Colors

 Skotogala

Colors in Corrales are amazing, and we often see the best ones in the late fall. The orange of ripe pumpkins is usually reflected in the last of the autumn leaves. But vibrant hues are seen in many places if we know where to look.

               New Mexico does not usually get to see the aurora borealis, but his month we were privileged to get quite an amazing view for one night during an intense solar storm. Magnetic particles in the upper atmosphere interacted with nitrogen in the lower atmosphere, releasing neon hues. On November 11-12 three solar storms converged and gave New Mexico quite a firework display for a brief period overnight. We also saw other visitors.

               The sandhill cranes visit New Mexico every year quite predictably. They must be quite used to the auroras at the latitudes they spend their summer nights, flying as far north as Russia and northern Canada. They draw attention to each other with their bright red heads during the day, as well as their loud calls and balletic dancing.

               Someone who does pay them attention is the coyote. While these do well by being mostly omnivores, they are not above snagging an unwary crane is the chance presents itself. Either feathered or furred, both animals like to frequent apple orchards and corn fields. Coyotes are very good at blending into their environment, and few people notice they are there if they don’t want to be seen. While reviled they are quite important to the whole ecosystem.

               Leaf litter is usually viewed negatively as well, which is weird in light of their value to the future. It is an important resource for seedlings during the mild winters when plants are still able to grow despite the short days and cold nights. Seedlings such as hackberry trees benefit from the minerals and moisture found in the deep leaf litter. Dead leaves also insulate from the freezing air that could damage a fragile plant.

               Many insects also benefit from leaf litter. The moisture and warmth protect larva of many insects who might otherwise not survive the winter. The larvae of a hoverfly might spend a mild winter feeding on aphids, while the adult emerges in the spring to be an important pollinator. Despite the fly’s bee-like appearance, this fly is completely harmless to humans.

               The colors of the fall and winter are quite impressive, but they do not exist in a vacuum and may even one day vanish. Sandhill cranes were once rare, as their cousin the whooping crane is now. Coyotes thrive because their predators, mountain lion and wolves were extirpirated. We don’t even know how many insects are vanishing as their protective leaf litter is cleaned away. Even the heavens are vanishing. The aurora needs dark skies to be seen, and when was the last time most people saw the actual milky way through the lights of cities?

Rain

 “The gentle rain, that falls unseen, Softens the earth where man has been.”

Byron

Corrales is a place with many strange colors, shapes and things to see. Most of these need a closer look to appreciate what they actually are. The wilderness off Corrales is actually a lot more artificial and managed than most people realize, but there is still a wild beauty all around us.

This beetle is one of the ladybug species. Usually these eat small aphid insects. It's full name is Harmonia axyridis. It has been introduced to the US from Asia to control scale and aphids. These beetles often hibernate in winter, but as their lie span is about a year, they usually hatch a new generation each spring.

This is likely a variegated meadow hawk dragonfly. These are more often found in tall vegetation and don't see to be dependent on open water areas like other larger species. You can see the wings are a bit dog eared and worn out with use. This adult will die as winter comes on, the next generation is probably already. Underwater nymphs that overwinter in pools of water with vegetation stems to rest on.

vegetation in Corrales gets quite dull in the autumn. Plants don't produce reproductive structures like flowers when there are fewer pollinators around. This is Oenothera flava, a short lived, short stemmed plant adapted to the cold and wet of Canada. This plant blooms at night and is used to indicate the health of moth pollinators.

The interior drain is a contentious issue in Corrales, but everyone can see the vegetation loves the increased humidity and lower summer temperatures in that trench. The increased mowing needed does expose the abundant mice that were once hidden to those predators; such as this great horned owl. This picture as taken in near darkness, but by the wonders of AI the image appears to be almost daylight.

Woodpeckers, flickers and sap suckers are related birds. This is a red shafted flicker, they appear to over winter in Corrales. They feed on beetles and ants, often being found on the ground more than other birds. Their triple call sounds a lot like a Cooper's hawk territorial call, but ornithologists are not sure if this is an example of deliberate mimicry or not.

While New Mexico snails are pretty rare, we do have some weird specialist desert snails. This, however is not one of those. It is actually a predatory snail, feeding on other snails and their eggs. It was imported into California for this purpose, but tends to cause declines in native species as well as pests. It is called the "beheading snail" because it purposely snaps off the pointed tip of the shell to help burrow into the soil during dry periods.

This is likely Richia parentalis. These moths are hard to tell apart easily. Moths like this require leaf litter to protect them from freezing and desiccation while they overwinter in the larval stage. The adults are quite short lived but awesome to look at up close.

The weather is now perfect for seedlings, the morning dew helps keep humidity high and the temperatures are not too hot. There is also still plenty of light for growth, giving perfect growing conditions for those that can take advantage of it. The weeds are adapted to germinating quickly because of the human habit of destroying everything back to the bare earth. Most of these seedlings are Kochia, which ironically used to be a farmed crop, but is now a weed because it grows so well.

Coyotes have adapted very well to humans, especially as we removed their biggest predators, wolves and mountain lion. They live unmolested in the open spaces across the river, but are tempted into Corrales by mice, and apple orchards.

Orchards in Corrales are in decline, but the trees that are present are incredibly productive, often to the point of being a nuisance. From experience I can say each tree requires at least a 1/2 hour to pick. The variety of trees is huge. Although we see nothing like the diversity and abundance the trees once enjoyed throughout the US in their heyday. This was actually 1994, with 11.8 billion pounds of apples harvested in the US.

Mushrooms in the wild should never be eaten, it's just too easy to mistake them and the results range from upsetting to terminal. "All mushrooms can be eaten once, some can be eaten more than once"as the mushroom huntters like to quip. The gills release the spores that mushrooms use to reproduce instead of seeds. The actual methods of reproduction are mind boggling and vey complicated.

This mushroom looks more familiar, with the typical veil, marking it as an Agarcius species. Could be edible but I would never risk it. Look closely and you might see the small insects already moving in. Those are likely springtails and they have a whole ecology sprouting on this shiny white cap.

Corrales has enjoying a late Autumn rainy season that will be all too fleeting. But while it lasted, we can see a whole system of ecology around the extra moisture, from mushrooms and seedlings sprouting, to apples falling and those coyote visits. All these things should all be appreciated because they quickly will pass. They are all so fleeting and valuable.

Float

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring :

There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again. Alexander Pope The weather is being ideal for plant growth, cottonwood dispersal, and toad courtship. Temperatures are good, with some moisture and slight winds. This means the ecosystem is thriving now, with plants growing, attracting insects, which in turn bring birds into the Corrales trees.

This insect is the larval form of Orchestes steppenis. common name Elm Flea Weevil. When elms in the US began to become affected in 2003, the culprit was actually undiscovered in it's native Europe and it took a graduate student's thesis in 2018 from Ohio State to figure this all out.

The weevil larvae starts feeding by a process called "leaf-mining. Where it eats the leaf from the inside, effectively walling itself from the outside world of dehydration and attacking insects such as praying mantids and parasitoid wasps. When it matures in the hot summer is seems to drop to the ground and go into a torpid state until the following spring.

There are many predators of the weevils that keep things in check. Spiders are a common one and not often recognized for their services to gardeners. This spider has two names, depending on the fear it inspires, either the cupboard spider, or a false widow. Both names belong to the genus Steatoda and refer to the same insect

""The best way to prove the clearness of our mind, is by showing its faults; as when a stream discovers the dirt at the bottom, it convinces us of the transparency and purity of the water."   Alexander Pope

irrigation is a very old form of land management and is still used in Corrales. It not only irrigates fields for crops, but can also be used to prevent weeds from forming. The muddy water from the surface water chokes out kochia and other weeds that grow, letting the farmer chose when and how the plants should grow. The depth of water, clarity, composition, and temperature all help decide which seeds grow and which will wilt. Here you can see the short grasses geting flooded while the floating water plants such as Didymosphenia geminata continue to grow in the sunlight.

Other plants grow preferentially in the shallows. The succession of plant growth from pond to meadow are quite well known and often start with tall grasses, such as rushes. As detritus collected between the plant stems the ground rises until it is dry most of the time. Here you can see a surface sheen that looks pearly, this is a mixture of dust and pollen that slowly over time forms a fossil record of the plant activities of past seasons.

Pollen is released by insects but also on the wind. These are the catkins of the coyote willow. They don't look much like typical flowers but are able to send out large clouds of pollen when the time is right.

Ants and wasps are part-time pollinators but come in a dazzling variety of species. This ant is actually a small wasp. There are probably about 40,00 unrecognized wasp species but this one is probably a braconid genus..

Most people fear wasps but often forget the insect eating abilities of those such as this scolid wasp that hunts for underground beetle grubs to use as living larders of the eggs.

"All nature is but art unknown to thee; / All chance, direction, which thou canst not see." Alexander Pope

Woodhouse toads need flooded fields, with semi-permanent water and night time temperatures above 60 degrees. In a few weeks their little progeny should be jumping all over the ditch banks as if by magic.

"Truth needs not flowers of speech." Alexander Pope

The range of plants is quite staggering. Its not surprising really as they have been evolving for about 140 million years. This flower is called a paintbrush and produces heavy amounts of nectar to attract hummingbirds. They are a hardy plant used often in xeric landscapes, however they are hemi-parasitic, dependent on host plants and react poorly to transplanting. Oddly, it is used to produce a black dye for deerskins

This delicate flower is called an evening primrose, but it is not related to those species. They are drought hardy and have many medicinal uses ascribed to them. It only has four, heart shaped petals which are semi-transparent.

The salsify flower is a rugged species of aster, much like a dandelion but much larger. Its full name is Tragopogon dubis and is another introduced European plant. Apparently the cooked roots taste like oysters. There is a paradox in that we have an almost infinite variety of choices of what we eat and consume but the easiest, is the one that takes the least thought and effort, always the choice that others are selling to us.

Many people are fascinated by birds. They seem to express something that human seek within themselves. They are exquisitely adapted and also endlessly adaptable. Often they seem so smart in how they look for food, how they migrate and how they present themselves to the world. This wren shows the classic thin beak of a insect catching species.

After the rains many birds examine the lay of the land. This finch has a large beak well designed for many feeding tasks. The brief monsoons have unleashed a large number inf insects that birds spend most of the day looking for and catching. Later in the year this same bird will switch to a diet of fruits and seeds as it can find them.

The red wing blackbird relies on water and swollen acequias to provide nest cover for the female. The male uses a loud voice and a pair of flashy epaulettes to draw attention away from her and towards himself.

    For a land dominated by dry grassland, fresh rainfall moisture can certainly change how the bosque operates. The plants insects and animals all go into a sort of overdrive as the hot dry road of time continues. Often I wonder why humans don't appreciate the stability of the world around us. We focus on the negatives in our own lives but the vast majority of the world seems to amazingly be able to spin around without any kind of intervention on our behalf at all.

Shine

Even though the weather is acting up, late April is the time when "gardening" begins for most home owners and farmers. The soil temperature is increased and the humidity has risen. Many people will have noticed the increase in insects. Likely this was not with the attitude of awe that they deserved.

A common isopod is a good example of why things need to examined closer. This creature is not quite an insect, but a relative of the crustaceans of the sea and first evolved 400 million years ago. This particular species (heavy, and able to roll into a ball) arrived from Europe around the 1500's. It quickly became the dominant isopod. Most other species are more fragile, living in specialized niches, such as the Socorro Isopod, found in only one thermal spring in Socorro, NM. The biggest isopod is found ,much like its ancestors around 3,000 feet down in the sea off the gulf of Mexico and can weigh up to 3.5 lbs.

Insects had learned to fly by about 350 MYA, vasty increasing the ecological niches they could occupy. One of the first niches was learning how to digest and burrow into wood with the aid of symbiosis with fungi, bacteria and protists. Every spring the first warm, humid day brings out flying termites. These are not as fearsome as many pest control companies would have you believe.

Insect hatchings drive many animals to risk an early foray into the unknown. The cold air at night still makes the amphibians slow, but the drive to feed and mate allowed this female bullfrog the impetus to try to gain some residual daytime heat from the denuded dirt roadway on Andrew's Lane.

Mayflies are relished by any fish and bird able to catch them. While they are not particularly nutritious, their large numbers and ease of capture makes them very sought after by many small animals. They can often be found in the early morning resting on the stucco of people's houses.

AS the weather warms up many problems come to the fore that residents of Corrales often forget about. The acequias need constant, but also low grade maintenance and are sadly in desperate need of saving. Each year more and more of them are filled in and abandoned due to many reasons. The permanent loss of the Siphon of Corrales is really more of a symptom than an actual cause of the decline of this communal web-way of water courses that used to bind the people to the land.

We use the land differently now, and what used to be a source of flood protection is now a traffic hazard for the unwary. Sadly, there are many in Corrales who don't see anything bad about paving over this area and installing pipes for irrigation control, fire prevention, and other neighborhood damaging infrastructure projects that bring in cash for the village or residents. 

Lizards in the bosque don't attain the impressive size, colors and jaw muscles of the desert species, but they are out there in impressive numbers. They take advantage of the solar rays to improve their digestion of the small insects. Not many are in a mating mood yet, but the early lizard still gets the best basking spots.

Common carp prefer to spawn in clear, shallow pools that have only just formed from lateral irrigation drainage from the farm fields. After swimming in from the Rio Grande, they migrate to the shallow pools that have only just become submerged as soon s the water covers the vegetation. Each gravid female is attended by several males who stand guard to fertile the eggs as they are released.

Dandelions are modern miracles of plant evolution. They reproduce by apomixis. They clone themselves and rapidly repopulate an area as soon as they can produce seeds. They are 100% indestructible yet people keep trying.

It's hard to believe, but people actually want to fly-fish for carp. It makes sense if you like a good fighting fish that is challenging to interest and also to land. I still have some trouble wrapping my head around the concept of fishing, however. Especially as so few people in New Mexico seem to like eating local fish.

Some time around 400 MYA these sun spiders separated from true arachnids and scorpions. Today they are arid systems specialists, using heavy jaws to catch prey rather than webs or poison fangs.

Earwigs are fascinating insects that can actually pincer with those two projections at the end, just not very well. They were more often found in houses when wallpaper and the  edible wall paper paste existed. The pincers on this female are straight, but also asymmetrical, which is unusual in the insect world. You can also see the wing casings over the back, but they don't like to fly.

Its one of the odd thoughts about humans that we like a plant that is vigorous and healthy, until we don't. Siberian elms are a perfect shade tree. Tough, adaptable and easy to grow. They were deliberately introduced for exactly these reasons. They are also prolific and usually considered a weed for exactly the same reason. This one is growing up through a tiny crack in the concrete, and even if pulled up, the chances are good that the sapling will resprout. Already the seeds of the next generation are about to sprout in the damp soil.

This poppy is growing through the asphalt in Albuquerque, it is a remarkably prolific and useful domesticated plant. Used as a source of drugs as well as food. They are a common emblem for war grief due to appearing in many Belgium muddy fields. No one gives the dandelion as much credit.

The cross flower (or blue mustard) is only out for a short time and very inconspicuous, except for the smell of...well, it seems to be different for different people. I think it is subtle and sweet, but others think it is strong and foully pungent.

An easy way to tell how long a bird has been in an areas is to see how shy it is. This night heron is recently arrived and seems to be a bit hesitant in coming down from the trees to fish. They usually prefer to come out in the late evening, so this also explains the behavior.

Wood ducks are beautiful little birds with anxious personalities. In spite of their appearance they are less stately and more "anxious chihuahua" especially when you hear their worried squeaks.

The ditches in Corrales are quite amazing. The still, deeper water (>1 foot) and the shallow (0-5 inches) tangled water plant roots are completely different habitats and contain totally different species of plants and animals. Littoral areas are shallow, deeper areas are called limnetic and are rarer in our ditches.

Anyone noticed that the insects in the city are very different in numbers from those in the country? Cockroaches exist, but lead a much more precarious existence and are far fewer. This is not due to humans killing them, but because of the many predators like lizards and sometimes hawks and mice that will snack on them. With all these predators removed from the city by people, many cockroaches thrive well in concrete and steel pipes in the dark and dank corners.

Small ants also thrive better in the city, mostly due to their diet of basically anything humans eat. There are many more carpenter ants in Corrales and they can be seen carrying the many seeds from cottonwoods and elms that are blowing around right now. In the summer they often switch to feeding on insects, like beetles and grasshoppers.

Vultures and hummingbirds are arriving in Corrales now. The turkey vultures are probably heading on soon, but the hummingbirds might stick around a little longer. Neither species is a big fan of flying in the rain, but are able to well enough.

    Other birds stick around. This is a poor picture of the red shouldered blackbird, found wherever there is shallow ponds and cattails. They have distinctive trills, but the females are well hidden in the reeds. Tall trees help these birds announce their claim to territory and prevent costly misunderstandings.

Gardening is a costly territorial effort to control the fate of a whole ecosystem in miniature. Sometimes to learn about the whole, other times as a vanity. 

    In both cases it is not a bad thing, while your fingers are in the damp dirt, to think about all those things and creatures that went before, to allow you the luxury of this illusion of control.