Author: boolie

The Cat Hat

Our cat Trixie sticks her front legs over the top of the chair as a ceiling fan spins in the background while unseen behind the chair she is pressing up against the head and neck of my wife

My wife (unseen in the chair) wears a cat hat, courtesy of Trixie who sometimes likes to press her body against your head and neck. Not too comfortable for us but it sure is adorable.

Who Am I?

A close-up view of the top of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am not broccoli.

A close-up view of one of the crests of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am tall, taller than you.

A close-up view a gap between the two crests of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am rare, doubly so.

The two crests of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am a double crested saguaro. While most saguaros have tips of the familiar shape, some grow into fan-like shapes know as crests. Crested saguaros are rare, this one has two crests. This is the only one I’ve seen so far, a reader pointed out its location near Granite Mountain where the Coyote Canyon Trail meets the Desperado Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

A double crested saguaro grows along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Bringing Balance to the Universe

Balanced Rock with Brown's Mountain on the left and Cholla Mountain on the right, taken on the Balanced Rock Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Balanced Rock with Brown’s Mountain on the left and Cholla Mountain on the right. Brown’s Mountain and Cone Mountain (out-of-frame to the left) have a nice cone shape, while Cholla Mountain and Granite Mountain (behind me) look like someone piled up a bunch of granite boulders on top of each other. Balanced Rock sits between, a reminder of the strength and beauty in diversity.

Shrike One! Shrike Two!

A loggerhead shrike perches in a tree along an off-map trail near Granite Mountain in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona

When I saw this loggerhead shrike on an off-map trail near Granite Mountain I assumed it was my first one in Arizona but not my first one ever, having seen them in Washington. Except I hadn’t, when I got home and checked my notes I realized the shrikes in Washington were northern shrikes so this was both my second shrike and a new species for me. In my defense I rarely saw shrikes there or here.

The First Boo

Our black-and-white kitten Boo looks out from the cardboard cat carrier we brought him home in on July 6, 2013. Original: IMG_0004.CR2

My first picture of Boo, taken July 6, 2013, the day after we adopted him. He was terrified and had been struggling at the shelter so I didn’t want to scare him any further, waiting until his second day when a quieter camera arrived to take his first picture. He’s sitting in the cardboard cat carrier we brought him home in, his very first Boo Box.

Let Me Hold You in My Arms

My Tom Bihn Guide's Pack sits next to an old saguaro with a large number of arms along the Whiskey Bottle Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I love this old saguaro with a seemingly endless number of arms along the Whiskey Bottle Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I put my backpack beside it for scale (this is my Tom Bihn Guide’s Pack). The pack probably misses the Pacific Northwest where I didn’t sweat all over it but if so it hasn’t said a word and has faithfully carried all my water and other hiking essentials every time I go out.