Feast or Famine

After that long, long period of dryness... it sure has been raining a lot lately. I'm still grateful for it (just wishing a little more blue sky would come our way).

Cane Cholla

Cane cholla, backlit by the morning sun.

Blue Dasher

A blue dasher dragonfly at the Rio Grande Botanic Garden pond.

Spike Verbena

Spike verbena, in a meadow high in the Sandias.

Sunset

Another fine sunset, as seen from my balcony.

Foothills Hikers

Hikers are dwarfed by the boulders of the Sandia foothills. The rain has brought more green to the foothills, a wide variety of wildflowers, and -- unfortunately -- zillions of buzzing, biting gnats.

Foothills Storm

Thunderstorm in the Sandia foothills (the Philip B. Tollefsrud Memorial Sculpture Garden is in the foreground).

Jacob's Ladder

I hiked part of the way up Pino Trail yesterday and saw hundreds upon hundreds of beautiful wildflowers (many that I'd never seen before). These little blue flowers are called Jacob's Ladder (or Polemonium foliosissimum).

Roadrunner

Roadrunners are usually every bit as skittish as they are cute... but this one posed just long enough for me to pop off a couple of shots.

Desert Four O'Clocks

A desert four o'clock blossom nestles among cholla branches. The wildflowers are really starting to pop, thanks to all the rain we've had recently.

Sculpture Garden

The Philip B. Tollefsrud Memorial Sculpture Garden, at Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, as a summer storm passes over.

Brooding Storm

A summer storm moves in to Elena Gallegos Picnic Area from the Sandia Mountains.

Hoary Comma II

A hoary comma butterfly whose portrait I took in the Sandias' Cienega Canyon the other day. The lower part of the canyon seemed to be the butterfly equivalent of I-25 at rush hour.

Sotol Flowers

The blossoms on a sotol stalk, up close and personal.

Collared Lizard

A collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) basking in the sun at Elena Gallegos Picnic Area.

Smoky Sunset

A fire in Albuquerque the other evening made for a particularly pretty sunset.

Another Butterfly

A taxiles skipper butterfly (Poanes taxiles) on a wildflower whose name I don't know. The Sandia Ranger District (of the Cibola National Forest) was finally opened last weekend; it had been closed for eight weeks due to extreme fire danger.

Mobile Home Haven

I've admired this sign for years -- both it and the office look as if they're straight out of the 50s or 60s (they're on old Route 66 in Albuquerque). I believe the place is still very much a going concern.

Lone Mountain

The Lone Mountain Ranch sign, with the rolling hills of the Ortiz Mountains in the background.

More Rain

A ranch gate silhouetted by one of the many thunderstorms we've had recently.

Sandia Rainbow

A late afternoon rainbow at Elena Gallegos Picnic Area in Albuquerque.

Door and Shadows

Door and adobe wall in the town of Los Cerrillos.

The "River"

So much for all that running water -- here's the same spot, a mere 24 hours later.

Running Water!

The most incredible thing: I went to Elena Gallegos Picnic Area yesterday and could hear rushing water from the parking lot. I walked down to Pino Arroyo and it was a veritable river! (The coyotes must really be liking all the moisture too; they were yipping last night for all they were worth.)

Wooden Indians

Porch of a store in Madrid. Is the store real? or part of the movie set? or both? In any case, I'm partial to wooden Indians (I think it's all Marty Robbins' fault).

Hoary Comma

I believe this butterfly is a hoary comma.

Golden Graveyard

The graveyard and church in Golden, NM.

Madrid Blankets

Mexican blanket display in Madrid. I think this may actually be part of the set of Wild Hogs... but it's kinda hard to tell, since the entire town appears to be a movie set, and vice versa, right now.

Sunday in Madrid

Sunday morning coffee in Madrid. All of Madrid is a giant movie set these days (Wild Hogs, with John Travolta), but I think this particular scene was real.

Rain (Blessed Rain)

We've finally gotten some rain over the last week -- and it's very welcome. This photo was taken from Highway 14, south of Golden.