Hello all,

Although I still have a year left in my oddball 3-year CLM internship, I’m leaving early. On June 13th I’ll be starting a permanent BLM position with Las Cruces District Office, doing the same thing I’m doing now, more or less, and in the same cubicle. I don’t think I could have gotten here without CLM, and I’m very happy to be transitioning to a “real” job. Maybe I can finally cancel my daily emails from USAJOBS!

Here are a few photos from March, for no particular reason.

First, Echinomastus intertextus:

Phrynosoma modestum:

The edge of Carrizozo Malpais:

Near Kilbourne Hole, in an area with abnormally sparse vegetation and low plant diversity. Justin Van Zee of the Jornada Experimental Range informs me that this area has very shallow concretions of basaltic sand held together with calcium carbonate. These concretions are platy in texture, rather like shale, and although easily broken by hand appear to be hard & impermeable enough to give plants a hard time.