I’m recently returned from a week’s reprieve out of the Texas heat, having visited the Land of Enchantment–New Mexico. I’ve been to New Mexico a number of times now: sometimes it’s a museum and cultural events vacation, sometimes it’s a hiking vacation. This trip was in the latter category: a hiking-with-great-meals-afterward vacation. We visited Albuquerque, then traveled, with a break for hiking, through the Sandia Mountains, ending in Santa Fe.
Most hikes were on trails of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range, all a short drive from Santa Fe. Each hike was unique in what it offered in flora and fauna diversity, as we climbed up and down rocky, well laid-out trails. It took a few days to acclimate to the higher elevation and thinner, dryer air, but we didn’t stop at the top of an incline and huff-n-puff too much. The views were striking, the experience rewarding.
I like to think of these next few photos as my Retrospective on Deceased Trees.
The dead and long-downed tree continues to provide life and living space for insects. I wonder if these holes are from a native bee of this area? Or perhaps it was a woodpecker or sapsucker who drilled with their remarkable beaks?
Spidery limbs act as a buffer between and mountain, and human development (Santa Fe) below.
The view from a step back…
Facing away from human settlement, rugged plants–native grasses, yucca and cacti, wildflowers–fill the landscape. The wildflowers were abundant this year due to a normal winter snowfall and spring/early summer rains. Last year’s wildflower production was significantly less impressive and when we visited last May, we hiked only once, then the trails were closed due to fire and wind hazards.
Birdsong was prevalent during each hike, some areas in symphony more than others. I was pleased to identify (thanks Merlin app!) many birds that I’ve only seen in photos. I was also delighted to experience my winter visitors who share my gardens in Texas from November through April (Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets), in their breeding grounds in the New Mexico mountains. Hearing their mating and territorial songs was a first for me since I’ve begun learning about birds. During their winter respite in my gardens, these birds use minimal vocalizations.
I heard, more than saw, many birds, and very few were easily photographed. An exception included this male American Robin,Turdus migratorius. He was a cooperative subject.
I suspect a nest was nearby, as two adult birds made themselves known to us by swooping, then resting and watching, as we walked through their space.
Toward the end of another hike, we were tired, a little dehydrated, and ready to return to our comfy digs, but stopped to admire this male Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri. As we stood just below, he’d buzzed upwards from his chosen limb, flutter, then settled on the same, or nearby limb, preening, posing, and probably keeping a keen eye on his territory.
A new bird for me (‘lifer’ in birder-talk) was this cute Mountain Chickadee, Poecile gambeli.
He zipped around foliage of trees and shrubs, nibbling on insects and maybe some seeds, foraging quite close to where I stood, quiet and still, trying to focus the camera. He’s larger than my own tiny Carolina Chickadees here at home.
I saw woodpeckers (that flew too fast to identify) and shy Northern Flickers, who took flight as we came up the trail. This Red-naped Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis, must have bathed in the creek which accompanied us on one hike, because he fluffed and preened, ignoring the human with the third eye, excited to see him post-bath.
As well as many birds, there were also lots of reptiles, skittering across the trail ahead of our footsteps and scaling up rocks and trees. It’s been years since I’ve seen a Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum; I grew up calling these charmers Horny Toads, but their range also includes New Mexico. I remember them fondly from my childhood–they were fun to observe as they’re so ugly they’re cute. I didn’t see any Texas Horned Lizards on this trip, but we saw a couple of Greater Short-Horned Lizards, Phrynosoma hernandesi, who are just as darling as Texas Horned Lizards. Sadly, both species have declined, due to pesticide use, loss of habitat, and the pet trade.
Another common and fleet-footed critter that we saw along the trails was the Desert Grassland Whiptail Lizard, Aspidoscelis uniparens. This was the longest of the lizards we saw; they didn’t immediately skedaddle away from us. This one seemed as interested in us as we were in him. Actually, it’s a ‘her’ as this lizard is an all-female species of reptile. These lizards reproduce by parthenogenesis, so no dudes necessary.
The wildflowers were lovely and varied. Individual dabs of color dotted the landscape and in open areas, devoid of shade from large trees, bigger colonies like this group of sunny Common Toadflax, Linaria vulgaris, blanketed with color and form.
Pollinators were busy; native bees, skippers, larger butterflies, flies, and moths were everywhere flowers were found. This Bull Thistle, Cirsium vulgare, hosts a leafcutter bee, busily gathering pollen.
Beardlip penstemon, Penstemon barbatus, was a startling pop of red decorating many of the trails we traveled.
The hikes were strenuous and glorious. We enjoyed a variety of landscapes and diversity of life in observing water and running streams,
…diverse and majestic trees,
…sunny, open glades abutting rich, leafy forests,
…and always awesome vistas.
New Mexico, I am enchanted!
My Gardener Says... 
What a rewarding walk! Great photos, thank you for sharing your experience.
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It was a lovely week of walks! I really like that first photo; my husband got a similar shot with his phone camera (which is great) and it’s also a nice shot.
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It’s clear you had a great trip. New Mexico never fails to live up to its motto as the Land of Enchantment. Now you have to reacclimatize to the sweltering heat that will be with us for at least the next three months.
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It’s such a nice place to visit! Yes, I’ve been in the garden, soaking wet. Funny thing though, I know how to stay hydrated in our heat, but had trouble keeping up with fluids there. I was always a little dehydrated. It’s just a heat I’m not as used to.
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What a wonderful getaway, Tina. Definitely, NM is aptly named ‘the Land of Enchantment!’
Looks like those mountains get frequent fires? I wonder if those holes in the downed tree are from the Acorn Woodpecker? They are a fascinating western species.
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I think last year they were particularly dry and of course, that’s becoming more common. The Santa Fe natives complained about the heat (it was 89-90 some days). They all said that it never got that hot in the past. It is dryer than it used to be.
Those holes could very well be from that, or another woodpecker. They did look too large (to me) to be bee holes, so you may very well be correct.
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Yucca are what I remember from that region. Not only is it a genus that I find to be compelling, but their distinctive foliar form is impossible to ignore.
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Yucca and cacti make a dramatic statement in any landscape!
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I’ve never been there. Thanks for the tour.
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You should go, you’d enjoy it!
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Thank you for sharing your enchanting encounters and experiences, Tina. It’s good to know that at least some parts of N.M. had rain this spring and that the wildflowers are thriving. I also enjoyed your many avian stories, how wonderful you were able to see and hear some of your migratory birds in their breeding habitat.
The trees are so evocative and still so important for countless life forms that they are technically not really “dead.” A great reason not to cut them down, but allow them to recycle themselves.
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I didn’t really talk about the trees in the post (except for a few dead ones…:) ), but the trees were beautiful and offer so much life! I don’t see Aspens here, so they’re a real treat. I’ve never seen them in fall; really that should be on a bucket list somewhere!. The various pines are rich and stately, another kind of tree that I don’t see often, though we do have some in Texas. Trees are life.
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I was referring to the dead trees you mentioned, Tina. Even when they are “dead,” they harbor so much life.
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Yes, I realized that, but I also realized I probably should have talked more about the trees. After all, they support so much of the life I referred to, whether the trees are living or dead. 🙂
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Santa Fe and surrounds are really special, aren’t they? I want to get back there one of these days. The temperatures, most of the year, are somewhat similar to ours here in Madison (except in deep winter), but of course drier (except this summer, sadly). Beautiful part of the country, and it sounds like you had some great adventures!
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It’s a gorgeous area, I just love it! The #1 reason that folks move to Santa Fe is for the weather! It does get cold in winter, but not gloomy and apparently, one can be out in the snow and be relatively comfortable. We’ve only been in various times of summer and once in November–and it snowed! And, there’s so much gorgeous landscape nearby.
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What a fantastic time you had with so much to see, thanks for sharing I’ve no idea what New mexico looked like.
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Thanks, Brian–it was a lovely trip. New Mexico has a wide variety of landscapes and flora/fauna ( like most places that size). We only visited two areas around Albuquerque and Santa Fe. But they are gorgeous areas!
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Look at that beautiful rainbow. Glad you had a good time away and congratulations on the Mountain Chickadee. Very cool.
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We saw two double rainbows on this trip! The first was in Albuquerque, as we ate dinner outside at a wonderful place, Campo: https://lospoblanos.com/dining/campo-reservations. This rainbow was in the mountains near Santa Fe.
I was happy to see the Mountain Chickadee, I’ve always wanted to see one.
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I’m oddly fond of New Mexico’s license plates: the colors and designs are striking, and of course they remind everyone that the place is ‘the land of enchantment.” Today, I regret that I didn’t take time to enjoy the natural wonders there, even though I spent a good bit of time exploring modern and ancient human cultures. The only solution is a return trip, of course!
I especially enjoyed your lizards, and the robin. I would have expected to see lizards; the robin surprised me. Much of the landscape reminded me of portions of the hill country, probably because of the rock and the similarities among dead trees everywhere. It looks like a wonderful trip; I’m glad conditions were better for you this year.
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I like all the NM plates–there are several. It’s such an interesting state: beautiful, fascinating cultural diversity and stunning landscapes. It was an enjoyable week!
There were quite a few robins, towhees, too. The birdsong on our hikes was impressive. We were serenaded up and down the trails!
Like you, I noticed a similarity to the Central Texas rock; lots of pink, with a fare amount of limestone. s
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Stunning photos. And what a wonderful walk.
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Thank you and our hikes were glorious!
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How nice that you not only were able to have a reprieve for a time from the Texas summer heat but did so visiting a lovely part of our country. I liked the lizards and especially the whiptail.
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