boolie

Where a Desert Once Stood

This summer as I left work far in the distance I saw greenish smoke that usually means the desert is burning. The closer I got to home the closer the fire seemed to home and indeed as I cleared Troon Mountain I could see smoke billowing from the part of the preserve where Bear and I often walk. We prepared to evacuate but didn’t have to as the wind carried the fire away from us. I avoided the trails for a long while since burned areas are pretty sensitive but after seeing they were open, made a visit in the fall to see if I wanted to bring Bear back yet.

At first nothing was amiss but then I hit the burned part and there’s a wide swath of the desert that is completely charred. There are sandy areas with no plant life and exposed holes of the many small animals that once lived here. Some plants like this saguaro still had patches of green but they are the walking dead. We have enough other trails and enough time during my leave of absence that I’ll keep Bear away for now.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: September 29, 2023

Saguaro Sandwich

Bear sandwiched between two saguaros on the Latigo Trail. The other day while making the long gradual climb back to the car on a western leg of this trail, he was so tired he let me take the lead, a first I think! Yesterday on a loop I stopped after a mile and doubled back to the car since he was flagging, so today I’ll give him a rest day and we’ll go for an easy walk in the neighborhood.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 24-70mm f/4
🗓️: October 31, 2023

Our Poet/Philosopher

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony-Zeiss 55mm
Date: August 6, 2021

Eight Peaks

I call this location Eight Peaks as in the distance on the right you can see the mountains known as Four Peaks with their closely spaced four peaks. On this rocky hill before us, the Four Peaks repeat in miniature form. Taken on the Rock Knob Trail with my shadow stretching out into the cholla, Bear’s shadow hidden by the desert’s own.

Mr. Cool

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
Date: December 4, 2022

Once More Into the Hatch

A few years ago I traded my beloved Crosstrek for a Lexus hatchback as I wanted something better suited to my commute and it’s worked a treat, I’m almost embarrassed by how much I love the little UX. I didn’t know then we’d be adopting this giant goof years later, the hatch is a little small and with a high entrance but thankfully it didn’t take Bear long to figure out how to jump in and get comfy. To watch him sprint to the back of the car when we’re getting ready to go for a hike is to see joy made manifest, pure and unbridled. Here we’re getting ready to leave my favorite trailhead, Brown’s Ranch, after one of our many hikes there. A few weeks back one of the stewards called us over and gave him a couple of treats and ever since he’s on the lookout when we pass through.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
Date: October 22, 2023

The Living & The Dead

I was walking Bear when I was struck by this beautiful but dead saguaro and took a few shots, I prefer this composition that includes a lot of the other living and dead plants around it with Granite Mountain anchoring the background. I haven’t taken Bear on the full loop around the mountain, now that he’s getting back into shape and the weather is cool enough, I’ll give him a chance soon. The uphill part is at the start so I’ll get a quick gauge of how he’s doing and can double back if he struggles, but I suspect he’ll be just fine.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
Date: November 1, 2023

Five Years in the Making

It took me 5 years to make this picture, not that there is anything complicated in the setup, rather it took me 5 years of hiking in the desert to see my first chuckwalla. Back on a spring Saturday I finally got up for a sunrise hike, mostly motivated by the hope of photographing saguaro buds and flowers. Flush with success I headed home and picked up Bear and brought him back for us to hike together, and thankfully so as it was on this hike I first spotted the chuckwalla.

I came back the next morning for some more saguaro photography but as I passed by where I had seen her the previous day, I stopped because the pattern recognition part of my brain told me something was interesting but couldn’t tell me what or where. I stared for the longest time before finally realizing the thin rock in a crevice between granite boulders was in fact a tail. It’s obvious in the picture since it’s highly zoomed in courtesy of the telephoto lens, and I’m down at a lower level and different angle where the gap is more pronounced. She’s sleeping back in the darkness and protection of the crevice.

As before I went home and brought Bear back and she was more visible though still deep in shadow. I didn’t have the telephoto with me and besides Bear was eager for our time together, and so was I, so I snapped a quick picture and we continued into the desert.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400 | Sony 1.4X
Date: May 28, 2023

Testing the Ice

The water at Ridgefield didn’t freeze very often but I loved being there when it did, this raccoon was using its newfound capability of walking on water to move about Bower Slough. When it reached the edge where the water hadn’t frozen, after testing the ice it backed up and scrambled up the embankment and continued its hunt on dry land.

📷: Canon 7D | Canon 500mm f/4
Date: January 2, 2011

On My Feet

Boo in January curled up on my feet. Which is where he is now, though in a less photogenic pose.