New Mexico – Page 7 – a curious nature

May “Littles” ….. blooming, buzzing, flying, fleeing, stalking, slithering surprises!

April may have been amazing, but it was nothing compared to the explosion of life during May. My 2-page spread doesn’t even come close to representing all that we encountered throughout the month. And the 15 species I chose as “picks” aren’t even a third of those making an appearance …… enter stage left and right!

Noticeably missing was the black chinned hummingbird. They arrived mid-May, and began defending breeding territories. One of these years, I hope to find one of their miniature nests to see what building materials the hummers use. Until then, their aerial performance is always breathtaking!

Then there was the morning Luna nearly stepped right in the middle of a really upset, hissing and striking prairie rattlesnake, practically right out our front door! It was a scary few moments until we determined Luna did not get bit! Whew. Roy expertly wrangled up the guy, herding him into a 5-gallon bucket, and relocated him a safe distance away. (I may cheat and add him to my June “Littles,” if you don’t mind, along with the first rattlesnake encounter of the season! Gotta love the desert.)

Included in the long list of flowering plants, was prickly pear cactus. Several species began opening their buds to reveal 20-30 delicate waxy yellow to apricot colored petals per bloom. It didn’t take long for the pollinators to find these delicacies!

Blooming in the foothills (5,000’ up to 7300’ elevation), there was milkwort, fleabane, scarlet globemallow, banana yucca, sundrops, milkweed, paintbrush, golden weed, common hoptree, puccoon, several species of pink-flowered hedgehog cactus, blazingstars, bee blossom, tahoka daisy, NM thistle, ……. etc. I could go on and on! And even at nearly 9,000’ elevation, rock jasmine, valerian, creeping mahonia, prairie bluebells, pasque flower and dwarf lousewort were all in bloom.

All in all, a bountiful full-on Spring bloom!

A big shout-out to “Made by Fay” for the inspiring “Littles” idea! Stay tuned for the next installment of “Littles.”

June 22, 2023

April “Littles” ….. A Rush of Spring!

In the blink of an eye …… April! The dusty browns of late winter gave way to landscapes full of color! Movement was everywhere ….. Flower buds began opening as emerging insects smacked their lips in anticipation. Birds, flocking to their breeding grounds, had hungry eyes on the growing bug population. Hibernating reptiles began to stir as the earth warmed; lizards stretching sleepy legs in their underground burrows, that will help them flee slithering snakes; snakes wriggling and coiling and hissing, perhaps thinking about a breakfast of juicy lizard or a baby bird. Mule deer moved down from the surrounding hills to nibble fresh plant growth. Coyotes hunted desert cottontails as they snacked on prickly pear pads.

April was amazing! There was so much happening, that it was all I could do to take in so many changes. It was such a challenge just to slow hike the hills every day, observing and taking photos, that keeping up with my “Littles” pages seemed impossible!

So here it is mid-June, and I’ve finally put the finishing touches on my April “Littles.” While creating my tiny framed discoveries, I questioned my desire and/or the need to continue with this project. But then I quickly dismissed those thoughts. After seeing these pages finished, I realized it was not only great fun, but an important reminder of what happens in nature during April.

Again, many thanks to “Made by Fay” for the inspiring “Littles” idea!

June 17, 2023

Geeking Out …… Total Bliss ….. Sunflowers!

June 12, 2023

David Lukas, naturalist, presented an amazing 2 hour video workshop on the largest family of flowering plants, the family Asteraceae¹, commonly called Sunflowers, Daisies, and Asters. Not only are they the largest family, they are also the most successful …. from a botanical and evolutionary perspective. That was the hook! I needed to know more!

Disclaimer! The following post is lengthy and covers many botanical things about sunflower “flowers” I wished to remember. If you decide to take this deep dive with me, prepare to be amazed. And if you make it all the way to the end, congratulations! But beware ….. you’ll develop an irresistible urge to stop and investigate every roadside sunflower on your next trip to town! Are you ready ……?

“The Felix” 2023: Escapito #1

Come on along with us for 5 days of camping fun in the Land of Enchantment, where we had some weird and close encounters with botanical beauties, a bare-butted gopher, a swarm of bees, and voracious leaf-footed beetles! All this, and more while exploring a National Conservation Area, a Desert National Monument, and a New Mexico State Park, all within the Chihuahuan desert ecosystem.

March “Littles” ….. Looking for Spring Amidst March Madness

April 3, 2023

March came in like a passive lion, allowing a few signs of Spring to peek through. My collection of nature snippets and decorative trail rocks was going well, until ……. Before long we were once again shoveling drifts and piles of snow, dumped on New Mexico thanks to California’s 13 atmospheric rivers that flowed from coast to coast. This was looking like the winter that would never end.

It was truly and literally “March Madness” out there. So, in the spirit of the crazy seasonal weather, an emergency road trip became necessary to search for some “Littles” filler. And I knew the perfect route to take …..

The Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway winds around the Ortiz Mountains and Cerrillos Hills, while passing through the historic mining towns of Golden, Madrid (MAH-drid) and Cerrillos (sir-REE-yoose). Today, there’s minimal mining taking place in them there hills. Today it’s all about art, and there’s some really weird stuff on display out there.

From Golden to just north of Cerrillos, the hillsides are adorned with metal sculptures like a Trojan horse, three boned fish on sticks, a scuba diver fleeing a curious dolphin, two-story tall origami made of folded metal, butterflies as big as pterodactyls, a squadron of green parrots, and a fleet of racing bicycles. You have to look around every bend in the road ….. they’re all there, and more!

It was fun “collecting” these images for my March “Littles” collection, but I needed one more. We had heard the story of Ethyl the Whale somehow living out of water, somewhere in Santa Fe. Sounded like the perfect weird addition to that blank spot on my page.

And there she was! Around the back side of the Santa Fe Community College, in a large, flat field was Ethyl, the 82-foot long blue whale sculpted out of single use plastics. Ethyl is HUGE! She not only holds the Guinness Book of Records for the World’s largest recycled plastic sculpture, she also delivers an important message about the health of our oceans.

Well, there you have it; my eclectic assortment of “Littles” to remember this March of 2023. Let me know what you think! I’m already looking forward to true Spring in April. Wildflowers should be popping up everywhere and maybe a few more bugs will make an appearance for my April “Littles.”

Thanks again to “Made by Fay” for the “Littles” inspiration!

Meet a Teeth Clacking, Jaw Grinding, Squealing and Woofing Peccary of the Desert Southwest….. the Javelina

March 21, 2023

Another species we searched for while visiting the Sonoran Desert surrounding Tucson last December, was the javelina. Certainly this elusive little pig-like critter was nearly everywhere we went, as attested to by the thousands of hoof prints echoing their presence. And many of those hoof prints were fresh! Certainly there must’ve been squadrons of javelina hiding behind every mesquite tree around the next countless bend in the trail?

But alas …. we never saw, heard or even sniffed out a single javelina. All we could do was record (and sketch) the herd of hoof prints, and then research this animal in the following months. Oh boy, did we really miss such a fascinating encounter.

Back at home, several months later, our friend Jim Silva was happy to share one of his javelina skull mounts for study and sketching. I’m thinking we may have been lucky not to have met up with a herd of their clacking canines during our travels!

Maybe another time?

Meanwhile …. If you’ve got a thirst for javelina knowledge, or just want to see my journal sketches, read on!

Coues …..Elfin Deer of the Desert Southwest

March 17, 2023

Even though we didn’t see any mammals while visiting the Tucson region last December, we knew they must’ve seen us! But little (pun intended) did we know, a diminutive elfin deer, the Coues Whitetail, was probably among the mix of critters observing us as we explored the area.

This tiny deer, with its oversized ears and flashing tail, is a native species found in the mountainous desert regions of the extreme Southwest and south into Mexico.

A good friend, Jim Silva, who has hunted this species in southwest New Mexico, shared one of his skull mounts with me. Since sketching the skull and an antler, I’ve learned a bit about the Coues deer, including the highlights included on my journal pages.

“Coues” is most properly pronounced “cows” (but more commonly pronounced “cooz”), is also known as the Arizona Whitetail or Fantail. Having lived in eastern North Carolina for a number of years, we are well familiar with the Eastern Whitetail, a small enough deer when compared to our local Mule Deer. But it’s hard to imagine a deer smaller than the Eastern Whitetail. Now we’re ready to return to the mountains of the Southwest and search for the Coues deer! Maybe late spring when there’s a chance of seeing a few fawns too!

What’s on your nature agenda for this spring? Ours is filling up fast!

Until next time!

February “Littles” Seeds, Pods, and Other Curiosities

March 13, 2023

Like my January “Littles” page of the bird species that visit our feeders in winter, here’s another “Littles” to commemorate the not-quite-winter-or-spring month of February ….. Seeds and Seed Pods. As a way to pass the time while waiting for Roy to finish up with a doctor visit, Luna and I conducted a focused scavenger hunt along a 2 mile circuit surrounding a large Albuquerque shopping mall. In no time at all, my collection bag was full. But knowing my pages would need some local flavor and color too, I scavenged a bit longer and turned up a few more curiosities.

Like with January’s page of birds, sketches of the species of seed pod and seeds (if collected) took less than 5 minutes each; my watercolor pencil paintings took about 10 minutes each. The restaurant logo and the frog design took a bit longer, and were done using my photos as reference.

I’m not sure why it took nearly the entire month to decide what to do for my February “Littles.” In hindsight, the decision should have been obvious, because I love seeds and the seemingly unlimited variety of pods. Now I have a record of a few city seeds that will soon germinate, helping change the landscape from brown to spring green!

Let me know what you think! I’m looking forward to March, when wildflower seedlings will be popping up which may appear in a few “Littles” boxes as well!

Thanks to “Made by Fay” for the “Littles” inspiration!

Winter Birding on Sedillo Hill: January 2023

East Mountains, Tijeras, New Mexico elevation 7,300 ft

February 15, 2023

The design for today’s post was inspired by sketchbook artist Fay. I came across her blog (see link below) while searching for nature journalers who are active in creating art and who also share some unique approaches to page layout and composition. “Littles” is the name Fay has given to one of her unique approaches. This is where she lays out several pages full of empty boxes with the goal to fill up a box a day for an entire month. Not only does this encourage a daily drawing and painting practice, but it’s her way of creating a record of what she’s observed for an entire month. “Littles” reminds me of a hyper-compressed perpetual journal.

After seeing Fay’s blog post with all her miniature drawings and paintings, I knew this would be fun to try, and I had to learn more. So we chatted and Fay encouraged me to give “Littles” a go. And I did …… with a “little” twist! I’ve been thinking of ways to keep a visual record of the birds visiting our feeders during the winter. And I needed an approach with minimal fuss, without feeling each bird needed a detailed description. Ta da!

So here’s my “Littles” page of the bird species that visit our feeders in January. I kept my sketches to less than 5 minutes each; my watercolor pencil paintings took about 10 minutes each. My sketches were done using my own reference photos, and relied heavily on my many hours of observing these species’ poses and behaviors.

Let me know what you think! I just may create a “Littles” page for our February birds. Maybe by March, when all of our snow has melted, hints of new spring growth may appear in a few “Littles” boxes as well!

Oh and …… Follow Fay! Her blog “Made By Fay” can be found at the link below. If you enjoy my posts, I will guarantee you’ll love what Fay does. She is an extraordinary visual storyteller, and enjoys drawing what she sees from her home state of Washington and on her travels about.

https://madebyfay.wordpress.com

Keeping it Hot-n-Spicy! Happy Holiday Season

December 25, 2022

A little holiday red and green from the desert southwest.
Flambé and I send you warm season’s greetings from our home base in beautiful New Mexico to wherever you may live on planet Earth.
May all your 2023 New Year’s Resolutions come true.

A little sampling from the Sonoran Desert, SE Arizona

Thanks to all for following my first full year of posts. Flambé Kat and I are excited to share our (mis)adventures with you during 2023!