Return to the Old

Early break

I was outside very early this morning looking for evidence of a nearby lightning strike that hit last night; it temporarily knocked our power off.  The flash and thunderbolt were simultaneous, causing Dr. K, Becca and I to jump out of our skin.  The humidity was horrendous out on the trail, and the only saving grace was a semi-persistent breeze that provided some evaporative cooling for me.  I returned my new camera this morning, and I'm back to using my old FujiFilm FinePix S700 until I find something else I really want to buy.

Finch

New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum (center)

The mountain called Picacho

On her level

Black-tailed Jackrabbit (a hare) on the move

Still a lot of pears on this Prickly Pear Cactus

Forging ahead

Greater Roadrunner on the hunt

It caught something

Whatever it has in its beak is pretty small

Barrel Cactus flower bud on the verge of opening

Desert Marigold

The long view

Across the northern Chihuahuan Desert to the Organ Mountains

A hot and very humid morning

Rolling dirt road

Sun hits an Ocotillo

Dirt road just west of Tortugas Mountain

Panoramic Difficulties

Hedgehog Cactus about to bloom again

I'm going to be returning my new camera soon because the panoramic setting is malfunctioning; it does not focus when the shutter button is depressed.  Now I'm depressed at the upcoming rigamarole.  Notwithstanding the name of this blog and the evident "cuteness" of its creator, Dr. K and I are not thrilled to find a pack rat frequenting our property recently regardless of how cute it is.   I was pleased to spot a couple of Swainson's Hawks west of Tortugas Mountain this morning.  See a local story about Swainson's Hawks attacking pedestrians at our local college by following this link:  http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_28530495/aggressive-swainsons-hawks-attack-pedestrians-at-nmsu

Rough Menodora

Rough Menodora flower and buds

Break!

Straight shot into the desert

Slope of the Tortoise

Reluctantly getting the show on the road

Is that a chopper or a dragon fly in the distance?

Desert Marigold

Another break

Turkey Vulture

Not a vulture

Which raptor is this?

Swainson's Hawk

Packrat in our yard

Packrat taking a break under one of our Chollas

Lightning Show

Why the Rainbow Hedgehog has "rainbow" attached to its name

Last night, beginning about 10:30 there was an incredible storm:  lots of X-ray lightning, rumbling thunder, but very little rain.  For the first time in a long time Becca was anxious about the weather, coming into our bedroom to wake me to make sure everything was okay.  She was panting and pacing, and I actually had to sit up with her awhile before she calmed down.  It took the storm about an hour to clear out.  Very annoying.  I've decided to file a complaint against Zeus about his untoward behavior.  (An amusing aside about today's images.  When I took that last photo of a spring--which at first I believed to be a millipede--my advanced new camera warned me it had "detected a blink."  I'll be darned:  a blinking spring.)

Becca and Dr. K on the trail behind the mountain

Near the rock shelter

Through a deep chasm

Shadow of the rock shelter

Flower of the Creosote Bush

Another

Spiritual Prickly Pear pad

When I first saw this I thought it was a millipede

Holy Hotfoot

The sun is brutal this morning

It was so awful this morning that I cut the hike a bit short so we wouldn't get overly hot.  We're headed for a high of 97 Fahrenheit today with high humidity.  Even early on such a day it feels pretty bad in the desert, whose floor often gets as hot as a skillet.  Since Becca and I weren't interested in frying we felt discretion was the better part of valor and headed home after a truncated loop trek west of Tortugas.

Early shade break

How to bake a desert floor

Top of the slalom trail

This Yucca (center) is over twenty feet tall

Another shady respite