Bird legs in the desert

Just to add a quickie to the Joester reports of running in 'exotic' climes, I'm here in Albuquequequequque, New Mexico and have been jogging a few miles the last couple of mornings along the Rio Grande. (Or not so Grande, given that it's a 10-foot wide mud slick in most places this far north, it seems.) It's 'nice' and hot, so have been trying to get out early enough to avoid the Big Shrivel. Feels good on my recovering splinted shins to be running on the sandy trails and I've been treated to humming birds, hawks, bees the size of baseballs, and other desert wildlife skimming past. First time I went out, I took an interesting path along the side of an irrigation channel and ended up trapped on a never-ending path, water on one side and large, imposing fences of rich gits on t'other. Luckily a kindly bloke watering his cacti let me shin over his wall so I could double back and re-find my original path. I will, apparently, never learn when running and hiking in unfamiliar locales - not particuarly wise to do unplanned miles in these arid cities, eh?