trees

 A big part of Corrales is the agricultural heritage it has. People often forget this is a major part of the area's history. Today agricultural use co-exists uneasily with the needs of a diverse suburban metropolitan population. One successful strategy can be seen in Heidi's Raspberry Farm. Not only is it successful commerce, but the undisturbed land (part of the year) and the mix of vegetation types over several acres allows animal (if not plant) diversity to flourish.

The blackberries are very ripe and very large right now, they fruit early in the season. The flowers are very understated but the brambles are very real

The raspberry flowers are even simpler but will be out in more profusion. They seem to share the landscape better with other plants, with less shade and moisture retained than those tall, thick blackberries.

Weeds are prolific in this kind of taller, thick growth, which is why people usually buzz-cut their gardens. This new leaf is from a morning glory climbing vine.

There are many plants producing berries that are not cultivated. Here is chokeberries growing on the field's periphery, but there are also mulberry trees around

The weeds produce plants that seem to attract many of these little sweat bees. Pollinators are definitely working hard right now.

It is odd to see mushrooms growing in the desert. These are the fruits of the underground fungal threads that thrive on wet wood in contact with soil. Mushrooms produce spores that blow in the wind to reproduce.

Moths and butterflies are thriving in numbers at the moment. There are many skippers, like this one around in the dense bushes

The sunflowers are the biggest and best amount of pollen. Bees specialize in pollen collecting. These bees has special hairs on its legs that collect pollen in large "baskets" for carrying back to the communal hive.

This beetle in the sunflowers has small hairs over all its body, which quickly picks up pollen by static electricity.

A large open field always has predators in it. These (semi) feral cats are relatively safe because Heidi's has installed high fencing around the property that will deter the coyotes

This spider looks nothing like people would expect, because it is a male black widow spider. The widow spiders are pretty safe if you know a little info about them the genus also has "false widow spiders" as well as "brown widow" spiders. These others do not get the publicity of their more famous brethren. They are usually found in wood piles in the fall

Damp meadows always will have dragonflies in them. Some are more specialized for these environments than others. This king skimmer is basically found everywhere; a true generalist.

Damselflies are lighter versions of their tougher dragonfly relatives. These guys eat many mosquitos in damp environments, but never seem to get the recognition they deserve for it. Their nymphs survive on water fleas and prefer very clean water.

small fish need shallow water to be protected from predatory fish. But those polls are often prone to drying out. The disappearing water reveals the animals in it. Here you can see young catfish, mosquitofish, and crayfish. Most of these can survive as long as there is ANY moisture to transport oxygen across the gills.

In the bigger channels the snapping turtles will burrow into the drying mud and periodically feed on the animals in the pool as they are concentrated.

Dragonfly nymphs can move from pool to pool as long as they do not dry out. They can't fly yet. Some frogs can accelerate their development into a frog when stressed by low water levels

Stink bugs are a generic term for any bug that is smelly. But this offical stink bug (AKA Shield beetle) can be pretty beautiful up close. They are build pretty tough and have a sharp probosis for sucking plant sap and self defense.

The Tmarisk is a tree that is bad for much native fauna, but many animals have also adapted to living in it's thick foliage. When does an invasive plant become to valuable to be considered "invasive"?

Wetlands management has to worry about two types of water, shown in this picture. The top part is the "cafe au lait" milky brown water; alkaline and laden with clay. It is from moving water in irrigation ditches. The lower water is black/green "tea" and is acidic; it is laden with nitrates and clear. It is associated with stagnant pools.

This concrete lined ditch is designed to not change it's course and reduce the erosion. It is usually found between fields. The straight lines means the water travels fast, and that is part of the reason to stay out of ditches.

channels designed to drain away water from the ground tend to be more stagnant and verdant. These are the areas with the most beautiful wetland sights. Sometimes they are a marsh, but sometimes not.

Even the concrete ditches have a whole ecosystem associated with them. Here you can see the milky water with dirt laid down by periods of stagnation. This mud quickly becomes colonized by algae and grasses in bright sun.

A problem with growth is that it often is not trainable. Trees are appreciated more by people from the city than by farmers who have to mow around the trunks. There is so much that trees do, but unfortunately they can often be "inconvenient". But it took a day to create this log pile, and it will take twenty years to replace those trees. The animals and insects that these trees supported may never come back. The wood itself is now just abandoned debris.

high

 The human brain is an amazing organ. In Buddhism they have a concept of "six senses" unlike the more usual five. The extra sense is the sense of understanding. What the brain comprehends when it takes in the world around it. A picture shows different things to different people. How can a person truly see a picture. This is why humans have the non scientific world of story-telling.

 

This bullfrog has amazing senses very unlike ours. These guardian gnomes of the waterways watch the people going by with a very judgmental look, or a hint of a smile. Best as I can tell, their ancestors escaped from food farms in the flood of 1943, This is from stories of those farmer's children, who live and work in Rio Rancho today.

This is some sort of rubyspot, of the copper form. Damselflies like this one fold their wings back along the abdomen when resting.

This crazy caterpillar looks just like a foxtail, or other grass seed. But it picked a green stem to rest on instead of a straw colored one, which kind of made it easy to spot. It is some sort of tiger moth species. The adults sure look like they would be colorful. We are in for a very full insect season with this rain , heat, and plant growth.

Very soon the sunflowers will explode into color and the stalks will be attacked by families of these chafers. I think this is an Japanese beetle. While they are a plant pest, they are also beautiful. In biology things frequently have more than just one role.

orb weavers love the deep green vegetation. Their preferred method of hunting; by net, is best where the insect population is high and not very varied.

This tiny moth is a pygmy blue. Its weird to see so many colored moths out during the day. Although I think this is a butterfly.

The snails take advantage of the cool, misty mornings to forage and find mates. Gastropods have insane ways of living and reproducing. It is worth remembering that but for an extinction event, the world might never have had room for stiff backed vertebrates, such as our family gene pool.

The cicadas are still around. The moist air has allowed most of the stragglers to emerge from their exoskeletons and prepare for the next life cycle. If you look close you can see the scythe-like digging arms that the underground stages use to emerge from underground. The back also shows the nascent wings that are such a big part of an adult cicada's life.

The growth of the pigweeds herald the start of the new stage in the seasons of the ditches. The leafy plants feed and protect the grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers are a crazy mismash of parts that shouldn't work as well as they do. The wings work, sort of. They incorporate dazzle camouflage as well. Those hopping legs don't work well in dense foliage, but they also kick lizards and are used to make mating calls. Those strong jaws sometimes eat smaller grasshoppers, but mostly chomp on stringy, but also juicy plants. The front four legs are climbing legs. Grasshoppers can do way more and are far, far more complex that I know. I'm sure I will have some time over August to explain all their other cool tricks; regurgitation, how they breath through spiracules, locust morphs and behavior, etc, etc.

Unlike grasshoppers, there are many, many people who study butterflies; lepidopterists. However, we still do not invest the people resources needed for proper study. The USA Lepidopterist society points out most people interested are amateur naturalists, like you and me.

However, while the best local resource I could find is pretty low key, she is at least a professional with the ABQ Biopark society. This picture is a Sulphur butterfly species

Not all insects like the wetter weather. This bagworm carries a pile of silk and dead leaves on it's back. That is not a burden an insect wants to get wet. This one is back to eating as soon as the rain has stopped. Time is getting short.

Inside their tough, fibrous cases these caterpillars are preparing for the final stage. Either they will form into a winged male, or an egg laying female.

The bag is likely pretty waterproof, especially under a leaf. But they need to return to the ground for unknown reasons several times a day. Rot is probably a big deal for these caterpillars.

The native cottonwood leaves are decidedly more resistant that invasive species like elms and sycamores to insect attack. That alone makes me wince when I see the humans spraying insecticide on their garden trees.

We live in a desert and normally cope with low moisture. It defines us. When I read about "dewdrops glistening in the sun" in books from more northern latitudes, I have very little concept of what that means. But this tree has literal rainbows dancing from it, as the droplets cast flashes of light in all directions. It was pretty breathtaking.

Right now the mornings have all the beauty of an Oregan forest, without any ticks or mold. The moisture will disappear soon enough. The beauty we can see outside our front door is ephemeral, and damn beautiful. Get out there, you are missing it.

Another popular term in nature novels: "smoke rising from the forest floor curled up into the canopy" That's what this is, but the picture does not do it justice. It was jaw droppingly beautiful and rare for New Mexico. Just the right mix of slanted, hot sun and moist shade. The mosquitos will come, but right now there is little downside to this sylvatic paradise.

Even this mud is great. It deters everything except horseriders. Humans will pound this in to a thick porridge within a few hours. Eventually the mix of mud, and mosquitos might allow this tree tunnel to keep at least most people at bay until it dries out.

Here is the mist rising off the ground in the open. It looked just like smoke and steam and was gone within an hour.

Any small purple flower is being mobbed by honey and bumblebees right now. But that still doesn't explain how this odd plant smells EXACTLY like fresh open jar of raw honey.The moist warm air we have right now definitely helps scents travel, but this flower's scent was...arresting.

My identification app lists that plant as an indigo bush. I hope a botanist would help me out here. So many mysteries to study out there in the woods...

 

 A long distance shot of a great blue heron flying past. I had to use the radio tower in the background as a marker to try and catch a picture as it flew past unhurriedly.

I suspect these noisy crows are refugees from the cell phone tower refit in Corrales village at the police station. They have fledged offspring and are often seen dumpster diving at village pizza. They were very vocal but I could see nothing that was affecting them. The youngster is being driven out by the parents, it seems to me.

This coyote pup was being escorted around the bosque by its mom. The area is covered in desert cottontail right now and that is definitely attracting coyote families. This little guy has some growing up to do, but sure looks cute.

I used to wonder why there were so many tent pegs lying on the trail into the bosque. I still don't know really, but I have noticed there is a definite correlation with Summer, and the travel of homeless populations through the wooded areas. These tent pegs have something to do with people living in the Bosque overnight.

These needles have followed me from Albuquerque, where they thrive. It is very sad to see them appear in the Bosque, because I have watched syringes proliferate, and destroy the city parks of Albuquerque. They are in the arroyos at all edges of the city. Their presence just makes people abandon putting down communal roots. Eventually the presence of syringes can remove the whole community and replace it just people who live in an area. The spread can be slowed, but I have seen dedicated people fail to stop these drugs from destroying a population's future. This syringe was at Bosque beach today.