I Found a Rock

Of course your laughing after reading the title but being out on the landscape working always provides opportunities to find something new.  While driving down the entrance road on the estate the other day I noticed some new burrows along the drive, stopping to investigate I noticed a strange stone lying in the excavated dirt pile next to an entrance.  Perhaps 2" long and about 3/8" in diameter this elongated piece at first resembled a segment of root.  Upon picking it up I noticed it was stone not wood, with a crusty like exterior but a very fine grained interior.  There appeared to be a central core partially hollow at both ends.  Stumped as to its identity I put it away and went on working.  Later I started searching for a possible identity to this unusual find and came across descriptions of fulgurite or fused sand and dirt from a cloud to ground lightning strike.  The area does see many lightning strikes especially during the monsoon season and of course there is the New Mexico Lightning Field, so perhaps this is a piece of petrified lightning.  It is interesting to note that the bulk of the interior is very fine grained while the outside layer is much courser as if the interior material fused at a much higher temperature which decreased further out from the center.  Just one more reminder to keep ones eyes open when out on the landscape.  Oh, I still have not figured out what animal dug the burrows along the fence line.

Fulgurite specimen from the Painted Pony Resort

Cross sectional view of the fulgurite

What About the Other Native Bee Species?

Oops, after uploading the last post on Honey Bees to Facebook a local Biologist asked about all the other bee species native to the desert southwest.  Most other bee species important for pollination are solitary and do not form hives.  As such their nesting requirements differ from the common honey bee.  To remedy this situation several nest sites were created that cater specifically to solitary bees.  These nesting sites 1/4" - 3/8" in diameter and 3-5" in depth were drilled in left over 2 x 4s and placed inside segments of old drainage pipe.  After finishing, these nesting tubes seemed functional but sometimes functional is not enough.  Something visually interesting out on the landscape is also required.  So a grubbed mesquite was chosen and after some time with the saw a much more interesting shape for a bee nesting site emerged.  Covered in 1/4" - 3/8" holes 3-5" deep and with a rebar pin in the base this section of stump was inverted and placed on the top a railroad tie fence post at one corner of the property close to the riverbed..  The dried mesquite is hard and with a covering of bark should last many years in the weather.  By inverting the stump the nest holes are protected from the weather and by drilling holes all around the stump the bees have a variety of choices for micro-climate specific nesting sites, sun, shade, amount of breeze, choice of views etc..

For more on the native bee species please see:  Pocket Guide to Native Bee Species of New Mexico, in a pdf format.

2 x 4 and drainage pipe solitary bee nesting site.

A more visually interesting solitary bee nesting site out of Mesquite.

Functional solitary bee nesting site in place.

A visually interesting mesquite stump bee nesting site in place on a fence corner post.

Addendum:
A new website specifically about pollinators in the southwest "Pollinator Corridors Southwest".

Honey Bees Part II

As noted in a previous post, this year has been full of honey bees.  I made the mistake of using caulk to try and seal hive entrances where new colonies of honey bees were establishing themselves.  The bees made fast work of the caulk and reopened sealed entrances requiring a layer of stucco to permanently seal up entrances.  Despite the aggravation of new colonies trying to establish themselves honey bees are good for the landscape.  Reports of the decline in bee colonies is in the news prompting the Painted Pony Resort to do its' part in maintaining local bee populations.  Habitat restoration as part of the grassland restoration project is one of the goals of the resort so honey bees are a natural target for restoration activities.  To that end a 2 tiered bee box was placed in the riverbed as a home for a honey bee colony.  Under the shade of a large mesquite and with the entrance facing southeast (away from the predominate winds) the site is well suited for a colony of honey bees.  Located in the middle of the riverbed the area is surrounded with grasslands and wild native flowers.  Although I have missed this springs movement of new queens the location is ready for any wandering queen looking for a new home.

For more information on habitat restoration for Honey Bees see the Great Pollinator Project.

A new home for some local honey bees

An Early Monsoon?

Traditionally, the local community looks for the summer monsoon season around the beginning of July and the common wisdom holds that it begins on the 4th.  The estate received 0.05” of rain 2 days ago and then yesterday another build up of cumulus clouds appeared over the Chiricahua mountains during the afternoon. A typical monsoon season cloud buildup heralding perhaps an early start to the summer rainy season. The event resulted in winds in the canyon dropping trees along the road and rain was visible around the valley as well as on the eastern side of Antelope pass, but no rain at the Painted Pony Resort. The resulting sunset was brilliant with vibrant reds and yellows illuminating the residual rain clouds. I made a 4 image panorama to try and capture the sunset but the brilliance overwhelmed the camera chip.

An early monsoon cloud buildup over the Chiricahua mountains.

A brilliant sunset after the storm.

The Genesis of an Idea

Halfway between Tucson and El Paso and bypassed by I-10 one of the few surviving segments of Highway 80 still exists in the San Simon Valley.  Memorialized in Bob Wildmire's unfinished mural in the Rodeo Cafe, Highway 80 was once the major east/west auto route across the nation.  Known variously as the Old Spanish Trail, the Broadway of America, and the Overland Dixie Highway, Highway 80 brought travelers through the San Simon Valley.  Some passing through, some staying for a short while, and some staying on permanently Highway 80 was the introduction to the valley for many travelers.

With the construction of I-10 the valley was bypassed and over 18,000 vehicles/day now cross the state line on I-10, unknowing and unaware of the history and beauty that lies just south of the Interstate.  While some travelers are headed to Tucson or the coast some are headed to Tombstone and Bisbee.  Perhaps it takes just the right incentive to encourage folks to take the scenic route around the mountains on one of the last surviving segments of Highway 80 and enjoy an early piece of Americana and automotive history.

A proposed design for a billboard on I-10 promoting Highway 80.