There’s plenty of lupine growing wild on the east side of the Sandias right now.
Scaled Quail
It’s been years since I’ve spotted a scaled quail, and I’ve never seen one perched on cholla before. As usual, I heard him before I saw him. And then, amazingly, I was able to sneak around to his light side and get a few shots before he was on high alert. The critters in the Sandia foothills seem to be loving the COVID-19 lockdown.
Turkish Poppy
Some years the Sandia foothills are full of these poppies — which, although they grow wild, are not native to New Mexico (as their name suggests, they are indeed from Turkey). Other years, not so much. This year was a bit of a combination; there were bunches for about 10 days and then they all went away at once, courtesy of one (or more) of our recent howling spring winds.
Sara Orange-Tip Butterflies
Two Sara orange-tips — one male (the blurry one) and the other female. I watched them for quite a while and wondered if it was part of a mating ritual. These butterflies have been some of the most difficult for me to photograph so I was happy to get this shot.
Old and Abandoned
An old house and tree beneath a glowering spring sky.
It looks as if my opportunities to take photos around the state will be a bit limited this year due to COVID-19. I’m using the time to process older photos; I took this one last year on a trip through the eastern plains of New Mexico.