When I first started riding in July, the flood control channel was dry, and I could ride across the arroyo where the water ends, 300 yards from where I took this photo. At first, the flood control channel filled with water from rain collected on the west mesa up to 20 miles west of Corrales. That was the beginning of the second week of September. Since the beginning of October, the flood control channel has been filled with water. However, we have had zero rain in Corrales in October and little rain in Rio Rancho west of Corrales. I finally came to the realization that the water in the flood control channel is the treated wastewater from Rio Rancho backing up into the channel. I have not investigated why the water is backing up into the flood control channel now when the channel was dry in July, August, and the first week of September.
The treated wastewater from Rio Rancho is released into the mouth of the flood control channel near the levy and flows into the Rio Grande, as does the runoff collected by the flood control channel. Rio Rancho is the third largest city in New Mexico, with 109,060 people in 2023.
Cyclists, runners, and hikers who want to cross the flood control channel to continue north or south on the levee or the Bosque trail either have to ford the water or walk, run, or ride 200 yards into the flood control channel to get around the water.
The outlet for Rio Rancho’s treated wastewater.
Treated wastewater flowing toward the mouth of the flood control channel. The water smells like chlorine and detergents. I was surprised to see people fishing there the other day.
Different views of the treated wastewater outlet.
Erosion east of the current outlet. The erosion may be from before they reworked the area. The photo on the right is looking west from the eroded area.
The photo on the left was taken on 9/9/2023. The photo on the right was taken on 10/28/2023. You can see how much farther the water extends into the channel in the photo on the right.
Sasha and Glenda hovering over the heater.
It’s cold this week. The cats are clamoring for the space heaters we use to warm the spaces close to us. The cats were all piled up on me at 3:50 AM this morning. I had a cold ride this afternoon with the temps in the low 40s.
Cats from head to toe: Sasha on my chest in the foreground. Gwendolyn’s ears are on the right in the foreground. She was under the covers, resting her head on my shoulder. After Sasha is Marble, Spunk, Silver, and then Glenda is at the end of the bed, curled up on my feet. Loki was on Laurie out of the picture.
If you have ever wondered what hornworms (often called tomato worms) turn into, this giant Rustic Sphinx Moth (Manduca rustica) is one example. They also turn into the common Sphinx Moth or what is often called the Hummingbird Moth. The big boy was born in the catio this morning, so it’s a Euinox Rustic Sphinx Moth. Laurie saw the kitties looking interested as the moth crawled across the floor (wings not dry enough for it to fly). She snatched it up and put it outside the catio, out of reach of the cats.
Rustic Sphinx Moth on my hand for scale. It was about 3 inches long.
Spunk trying on his Equinox Wings.
Loki started celebrating Equinox with a bit of catermortis. Silver and Glenda are in the background.
Marble Hot & Fresh in Fall colors in Minutes.
A big hand blessing the beginning of Autumn at Dawn.
Labored on Labor Day And wore out the Spunk Cleaning, organizing And throwing out junk Recovered the bench press And Hung up the bikes New Naugahyde stretched And paw prints delight
Spunk lying in the summer heat thinking about the Lovin’ Spoonful’s song Summer In The City.
Resa’s Tree making a summertime fashion statement with a three-cornered cloud hat. We started discussing three-cornered hats and Manuel de Falla’s opera El sombrero de tres picos. I told Resa’s tree that she might have been a tiny twig when Falla wrote El sombrero de tres picos in 1916-17.
If you have 40 minutes, the above video is a fun performance of El sombrero de tres picos.
Off Center & Not Even 