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				<title><![CDATA[Southern New Mexico Travel and Tourism Information: Activities, Attractions, History, and Culture - Articles - Outdoors]]></title>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Frisco Box-true canyoneering]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/121/1/Frisco-Box-true-canyoneering/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[If the perfect dayhike combines beauty, drama, and moderate physical activity, then a dayhike to the Frisco Box is perfection. The drive to the trailhead is scenic. The walk is pleasantly level. And the 3 mile trek climaxes in a startling box canyon the width of a large living room. Through this room flows the San Francisco River. Craggy rock walls rise above the stream bed, which in many places is also the canyon bottom. Amid this harsh geology, cottonwoods and alders have found a foothold, adding further lushness to the green of Virginia creeper, grapevine, willow, and wild rose. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Sharman Apt Russell)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:14:43 PDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Lichens - a case of kidnapping]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/283/1/Lichens---a-case-of-kidnapping/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[In 1867, Simon Schwendener startled the scientific world when he announced to the Swiss Naturalists' Club that lichens were not the distinct organism they had long been thought to be, but rather were formed of two separate organisms: a fungus and an alga. Leading lichenologists were outraged at the radical idea; not for 50 years would Schwendener's theory be accepted. But once it was, lichens were seen as a classic example of a mutually-beneficial symbiosis: The alga, able to photosynthesize, provides food for the fungus; the fungus provides shelter and water to the alga. Some 20,000 kinds of this unique association grow on earth, living in almost every environment, from within Antarctic rocks to the surface of desert soils. Lichens can withstand years of desiccation by simply becoming dormant. They revive again with miniscule amounts of water - in the desert, humid night air suffices. While dormant, lichens can also stand searing heat and extreme cold; some species can survive temperatures as high as 180ºF and as low as 100ºF below freezing. Some arctic lichens are estimated to be over 4,000 years old, among the world's oldest plants.]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2003 22:10:39 PST</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/283/1/Lichens---a-case-of-kidnapping/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[New Mexico Snakes - recognizing the poisonous ones and controlling them around homes ]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/314/1/New-Mexico-Snakes---recognizing-the-poisonous-ones-and-controlling-them-around-homes-/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Snakes are perhaps the most feared and hated animals in New Mexico, but people&#8217;s fear of snakes comes from lack of understanding and superstition. Snakes are not mysterious at all, and these fascinating creatures don&#8217;t deserve the anxiety many people feel about them. Of the 46 snake species found in New Mexico, only 8 are poisonous and potentially dangerous, including 7 species of rattlesnakes and a coral snake. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (James Knight)</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2003 01:56:00 PST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Kit Fox]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/311/1/Kit-Fox/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Kit foxes are almost exclusively nocturnal, and thus rarely seen. These smallest of North American foxes are beautifully adapted to life in the desert. Their pale coloring makes them nearly invisible against a background of light-colored desert soils. Thickly-furred paws allow them to trot silently as they go about their nightly rounds; the hair also helps them float on sandy soils. Large ears help these dusk-to-dawn hunters to pick up night sounds. Even their small size may work to their advantage, making it easier to keep cool. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 11 Jan 2003 00:43:51 PST</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/311/1/Kit-Fox/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Kingfishers]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/310/1/Kingfishers/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[While jogging down the irrigation ditchbank one afternoon, I heard a loud, rattling call. A not-quite-crow-sized bird flew up from a perch above the ditch with strong, precise wingbeats, headed downstream. Its distinctive silhouette included a daggerlike bill and a ragged crest atop a big head. Its plumage was sober blue above and pure white below. A wide blue-gray stripe crossed its chest. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jan 2003 00:42:35 PST</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/310/1/Kingfishers/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Birds - evaporative cooling]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/301/1/Birds---evaporative-cooling/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[One searingly hot summer afternoon, I spotted a thrasher standing quite still on the ground in the shade of a small tree. The thrasher's long curved bill was open and its wings slightly spread. At first I thought that it was sick. But then I noticed a plump white-winged dove perched on a branch overhead. It too held its mouth wide open; as I watched, I could see the skin of its throat pulsating rapidly. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jan 2003 00:15:16 PST</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/301/1/Birds---evaporative-cooling/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Creosote Bush - fragrance of the desert]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/286/1/Creosote-Bush---fragrance-of-the-desert/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Creosote bush's distinctive odor and the leaves' shiny appearance are due to a resinous, varnish-like coating which helps the plant keep from drying out. The sophisticated coating also screens the sun's harsh rays, sheltering the delicate inner cells from heat and ultraviolet light. And it discourages grazers - the mix of waxes, volatile oils and other compounds tastes terrible and is indigestible to most animals. Only one small grasshopper, which spends its entire life on creosote, happily munches the resinous leaves. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jan 2003 22:18:57 PST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Nighthawks]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/315/1/Nighthawks/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[One evening in early May, I set out on a walk along the irrigation ditch at dusk. As I turned the corner onto the ditch road, I saw a cloud of birds flying back and forth, skimming low over the water, fluttering up over the road, then turning and flying back down the ditch like swimmers executing graceful laps.]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jan 2003 01:59:54 PST</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/315/1/Nighthawks/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Great horned owls]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/304/1/Great-horned-owls/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Despite their size, great horned owls are often overlooked because of their camouflaging feather pattern and their ability to fly without making a sound. The forward edge of their flight feathers is serrated to disrupt the flow of air over the wing, thus eliminating the noise created by airflow over a smooth surface. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jan 2003 00:25:11 PST</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Centipedes- many legs]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/297/1/Centipedes--many-legs/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[Centipedes are arthropods - critters with external, jointed skeletons like insects, or shrimp, and belong to their own class, Chilopoda, Greek for "thousand feet." Actually, centipedes rarely have more than 60 or 70 feet, and the same number of legs. Although often called insects, centipedes possess too many legs: Insects have six or fewer; centipedes never fewer than 30. Also, insect bodies are divided into three very different segments; centipede bodies are comprised of a tiny head and many similar segments, each sporting one pair of legs. ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Susan Tweit)</author>
					  <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2003 23:48:52 PST</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.southernnewmexico.com/articles/297/1/Centipedes--many-legs/Page1.html</guid>
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