flowers

 Corrales is more than just a place to live. It is also a community. There are many influences that come together to make this place what it is. Down on the ditches that drain the marshy lands next to the river, we often forget that without the mountains and their migratory flyways, we wouldn't have the diversity of birds all year. At this time of year, the darkling beetles that hatched in the leaf litter are heading up the sand dunes to the westside mesa, where lizards and small birds are waiting. Without the vast open places of the reservations across the river to the east, we wouldn't have the majority of those mammals that need space (car and cat free) to roam.

 

 The cactus puts out an amazing amount of pollen and nectar. both wild and domestic bees seem to luxuriate in rolling in the powder of the just opened petals.

The cholla spend so much of the year just sulking. It is nice to see them putting out the pretty pinks and purples.

Primroses are much more stingy with their nectar. Apparently they suffer by being too efficient in self pollinating. This is bad, as adaptation needs the element of chance to be acted on by evolutionary forces.

Spanish broom. a popular garden flower as it is showy and easy to grow, but without becoming a weed.

a legume type of flower, like all desert flowers, it is tiny, short-lived, and hides in the shade of other shrubs.

this is the unassuming bud that the flower seems to come from. Somehow life is coaxed out with the right conditions.

Desert cottonwood seeds always seem to have new tricks. I have noticed their fluffy design is perfect for not only blowing in the wind, but also rolling across dry ground. They are also great for tangling in spiders webs and collecting in areas of water and weeds.

Not only do the spines of the nightshade seem to collect them (thus providing a shady and moist nursery) but those seed fluffs seem to congregate at ground level, exactly where a seed would wish to be.

As the summer heat approaches, the flowers get bolder as time begins to run out. The datura and buffalo gourds put out big, showy flowers in oranges and whites

The dry uplands support a lot of seed eating birds, like the ubiquitous gambel's quail. The coopers hawks appear to be hunting exclusively in those scrublands now, probably for these guys. The doves seems quite unbothered by the raptors.

Lizards have impressive behaviors if we take the time to watch. They become mobile as the day warms up, feed for a short while, then spend the hottest part of the day exploring and communicating with other lizards. Whiptails seem to prefer all types of ground

These more spotted lizards are found in sandy , dry soils. This one lost its tail a long time ago. It grew back, but not as long.

This one is the same species as the one above. The tail is much more impressive and colored. The throat is colored as well. This species is not found in the bosque, as far as I can tell.

The woodhouse toads have already laid eggs, and the tadpoles are collected in fish free pools along the canals. The raccoons predate some, but the tadpoles have time to grow, until the crayfish move in during the hottest part of the summer.

The numbers of moths at night are steadily growing in numbers and sizes as the night temperatures rise. But they often do not follow any rule book, especially in swarm years.

This is an adult antlion, looking a lot like a dragonfly, or damselfly, but with a very different head and way of flying.

The bagworms are growing fast, but there are also others hiding in those high tree tops. Like this inchworm, found in the scrub oaks.

Some areas of the ditches are far more "fertile" than others. This plant overgrowth is either fertilizer, or animal waste (including humans). It seems ideal for frogs and toads, but is a bad idea for many other species. Many parts of the California central valley desert are also covered in this green goo. Fertilizer and water are used to force the desert to be fruitful. But so many adaptations in plants and animals in the ecosystem become lost when it is altered by humans.