mist

The ditches have been emptied again and a few sunfish, like this one, had to be rescued to the clear ditch. The colors on live fish are very striking. The beautiful stripes fade quickly after death.

The ditch sides are soft and often collapse. They need constant maintance to keep working. 

The bosque plants follow a very clear succession, where plants colonize open areas, then the shade produced allows different species to exploit the new niches created. Here, the mature cottonwood trees drop leaves that suppressed their own seedlings and allowed grass to grow in the moist and light mulch created. The cover from the grass allows delicate seedlings to survive full sun until the roots can be established.

Often, plants will inhibit further growth of their own species. The old rushes had growth that can be seen in the areas of brown- no new growth this year. The new growth is where the cattails were removed from the ditch sides last year by mowers, creating an opening that allows new growth this year before the algae smothered the growing stems.

Muskrats eat cattails , but these chewed sticks show where a beaver has been storing it's larder underwater and is likely thinking of moving into Scuzzy.

This scary looking spider eats woodlouse. It has long fangs to reach over the rolypoly carapace and inject venom into the softer underbelly. The strange coloring means many people think these spiders are ticks.

This Jerusalem cricket, or child of the earth died for some reason, likely cold.

Out in the mesas, many flowers are blooming for the benefit of beetles, moth and local bees. Cactus flowers are very distinctive

This flower has a crazy number of pollen anthers. Later the bees will be found sleeping in them.

Most of the most beautiful flowers in the desert are tiny, but will grow in profusion.

Some, like this ephedra look nothing like a flower. Many will also not have showy, fragile petals, just a stamen.

Flowers focus on the pollinators, many of which are currently being poisoned by humans when they visit populated areas. The desert is within reach of everyone and is a very fragile and beautiful place that needs far more respect that it is getting currently.