Late Summer Days Delight and My Hooker's Orchid Cactus Bloomed Overnight

                                                                My Hooker's Orchid Cactus (Epiphyllum hookeri) bloomed overnight.

 I had two buds on my ugly, gangly succulent.  I walked out to my backyard about 6:45 AM to find that the first one had bloomed.

                                                                           The blossom will fade before late morning but it is truly stupendous in it's glory and I get excited each September as I await its ephemeral bloom.

 

At 7:30 AM, I joined my neighbor and walking partner, Eddy, as we did our usual 2 mile walk around our neighborhood.  The skies were lovely and the temperature in the mid 60's. 

The prairie dogs were busy gathering breakfast.  This one looks like she might be pregnant. 

They have very sharp claws to dig their burrows and many connecting tunnels.

The sunflowers are at their peak as they sway gently in the breeze.

 I love late summer in New Mexico.  It's State Fair time and in just 20 days the Balloon Fiesta will start.

New Mexico State Fair 

Whoa...My Newly planted "Orinco Flow" Iris Just Bloomed in Late Summer?

In May, Ron and I drove to Rio Hondo in southern New Mexico to see the Hondo Iris Farm Festival.  It was our first time visiting the Hondo Iris Farm and we didn't go until May 31st (the last day of the Iris Festival), so most of the irises had bloomed but we did see plenty of beautiful flowers and it was a charming place for a picnic.  They have tables amid the garden but they do not serve food, so bring your own.

The garden paths

    

We bought 4 irises to be mailed to us in mid-July for planting: Got the Melody, Jazzed Up, Bold Look and Orinco Flow.

 

                            

We received the iris rhizomes and planted them in late July.  My Orinco Flow (Border Bearded) Iris bloomed this week.  It was a beautiful white bloom with a golden beard but with only slight tinges of the blue stitching that it should have.  This is what it looked like:

This out of season blooming may affect the bloom next spring (when it is supposed to bloom) or maybe not.  Just enjoying its serendipity.

Backyard Bird Visitors

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico at about 5,900 ft. elevation up against the Sandia Mountains to the east and adjacent to a strip of natural park on the west.  In my backyard,  I have planted many native plants, put out a bird bath and fountain, seed feeders and hummingbird nectar to attract birds.  It is a joy to watch the wild birds who come to visit my backyard.

 There are plenty of insects and lizards to attract the birds and there are plenty of small birds to attract larger birds of prey.  So I get them all - from hummingbirds to woodpeckers to hawks to roadrunners.

Bird in the bush.

Hummingbirds

White-winged Dove

                                                           Lesser Goldfinch

Western Kingbird fledgling

Western Kingbird Fledgling

Western Kingbird adult and fledgling

Thirsty Roadrunner on a hot August day

Roadrunner going over the fence to the next yard

Great Horned Owl

Ladder-back Woodpecker

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Curved-bill Thrasher

Ladder-back Woodpecker

Spotted Towhee

The Last Wildflower Walk for the Summer of 2019

Each summer, I am part of nine men and women who volunteer to lead wildflower walks for the Forest Service. We lead a wildflower walk every Saturday morning from June through August

It is one of my joys in life to do this.  I get to share beautiful natural settings with wonderful people I meet on these walks.  We share a love of our environment with its flowers, trees, animals, reptiles and insects.  We walk trails in the Sandia Mountains just east of the city of Albuquerque.The summer of 2019 marks the tenth year I have guided these walks.

Our last walk was Saturday, August 31st. At this time, late into the summer, we often move to a lower elevation in the Manzanita Mountains where the land is more open meadows, drier and sunnier.  We chose Sabino Canyon Open Space for a 1.2 mile walk in the morning.  We had  8  participants and I was joined by two other guides, Kathy and Becky, as we set out about 9:15AM from the parking area.  This area does not disappoint.  More than 70 species of  wildflowers were blooming.

Sunflower, Annual – Helianthus annus

Buckwheat, Redroot – Erigonum racemosum 

Purple Aster/Bigelow Aster - Machaeranthera bigelovii 

Milkwort – Polygala alba 

Rabbitbrush, Long-flowered – Chrysothamnus depressus h

A baby Horned Toad Lizard

Buckwheat, Winged Wild –Erigonum alatum 

The seed of the Wild Winged Buckwheat 

Goldenrod

This tiny succulent is the Showy Flameflower

Close-up of the Showy Flameflower. with it's closed flower (at top center). 

The elusive Showy Flameflower grows amid south facing rock out croppings and are easily missed because the flower will not open until the late afternoon for a couple of hours.  Gene Jercinovic describes the Showy Flameflower in his Flowers of the Manzano Mountains, pg. 354.

False Boneset – Brickellia eupatorioides

Perky Sue - Tetraneuris argentea

Woolly Locoweed - Astragalus mollissimus var. mollissimus  gone to seed

Stiff Greenthread/Navajo Tea – Thelesperma filifolium 

Wild Four O’Clock/Smooth Spreading Four O’Clock - Mirabilis oxybaphoides 

A list of most of the blooming flowers is below:

SABINO CANYON OPEN SPACE

August 31, 2019   ELEVATION: 7000-7200 ft. 

Leaders:  Becky Schnelker, Vicki Farrar, and Kathy Lord

1.   Bindweed – Convolvulus arvensis – Morning Glory Family

2.   Amaranth, Green/Pigweed – Amaranthus hybridus – Amaranth Family

3.   Aster, Bigelow - Machaeranthera bigelovii – Aster Family

4.   Aster, Hairy Golden – Heterotheca villosa – Aster Family

5.   Bahia – Bahia dissecta – Aster Family

6.   Birdbeak/Clubflower – Cordylanthus wrightii – Figwort Family

7.   Buckwheat, Redroot – Erigonum racemosum – Buckwheat Family

8.   Buckwheat, Winged Wild –Erigonum alatum – Buckwheat Family

9.   Buffalo Gourd – Cucurbita foetidissima – Gourd Family

10.Clover, White Prairie – Dalea candida – Pea Family

11.Clover, Yellow Sweet – Melilotus officinalis – Pea Family

12.Coneflower, Short-rayed – Ratibida tagetes – Aster Family

13.Cota/Hopi Tea – Thelesperma megapotemicum – Aster Family

14.Daisy, Cowpen/Crownbeard - Verbesina encelioides – Aster Family

15.Daisy, Paper – Psilostrophe tagetina – Aster Family

16.Daisy, Townsendia/Tall Easter – Townsendia exima – Aster Family

17.Deervetch, Wright’s – Lotus wrightii – Pea Family

18.Desert Four O’Clock /Maravilla - Mirabilis multiflora - Four O’Clock Family

19.Desert Stickleaf - Mentzelia multiflora – Loasa Family

20.False Boneset – Brickellia eupatorioides – Aster Family

21.False Pennyroyal – Hedeoma nana – Mint Family

22.Filaree, Red-stemmed – Erodium circutarium – Geranium Family

23.Flameflower, Showy - Phemeranthus brevicaulis – Purslane Family

24.Flax, Blue – Linum lewisii – Flax Family

25.Fleabane, Spreading – Erigeron divergens – Aster Family

26.Fleabane, Trailing – Erigeron flagellaris – Aster family

27.Gayfeather – Liatris punctata – Aster Family

28.Geranium, Purple – Geranium caespitosum – Geranium Family

29.Germander, Cutleaf – Teucrium iaciniatum  - Mint Family

30.Gilia, Many-flowered – Ipomopsis multiflora – Phlox Family

31.Gilia, Scarlet/Skyrocket – Ipomopsis aggregate – Phlox Family

32.Globemallow, Narrowleaf – Sphaeralcea angustifolia – Mallow Family

33.Goldeneye, Showy – Viguiera multiflora – Aster Family

34.Goldenrod – Solidago spp. - Aster Family

35.Goosefoot, Narrow-leaved – Chenopodium leptophyllum – Goosefoot Family

36.Greenthread, Stiff – Thelesperma filifolium – Aster Family

37.Gumweed, Curly Cup –Grindelia nuda -  Aster Family

38.Horehound – Marrubian Vulare - Mint Family

39.Lamb’s Quarters/Quelites – Chenopodium incanum – Goosefoot Family

40.Lily, Crag – Anthericum torreyi(Echeandia flavescens) – Lily Family

41.Milkweed, Poison/Narrow leaf – Asclepias subverticillata – Milkweed Family

42.Milkwort – Polygala alba – Milkwort Family

43.Narrowleaf Four O’Clock - Mirabilis linearis - Four O’Clock Family

44.Nightshade, Silverleaf  – Solanum elaeagnifolium – Potato Family

45.Onion, Nodding – Allium cernuum – Lily Family

46.Owl’s Clover, Purple  – Orthocorpus purpureoalbus (Castilleja exserta) – Figwort Family

47.Paintbrush, Foothills – Castilleja integra – Figwort Family

48.Pea, Scurf – Psoralidium tenuiflorum – Pea Family

49.Penstemon, Scarlet – Penstemon Barbatus ssp. torreyi–  Figwort Family

50.Penstemon, Wandbloom – Penstemon virgatus – Figwort Family

51.Peppergrass/Pepperweed – Ledidium montanum – Mustard Family

52.Perky Sue – Tetraneuris argentea - Aster Family

53.Phlox, Santa Fe –Phlox nana – Phlox Family

54.Pingϋe, Bitterweed/Rubberweed – Hymenoxys richardsonii – Aster family

55.Prickly Lettuce – Lactuca serriola – Aster Family

56.Rabbitbrush, Long-flowered – Chrysothamnus depressus – Aster Family

57.Rough Menodora/Frog’s Eyes – Menodora scabra – Olive Family

58.Sage, Fringed – Artemisia Frigida – Aster Family

59.Sage, Louisiana – Artemisia ludoviciana – Aster Family

60.Sage, Rocky Mountain – Salvia reflexa – Mint Family

61.Salsify, Yellow – Tragopogon pratensis – Aster Family

62.Sanvitalia - Sanvitalia abertii - Aster Family

63.Snakeweed – Gutierrezia sarothrae – Aster Family

64.Sundrops, Hartweg’s – Calyphus hartwegii - Evening Primrose Family

65.Sunflower, Annual – Helianthus annus – Aster Family

66.Tarragon, Wild – Artemisia biennis – Aster Family

67.Velvet Umbrellawort - Mirabilis oblongifolia – Four O’Clock Family

68.Verbena, Spike – Verbena macdougalii – Verbena Family

69.Verbena/Dakota Vervain – Gladularia bipinnatifidia – Verbena Family

70.Violet Woodsorrel - Oxalis violacea – Woodsorrel Family

71.Wild Four O’Clock/Smooth Spreading Four O’Clock - Mirabilis oxybaphoides – Four O’Clock Family

Guide to Sabino Canyon Open Space https://www.bernco.gov/uploads/files/OpenSpaces/SabinoCanyonGuide.pdf

Sources:
Flowering Plants of New Mexico, fifth edition – R. Dewitt Ivey – 2008
Wildflowers of the Northern & Central Mountains of New Mexico – L. Littlefield & P. Burns – 2015

Wildflowers of the Manzanos, Copyright 2003, ISBN 0 - 9743044 - 0 – 9, - Gene Jercinovic with drawings by Robert Dewitt Ivey http://newmexicoflores.com