ectothermist's Journal

Hiked on 8/2/20 in Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico. Saw abundant insects- Vanessa, Blue Fungus Beetle, Bee Flies, Polygonia, Speyeria, wasps, bees, more flies, butterflies, grasshoppers. Saw also, to my excitement, 4 horned lizards. The first one puffed up and gaped in a threat display. The last one was large and attractively colored. Also found an old cow carcass.

Hiked on 8/8/20 in Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico. Found two Greater Short-horned Lizards en route; one an inch-long juvenile, reddish colored. Found fossils in the rocks on the way back, shells and such. Horses were in the meadow on the way down.
Horned lizards prefer sunny, rocky areas- loose rock interspersed with grass.

On 8/9/20 drove into Pecos and was dropped off at Pecos National Historical Park. Good choice. Beautiful juniper scrub landscape. Saw signs for rattlesnakes but encountered none. Took pictures of several plants and walked by the pueblo ruins, kivas, and old church- solemn against the blue sky. Only for about an hour.

On 8/10/20 went to Jacks Creek, Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico. Beautiful and appeared lush to me, though there’s a drought. Examined insect-attracting flowers I didn’t know the name of at the time- Cutleaf Coneflowers. Found many insects. These flowers love the water.
Saw a dark-colored butterfly I’d never seen before and followed it, but it got away. Flipped a large log and found a snakeskin underneath. Seconds later the snake itself crawled into view- it must live under the log. Had blue, cloudy eyes; about to shed. A Wandering Garter. Was almost uniformly brown, with only a faint stripe on the neck.
Continuing on, found another of the dark butterflies and fell into the stream chasing it. Boots soaked in vain, as it, too, escaped.
Saw Monkshood, which I took a picture of. Branching out into plants now. Took photos of several more flowers. Found abundant flies, bees, wasps, etc.