Back to the Oven

1st 2:  ocotillos and clouds

Dr. K had an AAUW meeting this morning so it was Willow and me on the morning hike.  We did the regular.  It was awfully hot and somewhat steamy out there.  We have a chance of rain this afternoon.

It looked rather brown in the desert today, so I was surprised to find a few barrel cacti with blossoms; also the Stinging Serpents were blooming, and I took a photo of a green sweat bee on one of the flowers.

It's cloudy right now (1:15 p.m.) and it feels cooler than it did this morning when Wils and I were trekking about.

This & next:  small barrel cactus

 

This & next:  green sweat bee on Cevallia sinuata)

Cevallia sinuata, aka "Stinging Serpent"

This & next 2:  same barrel cactus

Painted rock in the right branch arroyo

This & next:  hiking up the right branch arroyo

Wils at rest

Way up in the right branch

Slightly hazy Organ Mountains

Down From the Mountain Again

Morning hike in the forest behind our cabin.  Pack up for the ninety-minute drive back to the lower desert.  That's it for today.

 

Strenuous Trek

 

Sit, Willow

Dr. K, Willow and I took a very strenuous hike up the mountain behind our cabin this morning; we were gone for about an hour.  Bushwhacking through the forest on no familiar path we boxed ourselves in several times, but maneuvered around successfully.

We made some interesting discoveries along the way, including coyote scat with juniper berries, what may be bear scat with seeds, and a clump of what might be Red-tailed Hawk tail feathers.  I've never encountered a group of feathers "bunched" in that particular way.

After the trek I mowed and weeded the property around the cabin, up the driveway and along our upper road--another strenuous activity.

From our driveway

Zephyr Eyed Silkmoth caterpillar (Automeris zephyria)

Juniper tree with moth cloud

Morning moon

Sacramentos

View from the top of the small mountain behind the cabin

Willow on high country break

Coyote scat with juniper berries

Black bear scat? (longer than a football, twice as wide)

Thigh bones?

Dr. K and Willow

Last 3:  Red-tailed Hawk tail feathers?

Hike Before Cloudcroft Shopping Trip

Not sure who this is

Dr. K, Willow and I did a forest hike on the mountain behind our cabin this morning.  I got a glimpse of an elk rump as the animal fled from us; never saw it again after that.

When we got back to the cabin after the trek we changed clothes (except for Willow) and piled into the CR-V for a shopping trip to Cloudcroft.  We dumped a bag of garbage first, and then drove over to Family Dollar where we bought six gallons of distilled water, apple juice, three bottles of Brisk lemon iced tea and a battery operated toothbrush for me.

When we left the store we drove over to Burro Avenue where I stopped to take photos of the scenic Old West style street.

Sacramentos

Willow looking for critters

Popcorn clouds

 

Willow headed down our road

Could be black bear scat

Morning sky

This & next:  Sacramento Mountains

Trees and sky

This & next 3:  forest hike behind our cabin

The rest:  Burro Avenue, Cloudcroft