I love living in a land of small dragons but you do have to get used to being constantly judged as you hike. Silently judged, but judged.
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Elegant Bush Katydid
A few years back I was delighted to find a katydid sampling the wares in our yard. It brought back fond memories of the katydids in Oregon, once I found they loved eating our rose petals it not only changed how I pruned the roses but changed my opinion of roses altogether. This one is an elegant bush katydid, the dramatic white-striping is quite different than the green of the fork-tailed bush katydids in Oregon.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: November 5, 2022
500
If my notes are correct I recently made my 500th visit to our local preserve. To celebrate I took Bear up to the spot that became so meaningful during my leave of absence a couple of years ago. Almost all the visits the past few years have been with Bear, I love his enthusiasm for our hikes and let him set a fast pace, even though I prefer to go slowly and revel in the details. Sometime next year I’ll have time to both take him and go out on my own, but for now my priority is enjoying our time together.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: November 26, 2025
Life & Death, Intertwined
Bear and I came across this snake wrapped around a lizard, one life ending so another can continue. The lizard is a common side-blotched lizard, one of many we saw that day and one of my favorite desert residents. We didn’t have a good vantage point to identify the snake but my best guess is a western patch-nosed snake, though a young one as it was much smaller than the others I’ve seen.
📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm+1.4X
🗓️: November 9, 2025
A Bear & A Frog
I’m pretty sure this is how one of Aesop’s fables starts. So far the frog has tolerated Bear’s prodigious love and still has all of its limbs and no head wounds, a rare sight in this house.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: November 24, 2025
Thanksgiving
What a blessing the little ones have been throughout my life.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: November 23, 2025
So Many Questions
As Bear and I approached the end of our hike, perched high on boulders beside the trail were several volunteers greeting visitors to the park. They patiently answered questions they must get asked over and over and over, like “What trails are good for beginners?”, “Are there really rattlesnakes here?”, and “Why didn’t the eagles fly Sam & Frodo to Mordor?”
📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm+1.4X
🗓️: November 9, 2025
The Light & The Dark
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: October 24, 2025
It’s Time to Leave the Capsule If You Dare
The adult tarantula that was living in our backyard hasn’t been seen since the spring so I was delighted when a tiny one dug an equally tiny burrow beside our patio. I thought she wasn’t staying long as the hole was covered after a few days but she may have been molting as within a week or so she came back out and was a regular fixture each night. With the cooler weather the burrow is covered again, hope to see her in the spring.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: October 5, 2025
Empty Conduit
There’s a street nearby known as The Oracle of Scottsdale because of the insightful if cryptic messages it offers to pilgrims who brave the journey. I’ve not been able to work out what it was trying to tell me, perhaps it was a message for Bear.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: September 7, 2025
Boolie 