Bruce Johnson Jr. considers himself a landmark of the UNM Duck Pond.
“Meet me by the hippie at the Duck Pond,” he would hear people say.
Johnson makes and sells jewelry every weekday to students and other passers-by for donations. Using hemp, Johnson has been making jewelry for 33 years.
“The jewelry I make symbolizes peace and love,” Johnson said. “We all have to live in this world and we all bleed the same color.”
Bruce adopted a puppy last fall, but he said he had to give it up due to the cold weather. He said he read rumors on the UNM Confessions Facebook page saying that he had eaten it.
“Rumors are just people’s ignorance,” Johnson said.
Bruce leaves the Duck Pond every weekday at around 3 p.m. with his new puppy, Midnight, to have a meal at local food shelter Project Share. In his leisure time, Bruce drinks coffee, smokes cigarettes and listens to Nikki Sixx’s radio show Sixx Sense while camping out in a friend’s yard for the night.
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PHOTO STORY: Albuquerque provides habitat for hundreds of bird species
December 2Albuquerque offers a wide range of bird habitat over a relatively small space. The Bosque ecosystem is home to riparian species, while the city provides habitat for more adaptive urban birds, and the Sandia Mountains provide a home to higher elevation species. Hundreds of resident and migratory birds settle in Albuquerque, according to the City of Albuquerque website. Albuquerque is one of 31 Urban Bird Treaty cities across the United States. UBT cities partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve birds and bird habitat, as well as provide educational and recreational opportunities in urban areas, according to the FWS website. The FWS highlights the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge as one of Albuquerque’s successes in bird conservation. The refuge is considered to be one of the “most ambitious urban conservation projects in the nation,” according to the FWS. In addition to Valle de Oro, birds can choose from many open spaces in Albuquerque that provide habitat, including the Bachechi Open Space, Rio Grande Nature Center State Park and even the University of New Mexico’s campus. The Bachechi Open Space is one of 17 Bernalillo County Open Space properties, according to the Bernalillo County website. The space offers wetland habitat, which attracts geese, ducks and herons. The Rio Grande Nature Center State Park provides habitat for over 300 species of birds, according to its website. During this time of year, sandhill cranes find food in the fields, and spotted towhee and duck species gather by feeders at the pond. UNM’s main campus hosts a total of 212 species of birds at different times throughout the year, according to Birding Hotspots. Even with the current Duck Pond renovation, trees and green space provide habitat for robins and roadrunners. Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06 Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
