The common name of cacomistle (cacomixtle) for the ringtail is from the Nahuatl language. It translates to “half cat.” I can see that, especially when you watch them scurry around. “Look a kitty!” Another common name is miner’s cat, from the fact that miners/prospectors liked to have ringtails around for the same reason I do; they eat rodents. Yay!
The photos are Ms. Mesquitey’s and taken one early morning in our greenhouse. Yes, that is a scat on top of the irrigation clock. Well, I took that photo… of course.
SPECIAL BONUS! Here’s a link to another episode about some nearby ringtails:
https://kxci.org/podcast/literary-ringtails/
Corvus cryptoleucus is the Chihuahuan Raven. Corvus is Latin for crow and is the scientific name Linnaeus gave crows and ravens. Cryptoleucus is from...
There are many nations and languages found in the borderlands. The photos are mine.
Velvet mesquite is the predominate native mesquite of southern Arizona. If you go west toward California, you will start running into western honey mesquite...
