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.