Flooded Out

Drove out on the desert the other day and found where one of the cattle watering holes had flooded out when we had all the rain that caused the arroyo behind our house. 1st photo is from one side of the earthen dam that kept the water from going across the road. You can see the channel the flood water cut in the dam. Other photos show the hole or crater that was created by the flood water after it came though the dam. Must have been quite a sight. The hole looked to be about 15 to 20 feet deep. A couple of photos of some of the cows around their water hole including the bull. A photo of a leaning juniper tree that is on the side of the dam away from where the water came through. Glad it didn't get washed out. The tree and dam are just to the side of the road. We had taken Tuffee with us as she had been begging to go for a ride for some time. Photos of her kept blurring as she was running and having a good time even though she got a big chunk of cactus in her foot once that we had to pull out. Last photo just a distance shot across the desert.

Trip Into the Desert

This is a tree, a juniper, that I like to take photos of because of the where branches have been broke of it and cows have rubbed for so many years they have polished the wood.

 Different views of the high mesa desert that I live on in New Mexico. This is a few miles from my home.

 Our truck where we stopped while going down one of the arroyos (a ditch made by nature) that are filled with sand. If you stop in the wrong place you will be there until you can find someone to pull you out. 4-wheel-drive is a must.

 Taken out the windshield as we make a quick drive to get out of the arroyo.

 Chola cactus with the Sandia Mountains behind it. The cactus should be starting to bloom about now but looks as if it is dieing from the drought.

A Day Out

We took a day to go for a drive to some of our favorite places and try out the new camera. A couple of shots of a hiking and fishing area along the Jemez Creek.

Two photos of a little water fall called Soda Damn as it is a natural fall and damn with and because of the way the water causes a rush of bubbles as it falls some thought it looked like the bubbles in soda's or soft drinks like colas.

 A walk along a forest trail.

 Looking out across the creek that runs under the bridge in the above photo.

 Tuffee went with us and enjoyed our walk.

 A big rock called Battleship Rock.

 On the drive home we are headed for the Sandia Mountains and Albuquerque.

 We turned off before getting to Albuquerqe to go to Rio Rancho and stopped to get a couple of photos of the Sandia Mountains with desert. Albuquerque would be hid by the juniper tree on the right.

And Tuffee decided to stick out her tounge just as I snapped this one.

After the Rain

In the desert everthing is dusty and dirty. But after the rain everything is clean.

Wiley and the Rabbit

I was taking photos of the hot air balloons the other day when I saw our cat, Wiley, coming across the yard with something in his mouth. I snapped this shot and was surprised it actually came out. At first I though it was one of the big rats that live around here. Wiley ran to the back porch and I followed him. It was at the door when he put the creature down that I realized it was a young cottontail rabbit. I grabbed Wiley so he couldn't get the rabbit again and the little rabbit ran off the porch and Wiley slipped out of my yards and the chase was on again while I yelled at the cat to leave the rabbit alone and the dogs chased after the cat. (Wish someone had filmed it with a video). In seconds the rabbit had gone through the fence to the neighbors side. I caught Wiley and put him in the house then went back out to check on the rabbit. I hadn't seen any blood on it and it hadn't acted as if it was hurt by being hauled around by the cat for which I was thankful.

The dog at the neighbors had been barking at the hot air balloons and never noticed the cat or rabbit or me. The one little dog, a healer cross, sort of danced around the rabbit which had 'froze' once he was on the other side of the fence. That dog never seemed to notice the rabbit was there at all. I was able to take the second photo of the little rabbit through the fence, then I decided it should leave before one of the dogs did realize it was there. I shook the fence and it scooted off out through the fence to where it was in the couple of acres that are behind mine and my neighbors houses which is like native New Mexico desert which is why it is full of rabbits, rats, ground squirrels, lizards, song birds, doves, quail, and there used to be a large bull snake that lived there.

I told my neighbor about the experence and she wished someone had filmed it too. I just hope Wiley learns I don't want his 'gifts' of lizards, birds, and rabbits. He had given a live, un-injured bird to my husband a few days before.

Tuffee & Yucca

Tuffee is on our side of the fence but I was on my neighbors side taking the photo.

Old Juniper Tree

I have been admiring this old juniper tree out on the desert to the northwest of where I live for about 25 years. At first it was all by it's self out in the middle of nowhere with a narrow dirt trail running just to the east of it. Over the years I have stopped many times and taken photos of it. It's hard to take a good photo of because it it big enough that it shades it's trunk which is the most interesting part of the tree. Looking at it's size I am making a guess that this old juniper tree might be in the range of at least 300 years old. Juniper trees grow very slowly and on our desert that can be slowed down even more, but these are very hardy trees that need little water so nature is not apt to cause one to die. I have found many of them on the desert that I estimate to be several hundred years old but this one has always been my favorite. Man can cause them to die and more than I like to think about have been destroyed so that housing developments can build more and more houses on the desert. I chose the builder of my house with care, liking the fact that he never cut down the juniper trees that were in the areas where he builds house, preferring to build the house so the tree can live. Now the old tree I have photographed so many times is on the edge of a housing development and I am concerned for it's welfare. Actually I am surprised it hasn't already been cut down. In this photo I am standing beneath the tree looking out over the desert. The following photos show the uniqueness of the trunk that had has had branches broken off by cows and then the cows have rubbed on the branch ends making unusual twist and nobs that look polished by the rubbing by the cows while they stood under the tree for shade. The last photo shows just how close the house are to the tree.

Desert View

From this side of the tree you can look west across the desert. You can see several cholla cactus through the tree fork. The other side of the tree looks at the dirt road that goes by the tree and the houses that are in the developement that started about five years ago. It makes me wonder just how long this tree looked upon desert and distant mountains until progress now makes it look at houses.