The dog days of summer

Well, our September held on to a hot and humid summer as long as possible.  Still holding out on the heat, but the humidity is way down.  I spent time out in the pond this week trying to identify the dragonflies that are out there.  It is actually pretty exciting.  Since we have managed to cut down on the crayfish population, I am seeing insects out there I never saw before.  At least eight species of dragonflies, and three-four species of aquatic beetles. I can't "prove" it, but I am guessing that the dragonfly nymphs were eaten by the crayfish.  Now the pond is alive.  The insects in the pond, the algae and other aquatic plants now growing. I can't help but think that the health of the pond is improving.

I keep looking for migrants now. Anytime.  Have seen a few turkey vultures, and some lesser goldfinches, but that is it.  I get so excited in September....the promise of fall is here and I can hardly wait!

Flame skimmer

Funny thing about that summer heat...

It is hard not to think or talk about the heat.  It lays heavy on the sand, thick and palpable.  I spend at least some time every day working outside.  I try to do it in the morning, but that is not always possible. I was out until 11 am this morning creeping up and down sand dunes looking for the fringe-toed lizard.  It was well over 100 degrees.  And yet, the funny thing is that the heat is the life blood, the heart, the essence of life out here.  Some critters don't even show themselves until the days get hot enough.  Take the desert iguana:  a cool critter that thrives in the heat.  It wakes up after the other reptiles and goes to sleep earlier in the fall. I don't even see a lizard running until ater 9 am when the sun really starts heating up the dunes.

So many other things wake up in the heat.  It is very cool to watch the movement of the seasons across the dunes.  The sand treader crickets wake up earlier in the spring when the sun is warm but not yet baking.  Then they dive into their sandy dens to wait out the summer heat.  They come out a bit in the darkness of the summer night. This morning I watched for my first lizard to see when things were starting to wake up.  Then all of a sudden there are tracks dancing all over the white expanse of sand.

The as the day progresses everything takes a siesta as the sun reaches zenith and the heat reaches its own zenith.  Not until the shadows grow long do things start to move about again.

As the shadows lengthened today I was out at the oasis.  While I was working I heard the call of a juvenile great-horned owl calling to its parents.  The sun had not yet set, but they were all bustling about in the palms What a delight.  What beauty.

I look forward (greatly) to the movement into fall, but I delight in the action of the desert summer.

Great horned owl juvenile