After a couple of urban pictures, it’s time to get out of town.
I took this picture at the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico (USA) late in December last year. The dunes are made of gypsum sand, but the local vegetation has adapted to it, and can often grow through it.
This leads to an interesting balance. The vegetation slows down the motion of the dunes (which move across the plains just a few inches each year). As a result, much of the local vegetation can grow quickly enough that the top of a plant can stay above the sand, while its roots can stay below it — an elongated stalk keeps the two ends connected.
At the leading edge of a dune, an interesting mix of footprints trace the extent of the more dense vegetation. One track with big prints was likely made by a rabbit. The other prints are much smaller, maybe from a mouse (mice)?
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March 23rd, 2008 at 06:43
[...] is a closeup of the footprints in the image in an earlier post. I really liked the textures and light in this [...]