Fifth Planet From The Sun

Rain, rain, rain, rain...the long-awaited, liquid gold from the heavens arrives amidst tempestuous winds, thunder, lightning and douses Eastern New Mexico last night.

Cooper and I cannot resist diving into the thirst-quenched prairie at first light. Despite several hours of rain, the parched Llano Estacado sports only one or two puddles of standing water along ranch roads to acknowledge the deluge. A general sigh of relief hovers over the wet landscape. Crickets and Western Meadow Larks trill their delightful tunes to greet the morning sun. Prairie dogs have not yet ventured from their burrows.  Barn Swallows dart about in search of insect prey. A committee of Turkey Vultures perches on a run of posts along a fence line. They purposefully spread their wings across the warming rays of the morning sun.  

The serenity of the moment reminds me of a passage in a Robert Browning poem, “God’s in his Heaven-All’s right with the world!”

© Ilija Lukić 2011

Jupiter - Fifth Planet From The Sun

Hazardous Attraction

Baker's Dozen Plus Two

Proud Pair

Prairie Sunburst

Coronilla

Comanche Warrior

Squirrel Tail Grass

Little Barley

White-lined Sphynx Moth Caterpillar

A Family Affair

Small Palafoxia Host White Sphynx

Kissed By Light

Cooper and I arrive at the trail head exuberant and ready for adventure.  Within minutes a large hare leaves protective cover and invites Cooper to a foot race down a dusty ranch road.  He obliges but loses his speedy quarry, when the Jack Rabbit turns off into the shortgrass prairie.  While Cooper catches his breath several horses in a corral near a homestead whinny to acknowledge our presence.  Minutes later I pause to observe a juvenile Bullsnake raise its head, taste the air and continue with its sunbath.  The mood is right and I willingly drift into a dream state.

Morning sunlight has set the prairie awash in its alluring glow.  Unabashed, the flora competes for the sun's attention.  Even the softest movement of the cool air sets off shimmering ripples across prairie grasses.  Wild flowers embark on their daily parade of insect-enticing goods.  Bird song and chatter fills the stillness and complements a distant train whistle.  Magical images reach into my heart at every turn of the game trail.  Llano Estacado dreamin’ sure refreshes the spirit before returning to reality and yet another windblown, dusty, rainless, drought-ridden Summer day.

Bare Essentials

High Plains Gold

Yucca Lanterns - New Mexico State Flower

Off The Beaten Path (Cooper)

Light Sabers

Prairie Lights

Monarda Punctata

Preaching To The Choir

Yucca Bell Towers

Hopi Tea Greenthread

Scanning The Horizon

Squirrel Tail Lightshow

Blowin' In The Wind

How many more days must the Llano Estacado endure the current cycle of drought? The answer my friends is written on the relentless prairie winds sweeping the withered landscape. We humans agonize over lack of rain. The short grass prairie appears content to wait for moisture. Native flora and fauna employ survival skills and mechanisms selectively bred into them long ago by the harsh high plains environment.

The artist within me wrestles with the choice of making images of the status quo or allowing imagination to paint the prairie. I choose the latter.

© Ilija Lukić 2011

Torch Of Liberty

Red Domes

Sunlight And Parasols

Cruising In Yucca, Snakeweed, And Mallow (Cooper)

Shadow Walker (Cooper)

Fleabane And Yucca

Purple Prairie Pride

Hymenopappus Filifolium

Horsemint In Little Barley

Staked Plain

Down-slope winds off the Manzano Mountains to our west dance across the Llano Estacado tablelands. They carry a dry morning chill along with promises of a warm day. Fluffy flocks of clouds drift across a deep blue New Mexico firmament.  

Cooper and I ease into the prairie amid a bird concerto. Escorts of barn swallow pause their insect pursuits to chatter and hover above this human and canine intruder of their hunting grounds. A burrowing owl bobs its head just above the rim of their residence in an abandoned prairie dog den. Its bright yellow eyes mark every move we make.

We continue with our haphazard trek across sandy terrain and a yucca forest.  These stalwart knights of the Llano strut their evergreen, sword-shaped leaves and stalks. The latter reminiscent of trail markers. Cooper picks up scents of rabbits and prairie rodents. He executes carefully choreographed stalking episodes among the bayonet-sharp leaves of yucca rosettes. One brief chase materializes. 

© Ilija Lukić 2011

Yucca Forest

Purple Royalty

Stalking Jack Rabbits

Yucca Flats Trail Markers

Wet On The Wild Side

Rains sweeps across the Southern Great Plains prairie. Summer precipitation tends to come in torrential thunderstorms. Add even a little water and prairie dust transforms into slippery mud paste. The prairie comes alive.

Emerald carpets of snakeweed punctuate terra cotta earth tones. Ground beetle larva activity just below the soil surface creates elaborate terra glyphs upon the softened shell of the hardpan. The raised tubes provide cover from elements and predators. Black-tailed prairie dogs, a Llano Estacado keystone species, also take advantage of the loose soil to repair and shore up their burrow mounds. A flower spider emerges from its shelter to set up an ambush. Rain drops sparkle and flirt with sunlight emerging from storm clouds. The prairie breathes a sigh of relief.

Cooper takes time out from his grassland forays and visits with his prairie dog friends to ensure they weathered the onslaught of the heavy rains.

© Ilija Lukić 2011

Emerald Forest Homestead

Wet And Wild

Beetle Larva Terraglyphs

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

Knock, Knock...Who's There... (Cooper)

Terraglyphs In Mud

Shoring Up The Mound

Jester's Crown (Cane Cholla)