The Galion Grader

Encompassing almost half section of land (320 acres), the Painted Pony Resort has the same maintenance issues found on any other ranch or property located in the high New Mexican desert of the southwest and one of those issues is road work.  Located off of Highway 80, one of only 3 paved roads in the San Simon valley, over 3.5 miles of gravel road require maintenance which includes Night Hawk and Painted Pony roads as well as roads on the property.  To help with this work the Painted Pony Resort has a Galion road grader.  This 35,000 lb piece of heavy diesel equipment eases road maintenance issues allowing a smooth ride from the highway to the estate.  The roads leading to the property are not county maintained but do receive a yearly grading from the local home owners association.  But to ensure comfortable access requires additional road work, especially during the winter rains and monsoon season.  All of which is made easier with the road grader and tractor on the property.

Galion road grader at the Painted Pony Resort

Monsoon Moon

The full moon has many names ranging from a Blue moon to a Wolf moon, but there is no Monsoon moon.  In celebration of the spectacular monsoon season the area has experienced this year it seems reasonable to add a Monsoon Moon to the list of full moons.  The Painted Pony Resort received another half an inch of rain last night but upon going out side this morning the view was a cloudless sky with the full moon setting over the Chiricahua mountains.  Bathed in light from the rising sun, the exposed rock of the Chiricahuas turned red and yellow and which contrasted against the green grasses of the eastern slopes.

The full monsoon moon setting over the Chiricahua mountains

The Seed Reservoir

Now that the fencing is complete and the area has received sufficient monsoon rains, the grasses in the river bottom at the Painted Pony Resort are in full bloom.  The grass reservoir is now complete and ready to start work spreading seed out on to the surrounding landscape.  It is also time to begin a grass inventory. 

Similar in concept to a seed bank, the grass reservoir acts as a storehouse of native grasses for reseeding efforts on the surrounding landscape.  The concept of a grass reservoir does not require seed storage but rather takes advantage of naturally occurring stands of native grasses which are protected from browsing and allowed to go to seed.  Seed from these stands of native grasses are redistributed by the winds onto barren areas encouraging a natural reseeding of the surrounding landscape.  In grazed areas such as the New Mexico State land and BLM lands that surround the Painted Pony Resort, the effect of naturally spreading grass seed will over time start new grass stands in more barren areas.  This effect will repeat itself on a yearly basis as long as the central grass reservoir is maintained and will continue to build new grass stands not only at PPR but on lands outside the estate. 

Of course the native browsers of grass will have an impact on the efficiency of the reseeding process.  Ant and rodent species which forage on grass seed will reduce the spreading efficiency but these are naturally occurring grass harvesters and in comparison to the larger herbivores should have little impact on dispersal.  The approximately 240 acres fenced will not keep out deer, antelope, and other large native herbivores but their populations are relatively small compared with the main browser, cattle, which are excluded by the fence.

A preliminary survey of grass species on the property has reached 10 species of native grasses.  Not being a botanist it will take some time to identify all the grass species but black gamma and sideoats gamma appear to be present, see below.

The San Simon Riverbed as a grass reservoir

Tentatively identified as black gamma

Tentatively identified as sideoats gamma

How do People See?

One intriguing question asked over the past several years is "how do people see?"  Not the physiological process of vision but rather the neurological processing that takes place in the brain when viewing a photograph.  Below is an image of an evening sunset over the Chiricahua mountains with a single illuminated cumulus cloud.  It is displayed both right side up and upside down (and reversed, keeping the light from the same direction).  In both images my eye is immediately drawn to the interface between the ground and the sky.  In the upper image the ridge line of the Chiricahua mountains (including Cochise Head) is at the bottom of the photograph and black silhouette outline of the ridge top provides a nice demarcation between the ground and sky.  While the lower image, the black silhouette of the ridge is at the top of the photograph.  In this instance the tan of sky now becomes the "ridge line" and the "ground" with a black sky.  But as the eye scans down the image, the cloud reorients the mind reminding the viewer it is sky not ground.

right side up

upside down and reversed

Advantages to Fencing, Creating a Seed Reservoir

New Mexico is a fence out state, requiring landowners to fence out cattle belonging to another.  While this may seem odd and fence in makes more sense, the idea of fencing out cattle and other livestock has a long history.  But there are other advantages to enclosing parcels of land with fencing.  By fencing out livestock, native grasses begin to re-establish themselves which then go to seed.  Native grass seed spreads down wind and begins to create new areas of gasses,which if left ungrazed will continue to spread, reinvigorating the land and contributing to the topsoil allowing even more grasses to become established and grow.  If the adjoining lands are grazed this spreading of native seed is an advantage to the cattleman since a constant source of new seed is available yearly.  So, by fencing areas with local native grasses such as the San Simon riverbed, a grass seed reservoir is created from which native grasses can spread across the adjoining landscape helping not only the native wildlife but the neighboring rancher as well.

A winter view of grazed (left) versus ungrazed (right) landscape

Monsoon view (same location as above) of grazed (left) versus ungrazed (right).  Note grasses with seed heads on the ungrazed area.

Monsoon grasses in New Mexico.  The predominant winds are from the left (south).  The right side of the fence is grazed New Mexico state land while the left is ungrazed private land.

The same view as above before the monsoon rains