Exploring Northern New Mexico BLM Land -Sheila directing us from beside the truck (what a surprise there isn't an oil or gas well in this photo)

Opuntia polyacantha

My name is Deidre Conocchioli, and I started working at the lovely BLM field office in Farmington, New Mexico this past Monday. Farmington is about 40 miles southeast of the Four Corners and is on the Colorado Plateau. I just graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and stopped at home in the Twin Cities, Minnesota before coming to Farmington.  I had previously never been to New Mexico and while I was excited about the new flora, I was greatly anticipating what the landscape in Farmington would be like.  Colorado Plateau kept giving me the  imagery of a city on a high, dry, flat top without trees to shelter from the sun’s ever-watching gaze. I found myself thinking along the drive, “please don’t let Farmington be as flat as the plains I am coming from.” Even one mountain range within sight from the town would be a mental oasis.  Driving past the plains, the earth erupted into majestic uprisings of forested slopes and snow- capped peaks west of Denver. Pressing through southern Colorado, the mountains held out as I looked for indication of the distinctive plateau I had in mind. There was none, the land never flattened. Even rolling in at 9 pm, we could tell that this plateau had big rolling hills around the town, as I especially discovered on my 4 mile uphill bike ride to the BLM office.

I will be primarily working on the Seeds of Success program with another CLM intern, Henry. Our mentor, Sheila, is a sharp botanist and she has been acquainting us with Four Corners specimen she collected for us. Or rather, A Utah Flora, Flora of Arizona, New Mexico Flora, and Colorado Flora keys have been divulging the intimate details of a plant’s private areas (gynobase positioning) and more provocative features of the leaves, spines, and pubescence. It was a good change of pace when we were able to learn flora in the field. The prickly pears in bloom were absolutely gorgeous.

Looking forward to meeting everyone at the training in Chicago!