Poetry Of Spirit And Light

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Drought Buster

After eight months of punishing drought conditions wrought by La Niña, the Llano Estacado of Eastern New Mexico simply shrugs off two nights of thunderstorms.

After The Rains

Mud Puddle

Colubrid Encounter

When I foray into heavy prairie grass cover I keep my snake stick handy and walk with heavy foot steps. Both precautions help to minimize surprise reptile encounters.

On our morning outing through some dense Silver Bluestem straw, Cooper suddenly stops and strikes a characteristic alert posture. I catch up to find the object of his attention is a five to six foot Bullsnake. The colubrid does not feel threatened and continues its advance. It surfs effortlessly over and under the golden waves of prairie straw. I manage to capture several ground level images. It pauses to make a threat assessment. Its coloration is very light. Its semi-keeled scalation glistens in the low-angle morning sunlight. I surmise it shed its skin very recently.

Colubrid Encounter

Grassland Denizen

Surfing The Prairie Straw

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Pleistocene Revisited

A brief midday stroll on the prairie results in an interesting encounter with a juvenile Horned Lizard. These fascinating creatures exist in fossil records from the Pleistocene and are familiar subjects of human lore. Eight of the fourteen species found worldwide make the continental United States their home.

Juvenile Horned Lizard

Master Of Camouflage

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Dreaming Of Dinosaurs

Pleistocene Revisited

Bahia Snake Trail

The Llano Estacado stirs with promises of bountiful vegetation thanks to two days of early evening thunder showers. Prairie birds, insects, mammals and reptiles enjoy the relief the moisture brings to their arid habitat. Once limp yucca leaves point their bayonets defiantly into the morning breezes, while Prickly Pear Cacti tighten their wrinkled surfaces.

Cooper and I head out for our daily romp in 65°F temperatures, lively southwesterly winds and partly cloudy skies. The mood of the prairie entices a slow jog. Cooper leads the way. Near the end of the run he comes to an abrupt stop. Twenty feet down the trail a skunk, tail raised advises caution. After a brief standoff everyone heads their own way...phew!!

While I walk off the effects of the run and adrenaline rush of the skunk encounter, a Bullsnake appears among Plains Bahia and pauses briefly to assess our presence. I stop to admire the stealthy nature of the serpent.

Plains Yucca In Tumblegrass

Nectar Diver

Brother Of Another Mother

First Nodding Thistle

Musk Thistle Flower Bud Rosette

Red Spike Mexican Hat

Pretty In Pink

Joyous Diversity

Clan Gathering

Bullsnake Peek-A-Boo

Plains Bahia Snake Trail

Silent Pause

Friday, June 3, 2011

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!”