A Plague of Bunnies and Great Open Spaces

We have spent the last couple of days at Brantley Lake State Park, a desert park a few miles north of Carlsbad New Mexico. As we arrived, two park employees were trying to catch a bull snake that had just crawled out of our campsite. They assured us that bull snakes do not eat bulls. We did not need reassurance, we camp a lot in the desert and are actually fond of snakes. 

 

In additional to snakes, the park is overrun with rabbits. After several years of drought the abundant spring rain this year has yielded a bumper crop of bunnies. The campground is infested with wiggly noses and fluffy white tails. This would be the time to include my recipe for bunny cacciatore from my Peace Corps days, but to avoid offending anyone’s sensibilities I will refrain.  

 

This morning Dennis and I visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Dennis last visited the park when he was ten. I last visited it when I was twenty two. So for both of us it was like visiting the park in another lifetime. I overheard a voice in the dim cave light say that “the beauty and the immensity of the cavern was mind boggling”. I will not try to improve on that. As with other attempts to photograph in caves we struggled with lighting and focus.

 

So here are some photos of bunnies and great open spaces above and below the ground.