Oak leaves in fall
Lissa and I caught the tail end of fall colors on a drive in the mountains east of Albuquerque today. I wonder why these oak leaves are waiting until the last minute? Phenology.
Archive of posts filed under the New Mexico category.
Change, stasis and (or?) resilience in New Mexico water policy
I spent a thoroughly fascinating couple of days last week at a workshop organized by the University of New Mexico’s Utton Center (legal wonks thinking about water institutions) on resilience in New Mexico water management. It was a lot of fun, made all the more so by the fact that I was invited Thursday evening …
Continue reading ‘Change, stasis and (or?) resilience in New Mexico water policy’ »
Stuff I wrote elsewhere: an inordinate fondness for beetles
In central New Mexico, the salt cedar beetle seems here to stay, enforcing the Law of Unintended Consequences: Introduced in the 19th century to protect railroad bridge abutments, praised for its ability to protect riverbanks from erosion, vilified for alleged water-sucking ways while simultaneously defended as wildlife habitat, the story of the Eurasian tamarisk – …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I wrote elsewhere: an inordinate fondness for beetles’ »
For this one tree, autumn
What makes the first tree decide, “OK, now’s the time to turn.”
Stuff I wrote elsewhere: on public discussion in water politics, Gila edition.
From the morning paper, a column about the importance of putting all the data on the table for a public discussion as we try to make collective decisions about our water future. (This is about the Gila River in New Mexico). The argument here is technical, and I don’t expect you to be able to …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I wrote elsewhere: on public discussion in water politics, Gila edition.’ »
Water in the desert, apple orchard edition
Stuff I wrote elsewhere: RIP Yoda, the tree
When Henri Grissino-Mayer first told me about the tough little old Douglas fir named Yoda, it struck me as the perfect bit of anthropomorphic business for a book about tree rings for kids. When Henri emailed me last month to tell me that Yoda had died over the summer, I knew I couldn’t let the …
Continue reading ‘Stuff I wrote elsewhere: RIP Yoda, the tree’ »
Pecan Lane
The pecan trees of Pecan Lane have seen better days.
Questions about the Gila Diversion
In the Colorado River Basin writ large, 14,000 acre feet of water is a very small rounding error – less than one tenth of one percent of the river’s flow. But the New Mexico discussion over the possibility of a diversion high in the watershed of the Gila River in New Mexico, raises fascinating questions …
The beauty of our monsoon clouds
Driving back from southern New Mexico yesterday afternoon, I saw a lot of this: Video courtesy of Todd Shoemake at the National Weather Service’s Albuquerque office, where they enjoy the monsoon as much as anyone. Maybe more.