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Corrales is a place of many contrasts. Summer versus winter. Desert versus ditches. Big houses versus small. Nature versus development

This curve bill thrasher is one of the desert birds never seen by the river. Another is the quail. Thrashers are often seen on cactus.

The river side of Corrales has drainage issues from being too flat. The desert side has drainage issues from erosion (too much elevation). Right now, the big issue is 15% grade. Some of these roads are pretty steep.

On Loma Largo, the dividing line between the two worlds, this Coopers hawk was chased off by a rival. Many birds of prey prefer to have habitat with boundaries between different terrain. Tall trees and open fields. A telephone pole can stand in for a tree in a pinch.

This drainage pond is designed to hold back stormwater from eroding the ground under buildings that are on the hill. House prices benefit from the great view of the Sandias, but at a cost of land use complications. I usually see these ponds fill in with sand very quickly in a wet year. Sometimes even before the desert frogs hae had a chance to use them to breed.

This site has been in the local paper recently as people argue over the importance of 15% grade. I noticed how close Rio Rancho now is to becoming one with Corrales. This fence line had been well and truly trampled down.

 The clay banks leading up to the Thompson fence line (Corrales West boundary) has many holes created by all sorts of critters. These ones are likely from sand wasps making nesting cavities.

The desert side is not short of trees that can survive there. Pinyon-juniper landscapes are plentiful around New Mexico's limestone areas. This is a pinyon (the New Mexico state tree). You can see the pinyon nuts (seeds, not nuts) inside the cone.

This is a non native species (Arizona Cyprus). These trees throw out a very dense shade in the heat of the summer.

There are many species of juniper trees, I'm not sure which one these is. I'm pretty sure it isn't one seed juniper. The tastiest, and most juicy, in my opinion. Some people call these trees "cedar" but they aren't in that family.

Since learning yesterday about wetwood, white rot, and slime diseases I seem to be noticing the signs of infection everywhere. The cause is a bacteria and there is no cure. It seems to only affect middle sized trees.

The culivated trees offer habitat for many local species who then adapt to bird feeders, like this finch. Many insects are attracted to the moisture from wet rot.

Another example of wet rot. This one likely came from contaminated cutting tools.

The small flowers are spreading. this one is called stork's bill, from the characteristic shape of the seed pods when these flowers are pollinated.

A clear sign of spring is these ant lion trails that are left in the light dust of the foot trails. They meander like they are random, but they always look for the deepest dust under a tree.

Here is an ant lion trap. The ant lion larva has huge jaws and uses them to throw sand at ants on the edge of the cone. The adult ant lion has wings and looks like a small dragonfly and will be around in the fall.

These carpenter ants are cold and slow, but have begun to scout around as the soil temps climb past 70 degrees.

Not too sure what this beetle is. Will research it more as I bet there are more like him out there.

This is a stink bug. Apparently called a "Elfen shoe"? New one for me.

There are a staggering number of different moths in the world, this one is a type of wainscot moth. Most are actually gold colored in the right light. I love the furry mane they have around their shoulders. They all have a slippery layer of dust on their wings that makes it very hard to get a good grip on the wings.

This little phoebe catches gnats out of the air one by one with the tiny beak acting as a pair of fine tweezers.They will barely put a dent in the number of insects emerging now.

The turtles are coming out in larg numbers as they compete for the best sunbathing spots. Most look very old.

The scuzzy ditch is living up to its name right now, as the microscopic plants in the water release oxygen bubbles into the tangled mat around them. The surface of the water has bacteria, pollen spores, windblown seeds, dust and other debris on it that traps the bubbles and add to the general murkiness. The water table is actually rising pretty rapidly right now, and the fish appear to be following the water up the scuzzy ditch. Carp, blue gill, trout and catfish are all hanging out looking for new areas to exploit.