new mexico

(the featured image above is of the once aptly named Rio Grande, now referred to by locals as the "Rio Sand") The LA Times has a very chilling piece on New Mexico's not so chilling climate change.  Here are a few quotes to pique your interest: "All of New Mexico is officially in a drought, and three-quarters of it is categorized as severe or exceptional." "The last three years have been the driest and warmest since record-keeping began here in 1895." "With water supplies at the breaking point and no relief in sight, a domino-effect water war has broken out, which might be a harbinger of the…
New Mexico is phenomenally weird and the Century Plant is a prime example. Thanks to S. Smith for taking this pic and sending it along, even if it ain't an animal. From Wikipedia: The Century Plant or Maguey (Agave americana) is an agave originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide. It has a spreading rosette (about 4 m wide) of gray-green leaves up to 2 meters (6 ft.) long, each with a spiny margin and a heavy spike at the tip. Its common name derives from its habit of only occasionally flowering, but when it does, the spike with a cyme of big yellow flowers, may reach up to 8 meters (…
When our mother upped and moved to New Mexico a few years back, my brother and I were thrilled to be spending holidays in such a rugged, wild, and frankly, weird place. She lives only a couple of miles from the center of Albuquerque, but regular backyard visitors include coyotes, black bears and lynx. Needless to say, the family cat, Lulu, quickly became an "indoor cat." After a few months the coyotes became more bold, trotting along the walls of the property, and my grandmother, Maggie, quickly became an "indoor grandmother." These pictures were taken by a motion activated camera in the…