“the grumbling of mountain lions”

From today’s Washington Post: At 9 a.m. on the very edge of the dusty, desolate collection of adobe homes and Vietnamese restaurants that seem to form this city, David Iglesias begins his run through the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. This is not easy terrain. The footing is terribly uneven. The altitude can be unbearable. …

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48

Dirty Bike Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. In past years, I’ve suggested that celebrating my birthday by riding my age was a modest goal. Forty-eight miles yesterday (77 kilometers, not sure what it is in metric years) was tough. I could blame the weather, but I really don’t have a lot of miles in my legs …

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On New Mexico Drought

Stuff I wrote elsewhere: Describing current New Mexico drought conditions is a bit of a puzzle. Out in my Albuquerque garden this morning, I was pulling weeds easily out of damp soil, and the plants, with no supplemental water, are going bonkers. Yet I’ve been writing stories about surface water supply problems. What gives?

Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere

New Mexico and Colorado are about to enter Rio Grande Compact Article VII restrictions. That means Elephant Butte, the big reservoir down south, is too low, and we’re prohibited from upstream storage. The meat: In flirting with Rio Grande Compact restrictions, New Mexico finds itself in what has become a familiar situation, with the state’s …

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Water in the Desert

Albuquerque Wastewater Treatment Plant Outfall Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. You’re looking at one of the largest tributaries in the Middle Rio Grande – the discharge from Albuquerque’s sewage treatment plant. I don’t know the exact numbers, but we’re putting something in the neighborhood of 60,000 acre feet of water per year into the river. Currently, …

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Dust Bowl

Dust BowlOriginally uploaded by heinemanfleck. It’s reasonable to think that most of the folks in sub-Saharan Africa didn’t celebrate the release of the latest grim Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report by heading out to the ballpark last night. But that’s what Lissa and I did, the beneficiary of a pair of free tickets to …

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