Another Lovely New Mexico Day

New Mexico weather forecasters seem to have a fairly easy job; cool, cloud free mornings with cumulus buildup as the morning nears noon with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evenings…and repeat. The green hue of the desert belies the fact that there is variety and cloudy days with rain do happen but that is not the norm. The norm is upper 50's for the dawn and low to mid-90's for the afternoon with humidity seriously lacking.
Just to the east, lovely weather is not the case with tropical depression Bill parked over Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas under the gun again for major rain and flooding (the irony of a drought suddenly being over). The northern plains is looking at a potential for rain and severe weather and the cause, a stationary front/boundary, is draped in a sinuous band all the way to the east coast: more humidity and shower chances there, as well. I sure timed my Texas visit (and Nancy her Florida, working vacation) well with nothing but fine weather.
Even as Jeff and I hiked along the base of the granitic Sandia range yesterday afternoon the clouds built but the storms stayed on the east side of the ridge while we were out dodging cactus and admiring and discussing the local rock. The desert is in full bloom (and thorn) after the rains of May and stunningly gorgeous.  But, just look and don't touch is the rule. We heard and later saw a Gambol's Quail with its crazy head piece looking like a Dr. Seuss character.  The desert is quite alive!
Just checked the earthquake list and the largest quake I've ever seen listed along a mid-ocean ridge, a 7.0 on the Richter scale, occurred not long ago under the Atlantic off Brazil. A quake of that magnitude could certainly cause a tsunami but no warnings were listed, a relief, no doubt, for Rio.  The volcano list will not be updated until later today. There are cinder cones off on the western horizon here in the rift valley of the Rio Grande but intrusions of magma here in New Mexico pre-date written history and it's fine with me if it stays that way.
Not sure what my afternoon will bring, more golf, biking, hiking or a shopping trip into the old city but it's another fine day to get out and play, today on Earth.
An arroyo

Happy hiker!

 Granite with intrusions, I just really like intrusions...

 The orange version of the bloom, we saw pink and yellow - same type cactus - ahhhh, variety.

Indian paint brush in the foreground, Albuquerque in the distance.