Icon of the Desert

We found this little guy out in the yard yesterday. We took his picture and then released him where the cats wouldn't get him. We've been baby-sitting the two youngest grand-kids this week, ages 10 and 7 and they were thrilled to find this horned toad. That took me back to when I was about 10 and the circus came to town. In addition to seeing the elephants and the show in the big top, on the midway they had horned toads and chameleons for sale. For $1 you could buy one and with some string and a safety pin, you had a pet that would ride around on your shoulder. It was the most exotic thing I had seen up to that time and it bred all kinds of images of what the desert might be like. I got books from the library and read some and looked at the pictures (this was long before we had television). I dreamed of being able to travel to such an exotic place and see all these things for myself. And here I am!

Now that I'm out here in the desert, I'm seeing all sorts of different things. Different birds and plants and animals. I really need some guidebooks to teach me what they all are. I've downloaded an app for the iPad for the birds but the plants and flowers are still a mystery. You'd think it would be an easy web search but I haven't had a lot of luck so far. One of the problems is that many of the web pages are very general. The area out here is composed of many related but different bio-zones separated by altitude. Back home I'd  have to drive 2 or 3 hours to see a change in the plants. Out here, a trip to town of 20 minutes can change the altitude by 1000 or 2000 feet which changes the plant community significantly. Which side of the hill you're on counts as well. And then there's the all-important presence or absence of water. It's all very interesting but frustrating when I've always tried to know the names of the plants around me.

The other day, I saw two blue mockingbirds. Too quick to get a picture but I looked them up to find out what they were. Picture a bird that looks like a grackle but is entirely the color of a bluebirds wing. Very striking.

Last night we saw a coyote come up out of the wash below the house and trot right through the neighbors' yard. We have to keep the pets locked in at night to keep them safe.

The motorhome is almost done and the kids have gone home and we're looking forward to getting a little further afield to see more of the sights around here.