July 1 was moving day and a short drive of less than 100 miles brought us to our new "home" at Deer Spring RV in Mayhill, NM, for a short respite from the summer heat and a short vacation from volunteering. We'll head southeast toward the end of August to begin a stint at Anahuac NWR in September.
Bear was happy to have a real tree to swing in with real shade for a change.
The Robin family already in residence was happy to share their tree with Bear and didn't seem to mind my presence either. Mom and Dad soon adapted to our proximity and took turns feeding their 3 tiny chicks.
The hummers didn't take long to discover a new source of sugar water
This little guy was actually leaving the feeder, yes they can fly backwards.
Bear was all ready to celebrate July 4th.
I had already torn a blue sheet into strips
and I soon whipped up a small round rag rug
I do spend some of my time on other things besides birds and the night sky.
That was so successful, I dove right into the second sheets
and soon had this
which turned into this
soon to be another rug.
One of our favorite drives us Upper Rio Penasco Road to Bluff Springs.
This year, the Violet Green Swallow are most plentiful.
Western Tiger Swallowtail love the invasive thistle.
We found a new road off Bluff Springs, an old logging spur up Water Canyon
dead ending at the trailhead for the Old Sun Spot Hwy.
Several seep springs were pouring water due the unusually wet summer.
Weidemeyer's Admiral, one of my favorite butterflies,
taking advantage of the muddy gravel.
Cloudcroft, 17 miles from Mayhill, has only a convenience store and a Family Dollar, so major grocery shopping requires an additional 18 mile drive down the mountain to Alamogordo. We always include a side trip to a birding location when we make the journey.
Oliver Lee State Park, 12 miles south of Alamo, is another favorite location, although hotter than Hades inn the summer. The desert critters adapt to the heat quite well.
This long eared, long legged jack rabbit made full use of the cool gravel in the shade of the picnic table. Our first pass showed him with ears raised taking advantage of the airconditioning properties of those enormous ears.
The second time around the loop, he had stretched out his full length with tummy near the damp soil just underneath the gravel.
This collared lizard braved the midmorning heat to survey his surroundings
Notice the toes held up off the hot rock and check out those dazzling colors.
The lower elevations have benefited from the early monsoons, too.
Even the dry side of the mountain is green and lush.
Small pocket canyons sports leafy oases upon the slopes.
The vibrant green ocotillo makes the ordinary House Finch shine with a resplendent crimson.
So goes the continuing saga of life on the road.
