Andrew recently spent a week in New Mexico with a cousin visiting family. Before leaving he promised to send me an agave a day, to let me know he was thinking of me. How sweet is that?
Day One, in Albuquerque.
Lots of pups!
Day Two, also Albuquerque, near the
Crossroads at Martineztown Historic Marker.
What happened here (wind? humans? critters?) is a mystery.
Day Three, still in Albuquerque. Three different scenes around town...
Day Four took them to Carrizozo, NM.
Carrizozo is a town in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat, and as of the 2020 census had a population of 972. The name of the town is derived from the Spanish vernacular for reed grass (Carrizo), which grew significantly in the area and provided excellent feed for ranch cattle. The additional "zo" at the end of the town name was added to indicate abundance of Carrizo grass. The town is now often referred to colloquially as "Zozo" (
source). No word on what the white moose is about, if that is a moose?
To the west of Carrizozo is the Carrizozo Malpais, a 40-mile-long lava flow that's some 1,500 years old. It's part of the
Valley of Fires Recreation Area. Andrew sent bonus photos...
I was impressed with the dense desert vegetation, he was quite frustrated with how grey the lava flow looks, evidently it was very black in person.
Day Five, in Las Cruces, NM. Three spiky scenes...
Day Six, still in Las Cruces.
Day Seven, still in Las Cruces, agaves on the campus of New Mexico State University.
Day Seven included bonus Texas Agaves! They flew out of El Paso and stopped at an archaeology museum beforehand, that's where these rough specimens were photographed.
Also at the museum (outside the museum that is), a rainbow grasshopper. Crazy right?
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All material © 2009-2026 by Loree L Bohl, photos by Andrew Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
SEVEN DAYS OF AGAVES! I love that he did this, it is sweet. That big crack in the lava flow is scary. The extra "zo" makes it more fun to say.
ReplyDeleteRight? Like Zuzu's petals... fun to say because of the repetition. I wish I could have seen the lava flow in person.
DeleteAndrew was certainly true to his promise! And New Mexico isn't short on agaves...
ReplyDeleteHe really had to search for a few of these, but thankfully he was successful.
DeleteAn agave a day, what's better! Andrew rocks.
ReplyDeleteThat rainbow grasshopper is real?
It is for real, evidently there were blue patches too, which his camera didn't pick up.
DeleteGreat photos! Andrew got some great shots of some really nice agaves!
ReplyDeleteHe did!
DeleteThe arid landscape of the south west seems so foreign to my pacific northwest eyes. The agave love letters do sweeten the deal... so romantic. I noticed the adobe houses in the Albuquerque photos: they are so lovely.
ReplyDeleteAmazing Grasshopper! Nicely spotted. It would fit right in with Andrew's art.
Chavli
The desert definitely is a shock to the PNW eyes, one I enjoy immensely. I agree the grasshopper would work well in one of Andrew's pictures. I wonder if we'll see it in the future?
DeleteAgaves for the win! I was interested to read that Carrizo refers to “reed grass”, as the Carrizo Plain near us in CA is a vast grassy plain that some years manifests an amazing superbloom. I guess the grass there is a similar reed grass. Carrizozo is a cute name with an even cuter diminutive in “Zozo”.
ReplyDelete- Jane / MulchMaid
Agreed, definitely a fun name. Good to hear from you Jane!
DeleteA lovely gesture. Your hubby knows what fills you with joy.
ReplyDelete