Macro Love: Southwestern Spring

Claret cup cactus flower (Echinocereus triglochidiatus), Water Canyon/Magdalena Mtns., NM, April 2011

This week's "I heart macro" post comes from one of three hikes I took this past week -- I'm finally getting out on the trail regularly. We had some seriously brutal winds here yesterday, but even on the windiest days Water Canyon, which winds into the Magdalena Mountains from the east, is quite pleasant. So I packed up my camera, new hiking boots, and Lucydog -- going out on her first hike since surgery! -- and hit the road for some serious hiking. It was wonderful. I turned up into Dark Canyon (at the group campground), which was warm, breezy but not too much so, not at all dusty, and green thanks to the little bit of water that flows through the canyon even in dry La Nina years like the one we're having now. Most of the water flows just under the sandy/rocky creekbed but surfaces here and there, much to Lucy's delight. Thanks to this source the willows are bright neon green and the cacti are in bloom -- I spotted the claret cup pictured above from 100 yards away at least, and had to do a bit of rock climbing to get close enough for a good photo. Lots more photos to come; it will be cold (possibly with snow flurries) through Monday so I'll be inside for a couple of days...