What looked like moss in the shallow water running at the bottom of the irrigation ditch turned out to look like tiny eggs, but I have no idea what laid them if they are eggs. It looks like thousands upon thousands of eggs and it’s hard to imagine what could lay so many eggs.
A closer view of what looks like eggs on the bottom of the ditch.
Sliver moon through the slats in the miniblinds
The clouds cleared after sunset and we were able to see the sliver moon through the window in Beaker’s and Søren’s room.
The moon through the window.
The Rio Grande was still running higher this afternoon from the rains up north.
NE view of the Rio Grande on Wednesday evening. NE view of the Rio Grande this morning.
SE view of the Rio Grande on Wednesday evening. SE view of the Rio Grande this morning.
A beaver up and out at dawn.
Bunning through the fence.
Shots of the Bunny
pTerodactyl at dawn.
Spunk is a Cat Tree hugger.
We got a really violent thunderstorm this afternoon. The wind was strong, driving the rain sideways, and the visibility was low. The weather station recorded the event as producing 0.95 inches of rain. The wind-driven rain got almost everything on the deck wet.
The clouds right after the thunderstorm. Views looking east and west.
The clouds at 7:30 pm. Views looking east and west.
8:11 pm (official sunset). Views looking east and west.
Clouds were building up in the late afternoon. We got a fifteen-minute gully washer at 6:40 pm. Turn up the volume on the video and listen to the rain.
The sky 40 minutes before the storm looking east, west and southeast.
I went out to check on Venus and the moon this morning, but they were blocked by clouds. However, I got a clear view of Jupiter with four of its moons.
No one could I identify this bird I posted on July 5th. The bird is small and around 200 feet from me when I took the photo. Now I think it’s a juvenile Western Bluebird.
Juvenile Western Bluebirds up close and personal.
Buddy finally got de-coned. I was in the field this morning, so by the time I got to see Buddy, he had worn himself out. He may have to wear the cone again when he gets his eyelid fixed. But that’s a month away.
Venus and the moon rising through the clouds at dawn.
Venus
We did not get rain last night, but there were flash flood warnings for Sandoval County. Obviously, there was a significant amount of rain and flash flooding to the north of us as the Rio Grande’s water level rose about 3 feet last night. It was receding this evening when I was out at the river.
The Rio Grande looking north from Beaver Point last night and tonight.
The Rio Grande looking south from Beaver Point last night and tonight.
The red strip of mud between the light-colored bank and the water is how high the river rose and then fell from last night to tonight. About 3 feet.
Speaking of Beaver Point, a beaver swam by, crawled out of the water, went up onto the bank and disappeared into the willows.
The Black-crowned Night-heron was out hunting on the river to the north of Beaver Point. It looks like it got a fish.
Clouds reaching out this afternoon. No rain on us.
Heavy Metal song about the drought. The lyrics are at the end of the post.
In my last post I responded to comments about the Rio Grande running low that in the 60s, 70s into the early 80s, the Rio Grande would dry up in the summer months. The current headlines read “Rio Grande runs dry in Albuquerque for the first time in 40 years“. The water is running low, but it is still running through Corrales. Other people have asked when will the drought end? Based on historical trends, I’m guessing we will be under drought conditions for another seven years or longer. I put together the page below that shows historic trends in annual precipitation and the Palmer Drought Severity Index. Note the Storage levels in Elephant but follow the drought index. There was a very severe drought in the 1950s. We might reach that level of severity over the next several years. While the current conditions are alarming, they are not unprecedented. Another article you might be interested in is “5 droughts that changed human history” on the World Economic Forum website.
Climate is always changing, and those changes in warming and cooling and flooding and drought run in various cycles from a few years to thousands of years to tens of thousands of years. I remember a person mentioning to me that the goal of the current fight against climate change was to get the earth to have a constant temperature of 70º F (21º C). All I had to say is that if the climate warriors who apparently believe they have God-like powers actually reach that goal, the earth will be dead. I don’t know how common the idea that the war on climate change is to stop the climate from changing in an attempt to establish a constant temperature, but just that fact that someone actually believed it I found quite frightening.
On the Rio Grande this afternoon looking north from Beaver Point.
On the Rio Grande this afternoon look south from Beaver Point.
Stormclouds all around
The Drought By Timothy Price
Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go?
Scorched earth cracked white clay Fried in dryness, woe Drought sucks life’s blood away Where did all the water go?
Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go?
Thirsty plants bow their heads Pray for rain, the watershed Parched seeds cry die of thirst How have we earned this curse?
Sun shines happiness We frolic in deceptive rays Encourages us to foolish ways Water’s precious, so we say But we waste it anyway In denial as it dwindles Less and less from day to day to day
Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go?
Where once water flowed clear and cold Green slime clings to mud The water’s foul, so the waterfowl Fly off in search of some
Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go? Where did all the water go?
Low flow with Sandias in the background. The river normally flows at the top of the bank I’m standing on. The bank is about four feet higher than the water right now.
A rare view looking north from the middle of the Rio Grande. The river is low enough that I walked around the corner in the top left of the above photo. Normally, the only way to get this view would be from a floatation device or to swim out to the middle of the river because the water is normally from bank to bank at this point.
Sunset last night.
Spunk Rock!
Stormclouds building up threatening to rain. I hope it’s more than just a threat.
The Rio Grande is running lower and lower every day.
A cloudburst where rain never reaches the ground.
The corn should be tall and full of ears of corn by now. Wagner’s Farm usually has a bustling farm store this time of year. There is no sign of activity, no signs advertising available produce.
Hot As Hell
Hot as hell today One-seventeen in the sun Sweated like a pig
Off Center & Not Even 