moth ID

heidi, my expertly friend in birds and insects has informed me that the picture of the moth I posted yesterday is called a Black Witch Moth, and probably a male. how cool is that?!

flowering along the streets of marathon

I am working on a project for the center fold of the fall issue of the Cenizo Journal, "a quarterly journal dedicated to chronicling the history and people of Far West Texas through the work of writers, artists, poets and photographers". my topic is local, edible/medicinal plants (of course!!). I am to submit photos accompanied with a brief, informative paragraph. so, in wondering around trying to capture the essence of plant life in these parts, I get drifted away into plant land taking shots of flowers that aren't necessarily medicinal, or edible, but are outright intriguing!! close ups are fascinating to me, revealing so much detail that the naked eye rarely sees. sometimes abstract, and always magnificent. the earth is full of other, tiny, unseen worlds that we either take for granted, or just don't notice.

wildflower heads going into seed

 

globe mallow

 

sweet clover, white and yellow varieties. I love this plant!! it smells of honey and jasmine, especially when warmed by the summer sun. just wading through a meadow of this stuff ruffles up an aroma that is intoxicating.

desert sumac

 

desert willow comes in a variety of flower colors ranging from white, pink, deep purple and sometimes a little bit of both.

 

 



boquillas, mexico

after September 11, 2001, all boarder crossings into mexico besides those of major transportation (el paso/Juarez, presidio/ojinaga, del rio/ciudad acuna) were closed. the affect was devastating. any small town on the other side that relied heavily, probably entirely, on American tourism and American "locals" crossing for basic shopping or even just a delicious authentic Mexican dinner, quickly dwindled into a ghost town. somehow, some of the residents remained and were able to (barely) survive. others had no choice but to move away. this year, over 10 years later, the crossing into Boquillas was re-opened. basically what this means is that it is not illegal to wade across the rio grande, at this location, to go into the town of boquillas. there is no road or bridge crossing the river. just a little canoe. on the other side you have the option of riding horses into town, or walking, or even a truck ride. once there, an escort shows you the immigration office where ridiculous amounts of paper work is required, along with the purchase of the boat ride and horse ride, if chosen. needless to say, mexico is not cheap anymore. a $5 boat ticket. a $9 horse ride. children running everywhere trying to sell $5 cotton string bracelets that is impossible to say no to. $2 cervezas. $3 tacos. and the most outrageous was the beautiful Mexican embroidered sun dress that was simple enough to cost $20 in the states, was $50 there. it's called globalization. there was a time when $10 was all you needed, and it was enough for the sellers too. an affordable day trip, yes. but not like the mexico I know. I still love mexico and for the sake of boquillas I would still pay.

bienvenidos !!

 path to the river crossing

Ingrid at the river crossing

a shelter for men and boys to await the arrival of tourists calling for the canoe ferry

I talked Ingrid into riding the horses with me. it's a good thing too, because the walk to town was not as close to the crossing as I had thought. nearly a miles walk through hot sand, no breeze, no shade, at sea level...phew!

I think she was glad too. we both were wearing sandals and not really prepared for the trek.

first peek of boquillas

the little restaurant where we sat in the shade and enjoyed cold cerveza and tacos of handmade tortillas, and chatted with some terlinguan and big bend NP residents.

view from my perch

The Park Bar, a favorite of old time regulars. unfortunately, it was closed. we were ready for tequila shots!!

not much to do here except eat, drink, and on cooler days probably roam the town a little more. on this particular day it was completely out of the question. heat stroke was about to set in.

the trek back to the river.

 

 



summer explosion

when the storms come rolling in, the clouds are nothing short of magnificent. as the sun moves across the sky settling in for dusk various hues of yellow, orange, purples and pinks transform the cloudscape until the last moment when all fades and turn into gray.

 

a curious little face. not really a face at all, but rather the back of her neck to look like a scary monster to ward off predators.

monarch butterfly to-be munching on my Rue

 

my zinnias before the grasshoppers invaded and demolished

 

she appeared at dusk, so big, paul thought it was a bat at first. very moth like, but brilliant as a butterfly.





 

nowhere near a quality photo, but a precious glimpse of a newborn nestling humming bird, overflowing the confines of it's home. there is another unseen baby underneath it.