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Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall
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Anyone other than me might have overloaded on nature today. I may have overdone walking, but not enjoying the sky, the trees, the water, and all the critters running around. It was great having the day off to explore the Ruidoso, New Mexico area on a pleasant autumn day!
Can’t beat a mountain lake for beauty! Grindstone Lake
Everyone has been relaxing in the mornings on this trip, but I wanted to GO while the weather was nice. I walked back to the National Forest trail near our cabin and was happy to learn the rain hadn’t made the trail impassable. It’s so peaceful in the mountain woods.
Obligatory Mule deer
Alligator juniper and Ponderosa pine bark
I was there. Yep.
I thought I wouldn’t see any new plants, since I’d walked some of the path already. But no. There was one stretch of path that I found something new every few feet. it felt quite magical, like I was experiencing a gift.
Whole leaf paintbrush – Castilleja integra
Birdbill day flower – Commelina dianthifolia
Horsetail milkweed
Flendner’s globe mallow
Female Robin
Wooton’s wild buckwheat
Heterotheca fulciens (maybe)
Spreading fleabane
Macoun’s everlasting- Pseudognaphalium macounii – a relative of rabbit tobacco
Southwestern cosmos and mallow longhorn- Tetralonia malvae – a bee that specializes in mallows
Bigelow’s beggar ticks
False goldenaster
Gorgeous Pinewoods geranium – Geranium caespitosum–
Scarlet gilia – Ipomopsis aggregata
Beautiful western harebell – Campanula petiolata
Yellow sweetclover- Melilotus officinalis
Mountain four o’clock
Colorado soldier beetle in a purple aster
Violettas- Anoda cristata
Spotted knapweed
Drummond’s false pennyroyal
One of the morning glories
Another harebell
Dwarf mallow
Tassel flower brickellia
Dainty sulphur
I had to rest when I got back from all that climbing. But soon enough Anita and Martha agreed to go with me to check out Grindstone Lake, a local reservoir, fishing, and swimming spot. It’s where it was so crowded last time that we couldn’t get in. Luckily, today was chilly for swimming, and the games of some kind that will be held at the lake aren’t until next week.
I have so many pretty pictures that it’s hard to choose from.
We had a blast wandering around looking at the plants, collecting rocks (not me), birding (me), and basking in the beauty. This made us very happy humans.
Poecilanthrax californicus – a banded bee fly
Pumpkin. Hmm.
There’s a little dog in the right backpack
Anita met a soft doggie
Osprey with fish
Flying Osprey
My favorite rocks
Me!
Us!
Martha after falling up a hill (click to see the cuteness)
American Coot
No idea what this is
Of course there were also flowers to see along Grindstone Lake. Here are just a few, I promise. I did leave some out.
Twist spine prickly pear
Canyon wild great
Mullein
Wooton’s wild buckwheat
Heath aster
Rough cocklebur (boo)
Puffball
Foxtail barley
Prairie sunflower
Curly top gum weed
Fetid marigold
We finally dragged ourselves away from the lake. Being me, I suggested we go to another lake, since we had time. This is Alto Lake, another reservoir, about 15 minutes away from Grindstone. It didn’t have such spectacular scenery, at least to the others, who didn’t like that there were houses on one side of the lake. It is also smaller but still popular with fans of fishing.
Waterfall
Behind the lake
Sweet-brier
More wild geraniums
Meadow evening primrose
Round leaf snowberry
Gold dust lichen
Lake Alto
The reason I like this lake is that it’s teeming with birds. There were Coots and Mallards in the water, and so many tiny birds, goldfinches, bluebirds, and Bushtits, etc. The highlight for me was seeing and photographing a Townsend’s Warbler, one of my new lifers for this trip. It’s so beautiful!
Townsend’s Warbler
Such pretty markings
White-breasted Nuthatch
Coots
Mallards and Coots
Songbirds
Female Western Bluebird
After this, our legs were done, so we went to the store to get dinner stuff and sundries. I got myself some Old Fashioned in a bottle. After all that exercise, I was done for. I’m glad Martha made eggs and sausage that we could turn into dinner tacos (like breakfast ones, but at night).
I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring other than real estate stuff. That should be fun.
Can’t beat a mountain lake for beauty! Grindstone Lake
Everyone has been relaxing in the mornings on this trip, but I wanted to GO while the weather was nice. I walked back to the National Forest trail near our cabin and was happy to learn the rain hadn’t made the trail impassable. It’s so peaceful in the mountain woods.
Obligatory Mule deer
Alligator juniper and Ponderosa pine bark
I was there. Yep.
I thought I wouldn’t see any new plants, since I’d walked some of the path already. But no. There was one stretch of path that I found something new every few feet. it felt quite magical, like I was experiencing a gift.
Whole leaf paintbrush – Castilleja integra
Birdbill day flower – Commelina dianthifolia
Horsetail milkweed
Flendner’s globe mallow
Female Robin
Wooton’s wild buckwheat
Heterotheca fulciens (maybe)
Spreading fleabane
Macoun’s everlasting- Pseudognaphalium macounii – a relative of rabbit tobacco
Southwestern cosmos and mallow longhorn- Tetralonia malvae – a bee that specializes in mallows
Bigelow’s beggar ticks
False goldenaster
Gorgeous Pinewoods geranium – Geranium caespitosum–
Scarlet gilia – Ipomopsis aggregata
Beautiful western harebell – Campanula petiolata
Yellow sweetclover- Melilotus officinalis
Mountain four o’clock
Colorado soldier beetle in a purple aster
Violettas- Anoda cristata
Spotted knapweed
Drummond’s false pennyroyal
One of the morning glories
Another harebell
Dwarf mallow
Tassel flower brickellia
Dainty sulphur
I had to rest when I got back from all that climbing. But soon enough Anita and Martha agreed to go with me to check out Grindstone Lake, a local reservoir, fishing, and swimming spot. It’s where it was so crowded last time that we couldn’t get in. Luckily, today was chilly for swimming, and the games of some kind that will be held at the lake aren’t until next week.
I have so many pretty pictures that it’s hard to choose from.
We had a blast wandering around looking at the plants, collecting rocks (not me), birding (me), and basking in the beauty. This made us very happy humans.
Poecilanthrax californicus – a banded bee fly
Pumpkin. Hmm.
There’s a little dog in the right backpack
Anita met a soft doggie
Osprey with fish
Flying Osprey
My favorite rocks
Me!
Us!
Martha after falling up a hill (click to see the cuteness)
American Coot
No idea what this is
Of course there were also flowers to see along Grindstone Lake. Here are just a few, I promise. I did leave some out.
Twist spine prickly pear
Canyon wild great
Mullein
Wooton’s wild buckwheat
Heath aster
Rough cocklebur (boo)
Puffball
Foxtail barley
Prairie sunflower
Curly top gum weed
Fetid marigold
We finally dragged ourselves away from the lake. Being me, I suggested we go to another lake, since we had time. This is Alto Lake, another reservoir, about 15 minutes away from Grindstone. It didn’t have such spectacular scenery, at least to the others, who didn’t like that there were houses on one side of the lake. It is also smaller but still popular with fans of fishing.
Waterfall
Behind the lake
Sweet-brier
More wild geraniums
Meadow evening primrose
Round leaf snowberry
Gold dust lichen
Lake Alto
The reason I like this lake is that it’s teeming with birds. There were Coots and Mallards in the water, and so many tiny birds, goldfinches, bluebirds, and Bushtits, etc. The highlight for me was seeing and photographing a Townsend’s Warbler, one of my new lifers for this trip. It’s so beautiful!
Townsend’s Warbler
Such pretty markings
White-breasted Nuthatch
Coots
Mallards and Coots
Songbirds
Female Western Bluebird
After this, our legs were done, so we went to the store to get dinner stuff and sundries. I got myself some Old Fashioned in a bottle. After all that exercise, I was done for. I’m glad Martha made eggs and sausage that we could turn into dinner tacos (like breakfast ones, but at night).
I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring other than real estate stuff. That should be fun.
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