Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Not New England

A lot of people think of New Mexico, especially southern New Mexico, as all arid. But our landscape is vertical; ecologically and biologically, we can go from the Mexican border to Canada, from Hepatic tanagers through Red faced warblers to Steller's jays and Hermit thrushes to Clark's nutcrackers, in a four- mile stretch.

I need a little help these  days to get into the high country. But yesterday Magdalena's resident poet and fellow outdoorsman Bruce Holsapple and I went to the San Mateos and drove the ridge from Grassy Lookout in the south, where Betsy and I once worked as fire lookouts, to Whittington Lookout in the north, a journey of about eight miles over 9000 feet and often  over ten. Not only did it look like northern New England; it smelled like it. Heavy cloud cover kept birds and game animals invisible and vistas short, but the Aspens were glorious. And it is always good to talk with someone who enjoys both mountain lions and William Carlos Williams. The only thing missing was Ruffed grouse...

 

5 comments:

Lucas Machias said...

and are the black scars on the aspen from elk?

Peculiar said...

Beautiful! Southern New Mexico, like Nevada, has lots of hidden pockets of excellent fall color if you're willing to explore off the beaten path (and unlike Nevada it even has maples). I really miss that half of the state much more than the more famous and more photographed north.

Unknown said...

George Calef mentioned you in an article in Gun Dog magazine while writing about his dog Heidi.

Anonymous said...

Mighty purty country...

We have had a nice, colorful fall here in Oregon — but the colors re getting rained and blown off right now.



Jim Cornelius
www.frontierpartisans.com

Dennis said...

I have been thinking about getting away from the big city for a week or so. You just made up my mind. It's a go.
Thanks for sharing the great photos.