New Mexico – Page 2 – a curious nature

White-point Vetch – Page 6 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

April 27, 2026

White-point Vetch (Oxytropis sericea var. sericea)

One of the first flowers to bloom in the spring, white-point vetch forms a dense bouquet of brilliant white, pea-shaped flowers that grow on 12 inch tall stalks arising from many basal, soft-hairy compound leaves.

Beautiful to look at ….. POISONOUS if ingested …

….… especially if you’re a cow, horse, sheep, goat, elk or mule deer

All parts of white-point vetch (aka white locoweed) are poisonous at all times, even when dried. The culprit is an alkaloid toxin called Swainsonine, which inhibits enzymes essential for normal carbohydrate and glycoprotein metabolism in cells. This causes carbohydrates to accumulate in the brain and most other organs preventing normal cell function. Depending on how long the locoweed is eaten, the affected cells can be permanently damaged; one to three months of heavy consumption can cause death. Also, Swainsonine is present in the milk of lactating animals affecting their nursing youngsters.

Are locoweeds naturally poisonous? Well, yes, in a way. But the poison isn’t made by the plant itself. Swainsonine is produced by a fungus (Undifilium oxytropis) that acts as an “endophyte,” happily living between the plant’s cells of certain locoweeds in the genus’ Astragalus and Oxytropis. This fungus, thriving at high elevations on Western US rangelands, coexists symbiotically with the host plant, causing little to no harm to the host locoweed. In fact the host may even benefit from the fungus by receiving enhanced drought tolerance, as well as a “don’t eat me” sign to all hungry ungulates. Meanwhile, the fungus goes about its business of keeping the plant well stocked with Swainsonine. Only the species of locoweed without the endophytic fungus are not poisonous. Review the list at the end of my post to learn which Astragalus and Oxytropis species are known to cause “locoism.” (But the real lesson is to be wary of all species in these two genus’ until you seek expert identification.)

Symptoms of locoism in ungulates: Malabsorption of essential minerals and vitamins in the intestinal tract. Decreased appetite and weight loss. Decreased liver function and damage due to elevated liver serum enzymes. Calves, lambs, and foals may be born with deformed legs. Abortions and fetal death are common. Other general symptoms include depression, blindness, loss of coordination, emancipation, tremors, paralysis, constipation and deterioration of the coat.

We have 5 of these plants scattered around our property., and this is one of them. We also have a group of mule deer that walk by this plant almost daily. They must know not to eat the leaves and flowers, moving quickly by in search of something safe to eat.

Abnormal behaviors emerge, such as sudden changes in temperament, aggressiveness, ataxia, falling over unexpectedly, violent reaction to routine management practices such as putting on a halter or refusing to go through a chute. Horses become very depressed and sleepy, and often show more severe neurological effects of locoweed poisoning than cattle and sheep.

Specific to cattle, the major problem encountered with locoweed poisoning is decreased fertility characterized by lower conception and calving rates; semen fertility of affected bulls is also decreased. In addition, cows and bulls consuming locoweed experience reduced libido, behavioral changes, weight loss, and heart failure. Typical findings in calves are decreased growth rates resulting in lower weaning weights. Some calves may be born weak and die shortly after birth.

The flowers of White-point Vetch are bright white and quite lovely. This close-up shows how their form resembles a garden pea flower.

There is no effective treatment for locoweed poisoning! Recovery depends on the duration of ingestion and severity of the lesions. Locoed horses are considered permanently affected.

So why do animals eat poisonous locoweeds when other non-poisonous forage is available? One reason is locoweeds are palatable and have a similar nutrient value to alfalfa. Also, they become habituated to eating them from each other. Once one animal starts to eat locoweed others follow. Removing animals that are locoweed eaters from the herd can reduce the chances of other animals ‘learning’ to eat the plant through social observation.

Is the toxin Swainsonine poisonous to humans? While primarily a risk to livestock, unintentional human exposure, usually through ingestion or smoking, can cause hallucinations, severe liver damage, or even fatal poisoning.

From what I’ve read, people seeking to get “high” from Jimson weed (a Datura species), aka “loco weed,” often mistake a true “locoweed,” (like Oxytropis sericea) for the Datura, even though they look nothing alike. As they begin smoking the leaves or any other part of O. sericea, they can experience severe and rapid hallucinations, delirium, intense paranoia, psychosis, anxiety, agitation and disorientation as their heart races, pupils dilate, vision blurs, and a high fever sets in. Chronic ingestion inhibits cellular enzymes, potentially leading to long-term neurological impairment, reproductive dysfunction, and severe organ damage.

My hand carefully holding a flower stalk. This shows just how large the flowers are. Notice there are quite a lot of buds present at the flower stalk tip. (I did wash my hands after handling the plant)

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Well, that’s a lot of scary stuff! Let me end my post with something light-hearted and laughable from the Wild Wild West — something unbelievably crazy involving the extreme measures that were taken by Colorado ranchers during 1881 to 1885, to prevent their livestock from dining on poisonous locoweed.

Locoweed—The Most Infamous Plant of the Southwest!

As early as the 1800s, livestock growers in the west considered the presence of “weeds” (whether native or non-native) on rangelands an unwelcome nuisance, especially if they outcompeted the growth and availability of “desirable” plants (forage) needed to feed their herds. And if a tasty “weed” or two turned out to be poisonous to their livestock, then its elimination was critical. This was the case with white-point vetch, aka white locoweed (Oxytropis sericea), and its close relative, purple locoweed (O. lambertii), both native perennial species found throughout the intermountain west. Ranchers in the late 1870s were shocked by the skyrocketing deaths of their livestock that were eating locoweed. And in Colorado, ranchers demanded action.

This is a true story of locoweed, the first “weed” for which the 1880s Colorado legislature enacted radical management regulations; the first “weed” where detailed steps were laid out to not only control locoweed, but eliminate all signs of this poisonous plant from Colorado rangelands.

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Charles Bryant, Huerfano County’s (Colorado) Noxious Weed Manager, and printed in “The Learning Ledger” on June 2, 2025.

A young bouquet of White-point vetch was nearly 10” tall, with more growth expected.

One of Colorado’s Most Loco Laws ………

….. the ‘Loco’ or Poison Weed Act of 1881

“At the time of enactment, Colorado had been a state for less than five years and was the epitome of the “Old West,” with the livestock industry being one of the primary drivers of the newly-formed state’s economy. Because of the impact locoweed was having on the health of livestock by 1881, Colorado legislators became preoccupied with the native Oxytropis species.

“The 1881 “Loco or Poison Weed Act” (Act) allowed citizens to “dig up not less than three inches below the surface of the ground any ‘loco’ or poison weed during the months of May, June or July and shall receive a premium of one-half cents per pound for each pound of such weed dug up, to be paid out of the state treasury as hereinafter provided; provided, that such weed shall not be weighed in a green state, but shall be thoroughly dry when weighed.”

“The Act went on further to describe how locoweed bounty hunters of the state were to deliver their dried loads of locoweed to their county clerk within two months of their digging. Upon delivery to the clerk of the county where the weeds were gathered, the clerk was to weigh the load and require those seeking reimbursement to sign an oath stating: “I do solemnly swear that the weed here produced by me this day is ‘loco’ or poisonous weed of X amount of pounds, dug up by me within two months last past.” Upon the recitation of this somber oath the county clerk was to “forthwith destroy such weed by burning” and issue a certificate for payment that was to be paid by the county, with the county later being reimbursed from the state treasury after their submission of an annual report that detailed the amount of locoweed gathered and to whom bounties were paid.

“By 1885 it became glaringly apparent that the locoweed bounty program was unsustainable, to say the least, and rife with fraud. The February 12, 1885, edition of the Rocky Mountain News lambasted the “loco industry” and pointed to the handsome sum of $8,727.27 that had been paid out in one month alone to El Paso County, equivalent to over $283,333 in today’s dollars. The coverage went on to question how over half a million pounds could be collected in El Paso County in a month, and stated that the monthly locoweed bounty expenditures for El Paso County matched the total monthly operating cost of the Colorado State Penitentiary. Only six days after this scathing review, Colorado legislator Rep. Abraham Bergh of Park County led the repeal effort of the Act, and the state finally did away with perhaps one of the most “loco” laws to ever be enacted in Colorado.”

Are you familiar with your local locoweeds? If so, I’d love to know which species you’ve encountered and if they’re on the list (below) of those known to cause locoism?

After learning more about the poisonous nature of locoweeds, next time you discover one, will you think twice before handling the plant? (And please, if you do, be sure to wash your hands!)

Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for stopping by!

Astragalus and Oxytropis species known to cause locoism: Astragalus lentiginosis (spotted loco), A. mollissimus (woolly, purple loco), A. wootonii (Wooton loco), A. thurberi (Thurber’s loco), A. nothoxys (sheep loco), A. dyphysus (blue loco, rattlewood), A. earlei (Earle’s loco), A. argillophilus (half moon loco), Oxytropis sericea (white-point vetch, white loco), O. lambertii (purple point loco), O. bessyi (Bessy point vetch), and O. campestris (field loco).

(I’m thinking that just because these species are known to have the poisonous toxin Swainsonine, it might be best to err on the side of caution and treat Astragalus and Oxytropis species as suspect? Do you think so too?)

References

en.wikipedia.org

wildflower.org

poisonousplants.cvmbs.coloradostate.edu

inaturalist.org

oregonflora.org

coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD18850212-01.2.24

Dark Jerusalem Cricket – Page 5 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

April 5, 2026

Dark Jerusalem Cricket (Ammopelmatus fuscus)

Last month (mid-March), while looking everywhere for signs of spring (something green and growing), I dared to peek under a flat rock and gasped with surprise! Instead of uncovering a tiny flower bud was a gigantic “creepy-crawly” bug! Yikes! After quickly dropping the rock back on his head I realized my run-away imagination had gotten the better of me.

So gathering my courage, I took another look. There, hiding under that rock was a “cuddly” Jerusalem cricket trying his best to be invisible (while avoiding the bright sunlight).

This wasn’t my first Jerusalem cricket, but seeing this guy prompted me to learn more about this curious insect……

Firstly, Jerusalem crickets are neither true crickets nor are they native to Jerusalem

Taxonomists agree, “Jerusalem crickets are in a very different family than true crickets. This includes a bunch of flightless varieties, and some with wings, found in Africa. The Jerusalem crickets are wingless and are found in the Americas.”
“The origins of the name, “Jerusalem” cricket isn’t certain, but it’s thought that it comes either as a reference to the skull-shaped head (they’re also known as skull crickets), which is associated with skull hill in Jerusalem; or, comes from a watered-down swear word from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Around this time, in the US, both “Jerusalem” and “Cricket” were expletives, associated with being startled.”

Next, some Jerusalem Cricket Mating Characteristics

Similar to true crickets, each species of “sings” a different song during mating. They actually sing by drumming and they drum by beating their butts on the ground.
Once a larger female has successfully mated with a smaller male, and before she lays eggs, females usually eat the males!
She lays her egg masses in holes in the soil. After hatching, over the next 1-2 years, nymphs undergo several molts (as many as 10) until they reach sexual maturity which lasts for only 2-6 months.
Adults can reach up to 2 to 3 inches in length. Females are often larger in size; males have longer hind legs.

Third, Jerusalem Cricket Habitats and Out-of-Sight Living Quarters

They are “well-adapted to living in sandy soils, but can be found in sand dunes, chaparrals, grasslands, woodlands, and forests.”
Being nocturnal, they spend a majority of their lives underground.
They hide underneath organic matter and other debris like rocks, wood. With their powerful mandibles, spiny legs and specially adapted feet, they also dig underground burrows for comfortable living quarters.

And Almost Lastly …. the Cultural Significance of Jerusalem Crickets

Of great importance to Native Americans as food, many tribes in southwestern U.S. also considered Jerusalem crickets as a powerful cultural symbol. Its striking appearance leads some to think the cricket brings mortality, as depicted in the folklore of the Chumash people of southern California.
The Hopi, who settled in Arizona, portrays this cricket as a spirit being (a Kachina) named Sösööpa who races. As a result, it’s often carved into their Katsina dolls as a yellow humanlike character with black beady eyes, a black-and-white plaid skirt, and antennae made from sand grass, depicting traits of the cricket.
The Navajo associated the Yucca plant with the insect; you had to eat the plant as a cure of the cricket’s painful bite. This myth possibly gave rise to the misconception that their bite is venomous.

It’s Greek to Me! (Entomologically Speaking)

Learning the meaning of a scientific name assigned to a species not only helps me remember uncommon words and how they’re pronounced, but often describes aspects of a species’ characteristics that may help differentiate it from another similar-looking species. Learning about these complex names falls into a study called entomology.

Ammopelmatus fuscus, the scientific name for the Dark Jerusalem Cricket, is quite a mouthful. Curious about the meanings (in plain English) of these two strange words, I learned the name originates from Greek and Latin roots meaning “dark sand-sole” or “dark sand-burrower,” obviously referring to their sandy habitats, dark color, and burrowing behavior. But to learn how the common name with the word “sole” ties to one of the cricket’s characteristics, my dive continued. Here’s the entomology breakdown:

Genus Ammopelmatus
- Ammos (Greek) means “sand,” referring to the cricket’s specialized adaptation to arid, sandy environments.
- pelma (Greek) means “sole of the foot,” highlighting the specialized leg structures the cricket uses for burrowing.
- tus (Greek) is a common word meaning either “them” or “their.” In this case, “tus” ties the first two parts together into “their sand sole.”
Species fuscus (Latin) means “dark,” “dusky,” or “brown,” describing the cricket’s color.

Here’s the underside of my Dark Jerusalem Cricket. The leg spines really show well as does the strong mandible. A scary fascinating view!

After learning more about the Dark Jerusalem Cricket, maybe next time I discover one, I won’t jump so high?! Do you think?

Have you seen a Jerusalem cricket hiding out in your yard? If so, what was your reaction?

Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for stopping by!

References

inaturalist.org/taxa

bugguide.net/node/view/154

factanimal.com/jerusalem-cricket/

Eaton, Eric R.; Kenn Kaufman (2007). Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. 84.
Milne, Lorus Milne, Lorus and Milne, Margery (1980) The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, pp. 437.
Stoffolano JG, Wright B (2005). “So so opa —Jerusalem Cricket: An Important Insect in the Hopi Katsina Pantheon.”American Entomologist. 51 (3): 174–179. doi:10.1093/ae/51.3.174

Spotted Towhee – Page 4 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

April 1, 2026

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

Here’s one of my favorite birds that’s a regular visitor to our yard. Spotted towhees, especially the males, are year-round residents throughout most of New Mexico, which means they breed in the shrubby vegetation surrounding our home. In our area, males sing at the crack of dawn until late afternoon beginning in early February. Instantly recognizable, their beautiful songs carry far and wide. Their songs not only signal to their mate it’s time to pair up again (spotted towhees are monogamous), they also let other male competitors know they’re horning in on his territory.

With favorable weather and abundant food, spotted towhees can produce two clutches of chicks during the breeding season. Their ground nests are hidden so well under a dense oak that I’ve never been able to find one. But it’s a lot of fun to watch clumsy fledglings trying to master the “two-footed-hop-forward-scratch-backward” forging technique all spotted towhees use to uncover hidden bugs and seeds.

Fun Facts

The spotted towhee and the eastern towhee were considered to be the same species called the rufous-sided towhee until 1995.
Male towhees have been recorded spending 70% to 90% of their mornings singing during breeding season.
Once a male mates, he only spends about 5% of his time singing.
It’s thought that the spotted towhee’s white spots are a form of camouflage.
Spotted towhees will sun themselves by lying on the ground feathers spread.
They will bathe in the dew or fog that has collected on vegetation.
Nesting females have been seen running away when disturbed rather than flying.
A group of towhees is called a “tangle” or a “teapot.”
When two towhees fight, one bird will pick up a piece of twig and carry it around as a sign of submission.
Their bright red eyes act as a visual signal during the breeding season, standing out in their dark, shady, ground-level habitats.

Do spotted, canyon, green, eastern or any of the towhee species visit your yard?

Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for stopping by!

References

audubon.org

inaturalist.org/taxa

allaboutbirds.org

explorer.natureserve.org

https://peecnature.org/learn/nature-guides/featured-critters/spotted-towhee/

Davis Mountain Mock Vervain – Page 3 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

March 23, 2026

Davis Mountain Mock Vervain (Glandularia wrightii)

This page shows samples from my specimen.. Although the flowers of my specimens are a purple-blue color, I chose to create the flower petals as reddish-pink; this color is also common.

This is a photo of the two flowers I sketched for my final painting.
The specimen on the left shows the upper part of the flower, the “limb” where 5 petals flair out from the throat ringed by fine hairs. The throat leads to the lower part of the flower – the floral tube (5 fused pale green petals). . Both upper and lower petals make up the flower’s corolla. Below the floral tube are 5 red tipped green sepals (collectively called a calyx) all fused into a cup shape. The specimen on the right is a dissected flower; 2 upper petals are removed, and the floral tube has been opened to reveal the reproductive parts. On the left side are 2 of the female parts of the pistil (pale green style supporting the 2-lobed stigma of the pistil; the ovary was not exposed). Two of the four stamens (male) lie in the mid- to upper right side of the opened floral tube; look for the bright yellow anthers, each sitting atop their own filament

Here’s Another Curiosity to Ponder: I wondered why this plant has 5 petals and 5 sepals but doesn’t also have 5 stamens, which is usually the norm in so many other 5-merous plant species??? Here’s what I learned:

Davis Mountain Mock Vervain (Glandularia wrightii) exhibits a common evolutionary trait in the Vervain (Verbenaceae) family where the flower displays a 5-lobed calyx of fused sepals, and 5 5-lobed petals which fuse into a tube (the corolla). This trait, commonly described as 5-merous, curiously has a reduced the number of functional stamens to four.

This reduction is due to an evolutionary transition from a 5-stamen ancestor. According to literature, the four fertile stamens I observed in my specimens are properly arranged in two pairs (didynamous), both neatly hidden in the floral tube beneath a ring of fine hairs. Also properly so, the filaments (the stalks that support the anthers) of the stamens are fused to the inside of the tube, and not easily teased free.

So apparently, many, many, many, many, Many hundreds of years ago, plants in the Vervain family “decided” having a 5th stamen was unnecessary. “We can do just fine without it, thank you.” Thru the process of evolution, that expendable #5 was ever so slowly reduced to a tiny non-functional structure (referred to as a staminode in modern botanical lingo), or was completely and totally lost, becoming only a memory.

Believe me, this species is an energetic producer of leaves, flowers and seeds. In my experience, Davis Mountain Mock Vervain seems to explode in masses of pink and purple flowers throughout spring, summer and fall, and can last thru winters that don’t freeze. It’s easy to understand why the species has no need of a 5th fertile stamen. Once the plant becomes established, it keeps growing and flowering and spreading, often to the detriment of other desirable plants. If it wasn’t so gorgeous at the height of bloom, it might be considered a weed!

But I’m reminded of the definition of a “Weed ….. a plant out of place.” So yes, you’ll find me actively weeding actively growing Davis Mountain Mock Vervain so my other native plants have a chance at life too!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Redstem Stork’s-Bill – Page 2 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

March 20, 2o26

Redstem Stork’s-Bill (Erodium cicutarium)

An early draft of the page with actual plant parts

Constance’s Spring Parsley – Page 1 .. The 100 Day Project (2026)

March 18, 2026

Project Introduction

For the last few years my “someday” goal has been to create a nature field guide, of sorts, highlighting my many years of observations in the East Mountains of central New Mexico. Well, my “Someday” is officially here! Coinciding with the February 22, 2026 kick-off of the 100 Day Project¹ (Project), I began by committing an hour/day to developing that field guide as my project and immediately penciled out an outline and a few thumbnail sketches of a sample page. But, after retrieving my iNaturalist lists of East Mountains sightings I’ve made from home and during countless hikes, eliminating redundancies, and totaling up the individual species, my reported observations still numbered in the many hundreds. I would be working on this Project for the next five to six years!

Interlude

When we moved to the East Mountains in the summer of 2017, we quickly fell in love with the beauty of the wide open landscapes, the grasslands and woodlands habitats, the diverse populations of wildflowers and mammals, resident and migratory birds, and the insects and reptiles. So yes, nature is plentiful; species are many.

Now Back to the Project

Not to be overwhelmed (or defeated) by the potential magnitude of my Project, I decided to:

“Divide and Conquer” by focusing on a single location …. our current subdivision and surrounding area and trails; and
Prioritize quality over quantity by creating one page over two days, keeping each work session to one hour; and
Keep the Project motivating and interesting, by adding fun facts or other research tidbit about each species.

“These guidelines seemed more realistic,” I thought, with a cautiously optimistic chance of achieving my goal of creating a nature field guide.

So with that as an introduction to my Project, here’s Page 1 to “An Illustrated Guide to the Nature of Las Leyendas Subdivision & Environs, Tijeras, East Mountains, New Mexico” — with many more pages to follow. 🤞

Constance’s Spring Parsley (Vesper constancei)

An early draft of the page with live samples of this pretty wild parsley

¹ “The 100 Day Project is a free global art project that takes place online (https://www.the100dayproject.org/). Every year, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of creating, and anyone can participate. The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and document and share your process online. The most recent round of the Project began February 22, 2026, but any day is a great day to begin.”

Wait For It!

Spring is on the Way

February 10, 2026

One of my virtues is impatience ……. when it comes to Spring ….. and its arrival ….. finally.

Admittedly, winter has its perks. After a long, hot summer and fall, winter’s crisp air is a mood lifter, and cooler air temps allow for cozy sleeping under piles of blankets. Longer nights mean my favorite constellations hang in the sky longer, and somehow the moon always seems brighter and friendlier. In New Mexico, winter hiking about is more casual without having to watch every step for rattlesnakes, and certainly any snowfall we’ve been fortunate enough to get helps recharge water tables, tempers our risk of wildfire, and is absolutely beautiful to watch while falling.

But ….. since Winter Solstice and with daytime hours lengthening, I’m ready for Spring. And the closer it gets, my impatience for the upcoming change in season is obvious. My nature journal, pencils and 10x magnifying loop are packed and ready, each daily hike begins by plucking from a yucca one of last year’s flower stalks to poke the ground for signs of growth, and I’m anxious to snap photos of any passing migrating bird or resident roadrunner in search of a perfect nesting spot.

Meanwhile, I’m thankful for my late winter attack of impatience, because it get’s me out there every day, in anticipation of the first flower bud!

As always, Thanks for stopping by!

Parking Lot Sycamore

December 7, 2025

My search for still-beautiful Autumn leaves, half hanging, half fallen to the ground, took me to Albuquerque where temperatures hadn’t yet dipped below zero. Striking ‘gold’ in a large vacant parking lot next to a Disc Golf course, are at least 30 full-grown Sycamore trees with what looked to be full canopies of foliage still clinging tight. But for all the leaves yet to fall, there must’ve been 50x that number covering the ground. The morning breeze was causing the recently-fallen leaves to skid across the pavement in jerky movements, coming to rest in the parking lot’s gutters.

It was in these ankle deep gutter piles where the range of leaf sizes, colors and patterns were found. These 1” to 10” broad, palmately veined and ragged-toothed leaves appeared locked together like pieces from a newly-opened 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. And, oh my! The lid to the box just blew away! Now I was faced with a dizzying jumble of multi-colored golden-yellows, burnt oranges, Ruddy duck rust, fading-to-spring greens and saddle browns. It was from these ankle deep gutter piles that I collected Autumn leaves for this project.

Lost in thought, I overlooked the white noise of the city ……. traffic mostly, constantly humming and impatiently honking ……. until a painful ringing in my ears invaded the relative calm of the morning. No longer able to think, I turned around and found an invasion of leaf blowers! Never was there a more loudly screaming, obnoxiously noxious sound. Coming closer and closer, louder and more insistent, their ear-muffled and gas-masked operators approached without hesitation, each blowing away (to where?) every bit of the “unsightly and offending” leaf-litter in their path.

Luna approving of my Sycamore leaf selection

Dang-blasted!

It finally dawned on me this Friday morning that the vacant parking lot only opened for use on Sunday’s. Not agreeable to working weekends, the leaf blower operators were determinedly cleaning up the “messy” lot for the regular Sunday crowd. I was in their way.

Saving as many fallen Sycamore leaves as my collection bags could hold, and silently wishing all remaining leaves a happy landing somewhere on a nutrient-needy plot of land, I ran for the quiet of my car.

My Fallen Leaf Project

Using Sycamore leaves collected from that vacant Albuquerque parking lot, I tried my hand at a new technique; combining watercolor layers with layers of colored pencil. Using my new set of Van Gogh watercolors, I began each leaf with a layer of plain water followed by a light base layer, mixing Azo yellow medium with a touch of Yellow ochre. The bottom leaf (which was the underside of the top leaf) was duller and lighter in color, calling for a bit of Permanent lemon yellow. Allowing that layer to dry, I used various earthy colors from my set of Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils over the watercolor wash, mixing and matching the colors of my pencils with the actual leaf colors. This step tended to leave some areas uncolored with the pencils, so I applied another watercolor wash with Sap green, Burnt Sienna+Yellow ochre, and/or Madder lake deep+Azo yellow medium. I finished each leaf with a Dark sepia colored pencil outline, tipped the leaf margins with Dark sepia, and added shadowing first with Payne’s grey watercolor then Dark sepia colored pencil.

12 half-pan watercolor set and color swatch

The leaves were painted on 140# Canson XL Watercolor paper

If you have and questions or comments, please let me know. If you use this combined media technique, any tips you’d like to share would be greatly appreciated too.

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I’d like to send a shout-out and my deep gratitude to Wendy Hollender, botanical artist/illustrator/teacher extraordinaire, who announced in her newsletter free access for over a week to 19 of her bite-sized video lessons. Designed as companions to her book, The Joy of Botanical Drawing, each lesson focused on a different botanical subject and how to artistically render them using watercolor and colored pencil combined. I’ve always wanted to learn this technique and gave it a try with her leaf examples and then mine. Incorporating both media into the same painting was very challenging and way out of my comfort zone.

Thanks so much Wendy, for such wonderful lessons and your fabulous companion book! With lots more practice, my goal is that some day my botanical art looks as natural, skilled and professional as yours.

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As always, Thanks for stopping by!

Draft final page with actual leaves lying on top

Under Siege!

A Battle of Wits

Conflict of Interest

November 24, 2025

Were you ever so challenged by something so clever, while at the same time so frustrated with something so beautiful? No, no, wait….. that question may be more complicated than need be. Let me put it this way ……

Were you ever at your wit’s end finding a solution to a seemingly simple problem that you thought was obviously and repeatedly staring you right in the face?

My reply? Yes!

It’s All About the Genes

Meet the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) … or more specifically, the Western red-shafted flicker (C. auratus ssp. cafer)*, a gorgeously flamboyant and noisy member of the Woodpecker family, that’s common throughout its western range.** And as woodpeckers do so well, they peck and peck and hammer and drill with the determination and force of a jackhammer*** on nearly any vertical (preferably wooden) surface. They’re single-minded, from start to finish, when it comes to creating a cozy nesting or roosting cavity, whether in a tree trunk or into your home. (More about that in a bit.)

Flicker ID – 101

How do you know a Flicker has laid claim to your place? Well, he’s a big, heavy-bodied bird, and when flying overhead, your first thought might be “Crow!” At 12-14” long, with a wingspan of 18”-21”, the size is right. But as he flashes a large showy white rump patch bookended by reddish-orange underwings, you realize he’s not black. Anything but! As his flight slows and dips you notice his brown back is marked with narrow black bars. In preparation for landing, with wings open wide, he vertically aligns his body and feet with the wall, exposing a pale gray belly with bold black spots and a chest-wide black patch. Two strong clawed-toes up, two down (zygodactyl), and a stiff wedge-shaped tail adjusted as a brace, he taps out a few test spots, drawing your attention to his long and heavy bill, on a slate gray head broken by a buff-brown crown, a bright red whisker (male), and light gray cheeks.

Male Western red-shafted flicker in flight. Note white rump patch (unsplash.com)

On a crisp cool Autumn morning, as you watch in horror ……

Before you can declare, “It’s a Male Flicker!” ……

This bigger-than-life bird has landed, tested, and pecked away at his chosen spot 170 times in 10 seconds! He’s created an entry hole about 3” wide, right through the stucco and foam sub layer. This determined Flicker knows winter is coming and he intends to drill into our home, making a cozy roosting cavity in which to hunker down until Spring!

Oh no, No, NO!

We love Flickers and have no wish to harm this beautiful bird.**** But he’s already caused enough damage (23 feet high on the wall) that needs immediate repair. So I clap my hands and holler loudly (something unintelligible), and off he flys to a nearby snag to see how serious my noise-making was.

That’s the story of Flicker hole #1

Oh Not Again, and Again, and Again!

Since early November, our resident Flicker (I call him Jack), has continued to return many times, usually between sunrise and 10am. Sometimes he’ll make a fly-by before sunset. Often his quiet arrival escapes our notice; either we’ve been running errands, we’re out hiking with Luna, or enjoying a short roadtrip. These are the times he’s been able to drill six 3”-wide holes on the initial wall, and another 3”x6” hole just around the corner which was so deep, he almost penetrated the interior of Roy’s woodshop! This gives a whole new meaning to the term “Airbnb!”

After a few weeks up and down our fully-extended extension ladder to make a 2-step/2-day repair job/hole, we were making ZERO headway. Jack, unable to resist the need to drill him a roost cavity, was always one hole ahead of us. And because he didn’t hesitate to redrill newly repaired holes, was there something we were doing wrong?

All Flicker painting are larger than life, because that’s how they seemed to me!

It’s an Education in Biology and Patience

So we learned to listen for his noisy “kerrreee” scream-like call announcing his presence from one of Jack’s many favored perches around the house. Unless we missed it, his territorial call would put us on high alert, ready for action. We also listened for his series of warm-up test pecks that usually sounded inside the house. This “alarm” would catapult one or both of us from a comfy chair and run outside yelling and clapping our hands.

Between listening, running, clapping and yelling (and wondering what the neighbors might be thinking), I discovered a few interesting things on-line…..

Woodpeckers can’t resist drilling holes in synthetic stucco. This product provides the perfect surface for woodpeckers to hammer. When they begin tap pecking, it creates a hollow sound because the synthetic stucco includes a foam layer. The woodpeckers peck through the hard outer surface into the foam where it is easier to create a larger cavity to nest.

#1 …. Our entire home happens to be covered with synthetic stucco! While this might explain Jack’s insatiable desire to drill his roosting cavity into our home and not into one of the surrounding hardwood piñon pines, we’re not going to replace the stucco.

Basil, mint, cinnamon and/or lavender are suggested as natural, non-toxic deterrents for woodpeckers, who dislike strong aromas. The scent of basil, in particular, can be overwhelming and confusing to woodpeckers. Crushing one or a mix of these herbs with adding a bit of water, creates a green slurry that can be filtered and applied with a spray bottle to the affected area(s).

#2 …. This idea was worth a try, especially since there’s still have basil and mint growing in the garden. After collecting several handfuls of each, I popped the mix into the food processor with a bit of water and flipped the on switch. Gathering the resulting slurry, I filtered it through paper towels and collected the liquid for a spray bottle. That was several weeks ago, and with every hole repair, Roy’s been thoroughly soaking first the patch job then follow-up stucco coating with the basil/mint spray. It’s hard to know if it’s actually working, but the initial drilling sites haven’t been redrilled in the past week. It could also be that Jack is gone; pushed out with one of our heavy rainstorms. Or he’s begun drilling more recent holes over the RV garage door. With each repair, Roy continues to spray the basil/mint mix.

The Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act*** provides protection for Flickers (and all woodpeckers), making it illegal to harm or kill them. But when warranted, migratory birds can be killed under a depredation permit issued by the Law Enforcement Division of the USDI-Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Authorization by the relevant state wildlife agency also may be required before lethal control methods are initiated. Sound justification must be present for the issuance of depredation permits.

#3 …. Applying for a depredation permit may be our last resort, if Jack and his cohorts threaten to turn our brand new home into Swiss cheese.

AGAIN!

That’s the story, almost. This clear Conflict of Interest; an obvious Battle of Wits, continues. Just yesterday, one of the holes Roy patched above the RV garage door was redrilled this morning!

Oh Good Grief!

It’s already been repatched and resprayed, and while writing this story in my studio with window cracked and a clear view of the patched hole, I’m sure to hear and see that gorgeously determined Flicker if he returns to jackhammer away, once again, into a side of our home!

I’d love to know if you or anyone you know has a proven solution to this natural dilemma. Meanwhile …..

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Thanksgiving!

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*Northern Flickers are divided into 2 subspecies, the Western red-shafted flicker (C. auratus ssp. cafer) and the Eastern yellow-shafted Flicker (C. auratus ssp. auratus). The red-shafted subspecies is found throughout Mexico, western and west-central U.S. (where it is common all year long), and British Columbia, Canada. The closely related yellow-shafted subspecies, which is highly migratory, is found in eastern and east-central U.S., the Canadian provinces and Territories (except B.C.), and far north into AK.

**Where the range for both subspecies overlaps (in the ‘lower 48’), a lot of hybridization occurs. It’s common to see a red-shafted flicker with more orange feather shafts and/or shades of yellow-orange on the underside of their flight feathers. The same holds true for the yellow-shafted hybrid. Otherwise, appearances differ notably between both subspecies of the Northern Flicker, primarily where the malar (mustache), nape pattern (back of the head below the crown), face color, and tail and flight feathers are concerned. See the table below for non-hybrid subspecies characteristics. For hybrids, any color and pattern variation(s) and combination(s) you can imagine have probably been found!

Northern Flicker subspecies	Red-shafted	Yellow-shafted
Face color	Gray	Buffy to warm, light brown
Malar color	Male: red Female: brown	Male: black Female: brown
Nape color & pattern	Gray, unpatterned	Male: Red crescent on gray Female: gray, unpatterned
Feather shaft/under flight feathers	Pinkish to reddish to red	Yellow

***A woodpecker can peck wood 17x/second, and from 8,000-12,000x/day! Really! And they can drill into wood at a force 10x greater than a football tackle that would cause a concussion. On the November 17, 2025 episode of the Science Friday (SciFri) podcast, biologist Nick Antonson stated that woodpeckers can peck 20-30x their body weight. Now that’s amazing for a Flicker that weighs about 6 ounces!

****Because we had no desire to harm the Flicker(s) drilling into our new home, even when we reached our point of extreme frustration, we wanted to ensure our deterrent efforts aligned with wildlife regulations; especially with the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (Act). Flickers (and all woodpeckers) are considered a migratory non-game bird species, and protected under the Act. It’s illegal, punishable by fine and/or imprisonment, to harm or kill them.

Male Western red-shafted woodpecker with his tail braced against the branch(bird pixels.com)

EggTober 2025 ….. the Full Four Submissions + Bonuses

November 15, 2025

It’s a wrap! EggTober 2025 – the Full Four Submissions- all in one place!

My 3 minute YouTube video (see link below) features all 32 annotated bird egg paintings submitted for Inktober2025, along with several bonuses you won’t want to miss!

1) a pair of never-seen-before annotated Common Nighthawk eggs painted for the cover of my 6”x9” handmade journal ………

2) an index, by common name and date of appearance, of the 32 bird eggs painted and annotated between October 1 and November 1, 2025 ………

3) an accordion book attached to the inside back cover that has all the fascinating details about each of the 8 layers of an avian eggshell

YouTube Video Link

For some reason, I’m unable to embed my YouTube video directly into this post. This is rather inconvenient, huh! So until I can troubleshoot the player issue, I’d love for you to click on the link below to view the video on my YouTube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keiOCtFwASo

And That’s All Folks!
Thanks so much for joining me on this fun educational adventure.

P.S. If for some reason you’re unable to view the video, please let me know.