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.