Tag: Arizona

Christmas Presence

A woman in a red jacket walks on the trails in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 25, 2021. Original: _ZFC1111.NEF

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to get up early and go out for a hike, you have the park mostly to yourself until families are done opening presents and the trails get busy. On this Christmas a few years ago I saw a kindred spirit as I looked back to the mountain behind me.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: December 25, 2021

Jean-Luc

A male Arizona blond tarantula sits beside the entrance to his nest in our backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 20, 2024. Original: _A675663.ARW

I named the two female tarantulas in the backyard Janeway and Seven so my initial thought was to name our new arrival Picard. However if he’s of age and ready to mate and Janeway invites him over … perhaps naming him Red Shirt would be more appropriate.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: July 20, 2024

Up From the Depths He Arose

The legs of a male Arizona blond tarantula stick out of his hole in our backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 20, 2024. Original: _A675660.ARW

It looks like one of our backyard tarantulas has gone missing and a male has taken over her home. He doesn’t seal off the opening to the nest every morning the way she did, I miss that. Amusingly though when he comes out after sunset he just sticks his legs out for a while before emerging completely, perhaps testing to see if the coast is clear while he can still beat a hasty retreat.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: July 20, 2024

A Little Hope

New growth grows out of a saguaro arm on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 6, 2021. Original: _RAC6047.ARW

A few summers ago I noticed the park was closing after sunset so I went out for a late afternoon hike, not expecting much, just wanting to be out in the desert. It was still plenty hot so I took my favorite trail as it’s an easy hike, stopping for a water break at my favorite saguaro. She seems the worse for wear every time I see her, damage spreading further down her arms. After we exchanged pleasantries I continued down the trail but stopped after a few steps, my brain telling me it saw something but couldn’t tell me what. I stepped backwards until I was in my original spot and stared for the longest time before I realized what first caught my attention: she was pushing out new growth from one of her arms.

She never gives up, this one.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: August 6, 2021

Sonoran Gothic

A crucifixion thorn grows next to a saguaro skeleton on the 118th Street Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 8, 2021. Original: _CAM3378.ARW

A nod to Grant Wood’s “American Gothic“, even if only the saguaro skeleton keeps to the long vertical lines of the iconic duo in the painting. The crucifixion thorn is not to be contained and confined, it is an explosion of life, a dancer in the desert, the beauty of being true to yourself.

📷: Sony A6500 | Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 G
🗓️: August 8, 2021