There are many images that evoke thoughts of New Mexico. The Cabezon, Otero Mesa, Governor’s Square in Santa Fe, the smell of roasting chile, but there is none that evoke it so much for me as the picture taken by Chuck Hayes at the Sevilleta. It just SCREAMS New Mexico. Prairie, Mountains, and Prairie Dogs.

This is a prairie dog we’d relocated during the summer. The Manzanos are in the background and you can see an artificial burrow tube immediately to the side of the prairie dog. It is still used for emergencies but this prairie dog had already dug in near by.

Here’s another beauty captured by Sharyn Davidson.