John Fleck

@jfleck.bsky.social

1870 Followers 216 Following

Writer in Residence, Utton Center, University of New Mexico School of Law. Writing a book about the Rio Grande and the making of Albuquerque. People pay me for sentences - "a curious guy with good typing skills".

Column chart showing maximum extent of annual drying on New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande since 2002. 2026 is the highest column on the chart at 85 miles.
1965 Albuquerque Tribune with headline reading "Rio Grande Reaches Record Levels Here" and picture of high water flowing under a bridge.
Writing the Wild: John Fleck, Ribbons of Green: The Rio Grande and the Making of Modern Albuquerque. Date: Tue, 6/2/2026. Time: 6:00pm. Place: Bookworks on Rio Grande, Albuquerque, 4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107-3100.
Chain link fence with “Beware of the dog” sign, a field beyond full of sandhill cranes.
A close-up of a bright blue industrial door with a distinctive white logo and text for 'MONSOON DESIGN' featuring a minimalist silhouette of a figure holding an umbrella aloft. Below the logo reads 'DELIVERIES ONLY'. The door's surface shows subtle texture and wear patterns, with a few small scuff marks and imperfections in the paint. Two silver door locks or handles are visible on the right side of the door. The deep blue color of the door combined with the umbrella motif creates a whimsical, artistic touch in what appears to be an otherwise utilitarian setting. The composition suggests this is likely the back entrance or delivery door to a design studio or creative business. The contrast between the crisp white logo and the rich blue background gives the door a striking, graphic quality that feels intentionally designed despite its functional purpose.
An industrial streetscape on what appears to be the outskirts of a small city or town. The image has a stark, open feeling with a cloudy blue-grey sky. In the foreground, there's a sign board with text reading 'NEW YEAR NEW YOU TRY CREAMLAND COTTAGE CHEESE' displayed in simple black letters. A prominent turquoise-green Sunbelt Rentals building and sign dominate the middle of the image, with their sun-gear logo visible. The street features multiple utility poles, power lines criss-crossing overhead, and white street lamps. There's yellow construction equipment visible behind a chain-link fence near the left side. Multiple stop signs are visible along the street, which appears to slope downhill. In the distance, there's a Comfort Inn sign and some low-rise commercial buildings in beige and brown tones. The overall atmosphere is distinctly industrial and utilitarian, with a somewhat empty, expansive feel typical of American commercial districts. The lighting suggests it's during daytime, possibly early morning or late afternoon, giving the scene a stark, matter-of-fact quality.
Wayback Machine screenshot of the Inkstain homepage from late October 2000. The page has a black background with a glowing white ‘Inkstain’ logo at the top, a Jello Biafra quote, a set of red navigation links on the left, and text describing Inkstain’s dedication to the idea that ‘information wants to be free.’ A W3C XHTML 1.0 badge and date (‘Sunday, October 29, 2000’) appear near the bottom.
A long-necked red dinosaur sculpture with a red white and blue bicycle in front of it and the shadow of the photographer.
River in foreground, receding into the distance, with brown foliage on both sides, and a big sky.
A roadrunner (the actual bird) running along the top of a wall that has a painting of a roadrunner and a cactus.
Sign reading “police parking only” with black text on a white background and an arrow. A small “Burque Against Fascism” sticker has been added.
Brown stubble farm field with cottonwoods, birds, and a distant treeline and mountains.
Ten blue-handled wire cutters. Their arrangement suggests a band of two-legged creatures.
Graph showing increasing river flow on the Rio Chama below Abiquiu dam.
Map of United States showing wet Pacific NW forecast for the next week, a dry Four Corners area. NOAA quantitative precipitation forecast for Dec. 17-24.
Suburban street with trees, a separate paved bike path, and a bike lane.
An outdoor lot filled with old, worn-out vehicles including vintage trucks, a painted salvage race car, and other aged automobiles. The salvage race car is painted in bright orange and purple, with 'North 54 Salvage' and 'We Buy Junk Cars' on the side. The background includes an industrial yard with construction equipment and a dirt mound.
An album cover with the words “Green Onions: Booker T. & the M.G.’s” and a picture of green onions.
Newspaper headline: “Disrobed Men Lucky To Get Belongings Back”
A plate of tacos on a black tray sits on a weathered wooden table. The tacos are garnished with cilantro and lime wedges. In the background, a person in a bright green jacket is eating from another plate. A bicycle helmet, water bottle, and car are visible, suggesting an outdoor dining setting.
Highway bridge with river flowing beneath it, small vegetated island, and graffiti on bridge pilings.
Man in a tall chair moderating a panel wearing rainbow unicorn socks. Sign on lectern reads “Colorado River Project, Water Education Foundation”.
Dirt road with canal to the left lined with red-barked leafless willows, and cottonwoods to the right, with a deep blue sky.
Dirt road in foreground, barbed wire fence, farm field of stubble with goats, houses and trees in the background.
Dirt road paralleling a waterless, dry dirt canal, with an excavator clearing accumulated sediment.
Dirt road, irrigation ditch in the midst of a concrete lining project, and train cars on a parallel railroad track.
Forecast graph for inflows into Glen Canyon Dam showing 5.2 million acre feet forecast, below a 6.4 million acre foot mean.
Evaporative Demand Drought Index forecast showing drying out of Colorado and Utah over the next four weeks.
Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) U.S. map showing red - increasing drought risk - across the Pacific Northwest and much of the eastern United States with some neutral and wet conditions in Arizona and New Mexico.
A blue and red touring bicycle with bags attached to the frame and handlebars is parked against a wooden post in an urban setting. The area is strewn with dry leaves and some litter on the ground. There's a chain-link fence in the background with a concrete post beside the bike. The setting appears to be a neglected urban corner with no people in sight.
Diesel Santa Fe Chief engine being refueled, with Albuquerque skyline in the background, Kodachrome colors suggesting the picture’s age.
Yellow warning sign next to a bike trail: “Stop for horses in underpants.” It appears to have been altered from the original text.
Satellite map image of suburban neighborhood and open space with labeling text reading "Fire Danger", "Western Black Widow Spider", and "Salt Cedar Ct".
A bar graph of annual Rio Grande flow at Otowi in New Mexico, showing declining flows in the 21st century, with only five years since 2000 above the period of record mean dating to 1900.
Irrigation canal, flowing past a large tree, and passing in the distance under a freeway.
Horses behind a house, desert drab colors.
Dry irrigation ditch with field and mountains in the background, in lovely early morning light, casting a sweeping shadow.
Pac-Man Panic video game in an arcade.
Looking out of a dilapidated building, railroad tracks and a Santa Fe sign. Black and white.
Large graffiti on a retaining wall next to a creek, with an adobe-style building in the background and snow all ‘round.
Blue line graph showing elevation of Elephant Butte Reservoir, which was high in the 1990s, but dropped to very low levels ever since.
People standing in a forest clearing with pickup trucks in the background.
Graffiti on a railing with bike seat in foreground: “Damian and Lola 4ever” with a heart, followed by “Never” with a smiley. “Berlynn is stupid” followed by “I don’t think so!”
River with bridge and clouds in the background, lines of trees on each bank, and a platform railing in the foreground.
River with clouds in background, green greens lining both banks, a distant bridge, and the railing of the Posole Platform in the foreground, so named because of graffiti that once graced its railing.
Map of Albuquerque with black street grid and area devoted to parking in red. Legend: 33% of central city devoted to parking.
Horse trotting at a racetrack with guardrail in foreground and mountains in background.
Heavy equipment repairing a flood control channel in the middle of a freeway.
Pretty flower.
Newspaper notice from H.R. Whiting indicating they will not be running for mayor "under any circumstances".
map of United States showing six to ten day temperature outlook, with large areas of orange and red suggesting odds favoring hotter than average weather for most of the country, except for coastal Southern California and the northeast, from July 31-Aug. 4.
Map of US showing six to ten day temperature outlook July 30-Aug. 3 showing above average temperatures likely across most of the US
Old newspaper headline: "Tot of Five Takes Long Journey Alone"
Woman in white dress, man in jacket and tie, second woman in white dress, in front of steel girder bridge over river.
Map of United States six to 10 day temperature outlook, dated July 23, valid July 29-Aug. 2. Red, meaning odds favor hotter than normal temperatures, over much of the southwest, central, and eastern United States.
Map of the 3-Month United States Drought outlook, with yellow blob (indicating likely drought development) over the southwestern U.S. Also brown (even worse) and yellow over the Pacific Northwest.