Mist

 As water continues to become more scarce within the desert southwest, the quality of the water left becomes ever more important. We have not been good stewards for water quality in the past, for many reasons, but now we no longer have the luxury of ignorance.

In many ways, bullfrogs make for an odd invasive creature for New Mexico, where permanent ponds of clear water are usually in short supply. Unfortunately, these big amphibians are very adaptable to humans and irrigation systems. They have happily settled into the many dams and man made storage lakes that dot the farming communities and tolerate a wide range of conditions.

Woody debris is not easily degraded in the dry southwest. When it does occur, the fungi like this inky cap mushroom are responsible for most of the work of making dead wood disappear. The mushrooms actually can be used as ink, but degrade into a goo so fast most people will not bother. There is not a wide diversity of fungi here, but most people do not look. There is certainly more species that the average person realizes at high elevations and everywhere in New Mexico that still has trees.

Passionflower is a really amazing plant that is often bought from grocery stores for these showy flowers. The flower produces sticky traps to deter caterpillar as well as nectary to encourage insect eating ants to visit. Sometimes, the flowers attract bats, but most insects benefit from this climbing vine in some way.

Trumpet vines and passion flowers are always popular in gardens. For some reason the thistle, which is even prettier, is much less appreciated in the garden. There are 19 native thistle species, and two invasive species. They are all very heavily relied by most forms of insects and seed eating birds.

Even though this dragonfly does not benefit directly from plants such as thistles, they can only thrive in areas of wetlands with heavily vegetated borders. They prey on large numbers of native insects such as mosquitos which actually feed on plants, not people.

Many people know of stick insects, but these insects still have a few surprises left among the 2,000 different species that make up the family. Some species can spray uric acid into the faces of predators. Others use ants to disperse their eggs. Most use a mixture of cups and spines to climb vertically and upside down. One species is able to change its colors like a chameleon. Only 1 in 1,000 individuals is a male. Some species stay mating for up to three weeks. Research suggested the females that carried around a male survived bird attacks far better by using their partner as a decoy. They often"quake" when alarmed, to look more like a twig on a plant. They often feed at night to avoid movement that could attract birds, but they are easily seen by bats who don't use sight to hunt. Even their eggs look like plant seeds to avoid being targeted by parasitic wasps. They can also shed legs or exude noxious tasting chemicals from their joints if they are spotted.

Squash bugs are the bane of gardeners everywhere, but you have to admire the insectoid tenacity. The adults overwinter in the soil below the plants, making them difficult to kill. They have tough exoskeltons, and not only are they resistant to pesticides, but they feed and lay eggs at the plant's tips, that are often missed in spraying. They are very good at hiding unless there is a large number of them. The smell deters us from crushing them in large numbers. Still, in all fairness, the squash plants they attack are very delicate souls that show blemishes easily and wilt fast because of  highly inbreed and selective domestic breeding. Many gardeners plant sacrificial plants on the borders like tansy and nasturtium. It is interesting that the internet is filled with MANY solutions to removing them from cucumbers, squash, or zucchinni (cucurbits). If any of this advice actually worked for their readers, it's likely there would be less written, not more.

Story telling is far more of a complex art than it would first appear. In a recent tomato patch, I was handed this bunch of "berries" that are actually a close relative of tomato. A tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable. These fruits are actually from a different nightshade species and not for eating. They are likely not poisonous either, but would cause some stomach upset. New Jersey began growing tomatoes, so the story goes, when a gentleman farmer proved tomatoes were not poisonous like other nightshades are, by eating one on the steps of the Salem court house, in 1820. In the 1980's this historical act was re-enacted with live actors on "Robert Gibbon Johnson Day". People do like a good yarn.

Mist is not a rare thing in many parts of the world, like San Francisco.However, climate change is making it rarer. In New Mexico it is rarer still. This mist formed recently in Heidi's raspberry fields that have been left fallow this year. the tall plants in this picture trap the cooler, moist air close to the ground and show very effectively why ground cover is important in mediating our environment. The moist air also encourages pathogenic fungus to flourish that helps control the numbers of certain pest species, such as spongy moth.

Birds are becoming much more visible in the bosque as their numbers swell from fall migration and the leaves that hid them also vanish. Most birds are small, like this black phoebe.

Other birds are much bigger. This night heron lives a very predictable life fishing and is reliably found in a very small section of the bosque. He was flushed into the tree by a loud dog walker nearby, allowing his red eyes and yellow legs to stand out markedly. Normally he is invisible standing motionless in the reeds.

 

 Many birds have long associations with humans. These feral turkeys are attracted to the area by food put out to tempt sandhill cranes to visit. Here, they are foraging on three leaf sumac berries. The pale one is the mother.

While up to four great heron can roost at the end of Andrews lane, they are usually more solitary. In the fall they boast extra fancy feathers along their necks and back. Right now, they are simply enjoying the good fishing because of the low water levels. They also catch frogs and crayfish. I hear they are pretty good at catching mice, too.

A true sign of fall is these red shafted flickers. Their loud piercing calls are very distinctive in the trees right now.

The bigger raptors are returning now that there are no more pestering birds like hummingbirds to ruin their hunting. They hunt rabbits and ducks but spend a lot of their time watching the world from a favorite roosting spot. This is a Swainson's hawk. In spite of their large size, its preferred food are large grasshoppers which are easy to catch in the cool mornings.

The osprey is an uncommon sight, and very majestic. A huge fish eating bird, they look for the large carp as the fish become stranded by draining water.

All the animals here rely on the source of water that is controlled by human activity. Ever since the ditches were dug to drain away the water from the swampy areas in the 1930's the flow of irrigation water has been carefully controlled by people who depended on it. Today, land stewards spend a lot of time collecting litter from recreational visitors and generally dealing with poor land and water management practices. This trash can thrown into a muddy ditch sums up the situation pretty well.

Words

Adjective:

noun

Grammar

plural noun: adjectives

a word or phrase naming an attribute, added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.

 

I have often noticed that adjectives used to describe animals and nature say less about the animals, and a lot more about the attitudes of the speaker. Unfortunately, this means many speakers keep their mouths closed instead of speaking and being thought of as a fool (to paraphrase Mark Twain). This lack of communication in areas of doubt and uncertainty leads to society as a whole suffering from inflated ignorance and a lack of interest in new things. Individuals learn by making mistakes, but urban societies tend to be risk adverse in competitive environments. When that happens, weird ideas and a trend towards myopia flourishes. Expanding the mind is about more than just gaining knowledge, it helps people think about thinking...

Is this a famous monarch butterfly, or one of the many near mimics? This actually IS a monarch and this year they are doing well, but are declining in the long term. The monarch story is so well known that many myths are taken as fact. This butterfly is sipping from a sunflower (actually a capitulum) for a quick energy boost. They need "lebensraum" (Friedrich Ratzler, 1904; NOT Adolph Hitler) as well as milkweed to survive.

While there are many moths out right now, there are not many of these owlet genus. That beautiful snow white shawl on the shoulders helps the insect keep the flight muscles warm at night.

Ring necked pheasants were released as a hunting bird in the Rio grande valley sometime in the 1880's. They have spread slowly northwards into Corrales. They are incredibly shy and hard to capture on camera because they are always close to dense vegetation to hide in. This one was confused by the chicken wire and stopped just long enough to pose. It is odd such a colorful bird can be so hard to see.

 

 White winged doves are a common sight in the bosque all year. The white band along the wing edge gives them their name. They are strong fliers and are usually on the look out for predators. New Mexico has seven dove species and most are very common. However, the band tailed pigeon migrates intot eh area in the autumn. They are federally protected, so hunters have to be very careful in their bird identifications to avoid huge fines.

I think this is a juvenile red tailed hawk. Many raptors do not always have the proper colored feathers, especially if they are young, which makes bird identification really difficult occoasionally. Many of these birds are trying to figure out how to hunt the new migratory bird species coming into Corrales, with varying levels of success.

Butterflies should be very easy to see, but this cabbage white butterfly but has a faint green tinge to the wings that makes it invisible in the grass, unless it has just landed.

Other butterflies are very small even thought they are common, like this pygmy blue. It isn't dead, just cold in morning air. It came to life very quickly from the heat of my hands.

Plain yellow butterflies have a lot of markings on their wings that help identification. They also look exactly the same as insect holes in an old leaf. This is a common species - Clouded sulphur.

The fritillary butterflies have just about vanished now. Unlike other butterflies, this group has weak front legs that do not have claws. They are named for the chequered pattern of their wings.

Now irrigation season has ended, the water is drying up fast in the ditches. The orange, clay sediment is still being stirred up by the myriads of fish that are being trapped in the retreating waters. This is preventing the water weeds from growing and the resulting eutrophication is causing increased fish panic as bacteria uses up dissolved oxygen to breakdown the plant material.

The mallards and wood ducks are dropping by, but they are not staying this year due to lack of permanent water sources. They eat aquatic insects and pond weed. More importantly, the permanent water supply is protective from raptors (who can't swim) and land predators (that can't ambush in water).

Many aquatic insects do not need much water to flourish, like this Large red damselfly. These insects feast on midges and mosquitoes while they are around.

 

 Many insects have an unfair reputation for being fierce. This insect is nicknamed the "cow-killer" due to the alleged painful sting. Spend five minutes watching one and see if it pays humans even the slightest amount of attention.

Spiders do actually kill six people a year on average. However, dogs kill about ten times more people each year in the US and they are seen as cuddly. This spider is chowing down on a much more likely victim; a leafhopper.

The yellow fever mosquito is a recent visitor to the US, relatively speaking. Global warming means this species is likely to spread, and has been identified in Corrales (this picture is in my house). The last major outbreak of yellow fever in the US was 1905 in New Orleans, but it really is just a matter of time...

There are many black beetles in the bosque, and almost all are harmless. This beetle is also harmless to humans, but is a burning blister beetle. Horses occasionally die from the effects of the vesiccant they release when handled roughly (or eaten in quantity). This beetle preys on grasshopper eggs.

This female is showing off her classic red hourglass abdomen. These spiders grow to a large size and are very dramatic. While 4-8 people do die each year in the US from Black widow bites, there are 2,500 reported bites to American Poison control centers each year, so they are nowhere near as deadly as portrayed.

This beautiful arachnid is only distantly related to spiders. Arizona bark scorpions could, in theory, kill a small person. Still, the statistics show only 4 people have died in the US from scorpion bites in the last 11 years. This one has been identified as a Baja bark scorpion, which is not considered a threat to humans, but there is a lot we don't know about this species.

The white lined sphinx moth is a very arresting moth mostly due to its large size. Apparently the hornworm caterpillars were once eaten during feasts. They have huge population surges like many moths and then vanish quickly.

Purple bindweed is a beautiful but noxious weed that causes intestinal stasis in horses, which can be lethal. So whether this plant is beautiful, or noxious depends of whether or not the speaker owns horses. Domestic hoofstock cannot digest a wide range of plants in the wild because the diet of a modern horse is very regulated and they are not tolerant ruminants, like goats. The roots of this plant go very deep and they can only thrive where the plants around them are thick, and tall. They are pollinated in particular by one species of hawk moth.

Cicadas are famous for their population explosion at predictable cycles. They primarily live their lives underground, only emerging to breed. Unlike butterflies they are not going to win any beauty contests. Their calls in late summer are quite deafening.

Eusocial insects like honeybees and ants can tolerate massive die-offs provided the reproductive queens are protected year round. The hives shrink drastically to save resources in the winter as the older workers die off (worked to death). Bees that are weakened by mites or other parasites are also culled, and this winter cleaning helps improve the colony's health. 

    Humans tend to forget that making mistakes is only dangerous for the individual. Society as a whole relies on individuals taking risks, and sometimes failing, so that a path of learning can develop to help all people learn, Some will thrive, and then educate each other for the betterment of all. Sometimes a terrible historical lesson is learned, but this suffering does have a purpose, at least in nature.

Sunflowers

 A picture can paint a thousand words, it is true. But no-one ever said those words were going to to agree with each other. Just like the natural world, words need processing to make sense. This chaotic messiness also allows endless freedom of expression, but at the cost of confusion and irrelevance. In Corrales village we are often confronted with the balance of order and disorder. We humans try to live in a messy natural world. We cope by pruning the bosque with blunt tools, with often odd results. Watching gleaming Porsche SUV's roar down a pot-holed dusty 15 mph road is one example. Another is immaculate garden lawns abutting ramshackle houses in the desert sands. The most odd, however, is the grape clusters.

 

 There is a lot odd about grapes in New Mexico. Many family farms stopped producing wine grapes in the US after Prohibition. The long history of vines in New Mexico is impressive, as are the unique varietals that used to be found here. Now however, the increased efficiency of viniculture, and the associated marketing, is bringing a distressing homogeneity to what is supposed to be an endearingly chaotic process. Still, nature persists in playing jokes on those who take themselves seriously.

This is clearly coyote scat. Not even a question. You will notice that the berries have been plucked one by one and not even slightly digested. Coyotes are still hunted often in the US. They are baited not with bloody hunks of quivering flesh, but sugary nom-nom's like this fruit. Coyotes have a sweet tooth and are lured into the village by low hanging fruit such as these grapes on a picturesque garden fence. Then, those same homes will repeat the phrase "Keep an eye on your children and small pets" when the daytime coyotes are seen.

 

 New Mexico state has some of the widest variety of ecosystems in the US. Some of the best wetland meadows are found above 10,000 feet in the US. Here, the "parks" at San Pedro parks are kept open by a combination of poor drainage and browsing animals. Many types of animals live here, but I wager most people traveling through are unlikely to see a coyote, especially now, when people are all looking for elk.

These ruins in the Pecos National Park give a glimpse of how far back in time this land has been used by people. The yellow colors of the cow pen daisies blend perfectly with the blue, white, green and red of the landscape. The large, flat fields also hide vast archeological treasures, all hidden from our uncomprehending minds.

The upland parks hide many strange wonders, like these brook trout that swim in streams most visitors would think are too small for fish to be in.

Just like in the bosque, the relentless march of climate change is bringing more aspen and blue spruce to the areas that used to be dominated by ponderosa pine and juniper.

Chipmunks have adapted very well to areas grazed by cows. The lack of large predators such as secretive bobcats is allowing their numbers to increase. These are also very adaptable animals, able to be at home in old trees or cattle grates with equal ease. This one is begging for peanuts from a passing motorist (me). No luck with me, but this seems to be an easy meal option with the other vehicular visitors, based on all the discarded nut shells.

At a nearby state park camping site, the constant light at the bathrooms attracted this toad as the insects flock to the fake moon. These toads get quite big on the steady diet, if they can avoid the constant car traffic, that is.

In built up areas near people, the lizards are also around in large numbers. Like most, this one has lost part of the tail, likely due to a domestic pet (dog or cat). While the loss of the tail reduces reproductive success, the ready supply of hiding places and insects (flies) more than compensates to boost their numbers above a "natural" level.

This year, there are many sunflowers in the boundaries of the ditches and roads. The vast majority of blooms are from errant birdseed and are small headed. Their seeds sustain many birds through the winter and also support a huge variety of insects now. This is a tachnid fly that is pretending to be a wasp. Most larva of these species develop inside caterpillars

 

 Beetles are very unappreciated as a pollinator family, they use the sunflowers for many roles. The most common is a meeting place, just like a bar. Between nectar sips they court the opposite sex, and size up their competition.

 

 There are many types of bees, those seen on sunflowers early in the morning are usually not domestic honeybees. This is a species of mining bee that had slept on a nearby flower, ready to start the day collecting pollen for the small brood chamber it has excavated.

Grasshoppers are not usually pollinators, but there is actually no reason they shouldn't be. Many people don't know that these insects actually eat some smaller insects. This one actually was eating the sunflower petals. It also blends in quite well with the yellow and brown flower center.

This is an ichneumonid wasp with a complex lifestyle typical of wasps. This one was hanging out at a sunflower for an opportunity to meet other like-minded wasps

This insect is not a Corrales native, but was found up in the Santa Fe National Park. This tough customer is actually a katydid, not a cricket genus.

Also up at 10, 000 feet elevation was this wandering garter snake. They feed on many animals but mostly prefer tadpoles and small fish. Completely harmless like most snakes, I still avoid handling wild animals simply because neither they, nor I, need the added stress in life.

Corrales began as a farming community. The long, thin fields do not easily break up into housing plots but ended up that way due to inheritance in large families. A field strip like this is essential to keeping the cost of owning and feeding livestock down to affordable levels. Maintaining grassland is not as simple as it would seem.

Irrigation and drainage is a community level activity, which makes it annoying when other groups operate at cross purposes. Whatever fell into the ditch here was pulled out with a truck winch. I think it was an ORV of some sort. It will be interesting watching how the bull rushes return to the area of open water that was left behind.

The ditches suffer quite a lot of abuse from many sections. They are often used as a dumping ground for unwanted garden plants. They seem to always be filled with visitor's trash. These lilies are probably an accidental introduction. I wonder if they are keeping that section of the ditch free of the bulrushes that are spreading in all other areas?

 

 The bird diversity is soon going to be reaching a peak as the fall migration gets underway. Canada geese feed on short, open grassy areas. They love large private gardens like those found at the Las Brisas complex. They will also be seen on golf courses and school playing fields along the river.

 

 Many other birds prefer dense woodlands like this night heron. They roost during the day in low branches over the larger ditches.

 

Towhee, like this one, are usually found in the leaf litter year round. If you ever hear a loud rustling in the undergrowth, is is always one of these birds. They seem pretty uninterested in disturbances from humans nearby.

When is a plant a "weed" or a "volunteer" or an "ecosystem"? The Russian thistles and kochia we see on the ditches of Corrales serve many useful, fundamental purposes. They can be found to be full of beneficial insects. In the mornings there are many bumblebees hanging onto the leaves with their mandibles as they snooze.

In among the invasive weeds are also many other species of plants that need the extra shade and humidity that tightly packed, green plants can provide. This bumble is sleeping on a dried globe mallow stalk.

The same holds true for below the ditch banks. There are many tunnels through the grass that definitely attracts the local coyotes' attention. These are made by both natural and invasive rodents of many types. These burrows are often reused later by birds such as the American Woodcock. These birds are rarely seen in this state, but do occur.

The fig eater beetles will likely be disappearing soon. These colorful insects are not found as often on the sunflowers, but are usually snoozing on the tallest globe mallows along the ditch edges.

 

 Darkling beetles are often seen scurrying in the leaf litter, probably laying eggs. These big drab insects are ubiquitous at times. Their biggest predator is probably mice, surprisingly.

Many caterpillars take a while to find, but this one is very distinct. Those long hairs are not as venomous as you might think, but they serve as bristles to deter wasps from laying eggs inside the caterpillar.

Other insects use different tactics to ward off attacks. This cotton ball is pretty innocuous in the grasses, but hides a secret. The insulation from the cold also helps maintain a constant temperature and humidity.

 

 The inside is actually a cocoon. The fluffy coating would not stop a wasp with a decent ovipositor, but other insects use this fluffy mass to prevent attacks from ants. Those colonies are very defensive right now because they are protecting aphid colonies.

Another common solution to prevent predators is to just lay more eggs than can be removed. While this is tough on the individual insects, the method seems to work great in unstable environments where individuals have short life spans.

Nature always seems to favor those who look closer with new surprises. This pair of moths have wings that look just like the grass flower stalks they favor and not easily seen. They have a impressive beauty if one is lucky and keeps looking.

 

 Is is a well known fact of life that where there is beauty, there will also be ugliness. This is a slime rot on an elm that forms because of the mild temperatures. The autumn months are also know for the spread of unliked organisms such as molds, bacteria, and suchlike illnesses. Hay fever symptoms are also peaking in many people. The balance of life, between beauty and ugliness may be artificial, arbitrary, and capricious. But it is not just a theme for English class essays. Separating the two worlds takes effort and thought. But we do need to understand why things should be as they are. In nature, that road map is laid out for those who want to look. Just look at those grapes hanging in a neighbor's garden.