stayed this cloudy much of the morning

Odd swirl to the clouds

Obvious why they're called Black-tailed Jackrabbits even though they're hares

Looks more ominous than it was

Figure and ground

Still life with ant and sundry other stuff

Road around Tortugas Mountain

The trail we'll follow back up the mountain just as soon as . . .

. . . Becca's done with her break

First look at the Roadrunner in the Ocotillo

Greater Roadrunner

A little closer look

Clouds clearing in the northern Chihuahuan Desert

Lots of Bushwhacking

The Ladder-backed Woodpecker I photographed on our lattice yesterday

It was quite crowded on the west side of Tortugas Mountain when Dr. K, Becca and I got out there.  A quarter mile into our hike we saw a woman standing off in the desert.  I jokingly said, "Better cell phone reception there?"  She laughed before explaining that she was participating in a Search-and-Rescue event, and that canines would soon be coming to find her.  After much bushwhacking we saw, during our return, several people trekking through the desert with a search dog.  The woman we spoke to was still where we first spotted her, having yet been "rescued" by the dogs.

Quite a comb-over

This isn't really an anvil cloud though it has an anvil shape

This way up

Tiny flowers of Allthorn, (Koeberlinia spinosa)

Ever upward

Almost finished

Young visitor on our front stoop

Having trouble IDing this small bird:  Gray Vireo?

It has the faintest bit of yellow on its crown

The eyering seems to be a series of dots

Rapido White (Campanula carpatica)

Something of a Slog

Tortugas (left) and the Organ Mountains

Because Becca and I got a really early start this morning (we were on the trail by 6:45) we hiked a good bit of the way in the shadow of Tortugas Mountain.  Eventually, though, as the sun rose higher in a cloudless sky and we trekked further west of the mountain, we had to deal with harsh sunlight beating down on us.  For some reason I had already extended the hike about a mile further than yesterday, and on the final leg we paid the price:  slogging through sand, an oppressive sun above, and barely a breeze to speak of.  Nevertheless, we still had a good time.  For instance, Becca had three separate canine encounters--all friendly.

Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus bathed in sunlight

"Lush" by Chihuahuan Desert standards

Sun breaks over Tortugas Mountain

A little exploring

Typical Chihuahuan Desert scene

Distant mountain biker

What does Becca see?

Flower buds forming on a Barrel Cactus

Deconstruction

Mesquite Trees in an arroyo just west of Tortugas Mountain

Becca and I did a fairly long hike in the hot Chihuahuan Desert this morning, stopping frequently for shade and water breaks.  Again--despite the heat--there were plenty of other outdoor enthusiasts on and about the mountain.  When we got home Dr. K and I spent several hours deconstructing an old ellipitcal machine we've had for years.  While we were at it we got a call from out vet, Dr. Thompson.  She said lab results showed that the growth removed from Becca's neck was a plasmacytoma, a relatively non-aggressive cancer that only metastasizes in about 10% of cases.  She said the emergency vet had done a good job removing the growth and that it had clean margins.  Dr. Thompson made sure to emphasize that this was good news.

This and the next two:  down the bobsled run

Time for a shady respite

Sea of Ocotillos and the Organ Mountains

Somewhere along a long dusty road

Dried Soaptree Yucca fruit splits into three sections to release seeds

Ocotillo forest

Ocotillo woods

Showing promise:  Fishhook Barrel Cactus flower

Where clown noses grow