Wonder Valley: June 2012
Page 3: Unable To Endure The Wrath Of The Sun...
...all those creatures which crept or crawled, or hopped or ran, or slithered about, did conceal themselves from the vengeful glare of the sun, beneath the righteous creosote plant, and in other places hidden.
And there they abided themselves out of the wrathful sun's sight until the sun's allotted time was finished each day, and only then did they come about onto the land, to creep and crawl, and hop and run, and slither, each in their own way, each after their own kind.
And their marks were left upon the land as a sign that they endured and abided there, upon the twice-burnt land.
And for those who would look to see them, the marks were laid bare, and told the tale thereunto, as things known and as things unknown, each that left its mark upon the bare desert floor, when no eyes there were, upon that which left its mark.
And there they abided themselves out of the wrathful sun's sight until the sun's allotted time was finished each day, and only then did they come about onto the land, to creep and crawl, and hop and run, and slither, each in their own way, each after their own kind.
And their marks were left upon the land as a sign that they endured and abided there, upon the twice-burnt land.
And for those who would look to see them, the marks were laid bare, and told the tale thereunto, as things known and as things unknown, each that left its mark upon the bare desert floor, when no eyes there were, upon that which left its mark.
Jackrabbit forepaws.
Resting jackrabbit, forepaws to the left and haunches to the right.
Multiple tracks. Sidewinder (series of curvy lines running across image from left to right), lizards (straight lines), dog, and possible small rabbit (lower right).
The wind (blowing from right to left).
Unknown.
Crisscrossing sidewinder tracks.
Roadrunner.
Baby jackrabbit, which rested on its haunches, just left of where the foot was placed to give a sense of scale.
Trail of a snake that exited a burrow it was in, coiled itself down into the sand, and then uncoiled and departed.
Lizard.
Desert Tortoise.
Snake.
Roadrunner versus snake. This one is hard to read, as it's fouled with prints from a human, but if you click to view the larger image, you can see prints from both the roadrunner and the snake, as well as multiple marks where the roadrunner's bill punched the sand as it stabbed at the snake. Chances are, the snake wound up in the roadrunner's stomach.
Multiple attempts by a sidewinder to coil up and embed itself down into the sand, but it was thwarted by the hardpan that lies just beneath the surface, and in the end it had to look elsewhere for a place to hide.
Unknown. Nothing led to, nor away from, this isolated mark on the desert floor.
Snake.