Tag: Brown’s Ranch

Crustal Foundering

A macro shot of the damaged end of a saguaro arm where the blackened protective material has cracked, showing the lighter material underneath, taken in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 12, 2024. Originals: _Z729316.NEF to _Z729361.NEF

When I saw the damaged end of a saguaro arm where the blackened protective material had cracked, showing the lighter material underneath, I was reminded of lava lakes in Hawaii and Iceland. The lava on the surface cools and hardens and can sink into the less dense molten lava via a process called crustal foundering. It took me a while to find the time to bring my macro setup on a day when there was little wind, and even then it took me a few attempts as the breeze was often stronger than predicted.

The National Park Service has a description on their page about Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: May 12, 2024

Watch Your Step

A western diamondback rattlesnake crosses the trail at McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 26, 2024. Original: _ZFC1520.NEF

I saw the diamondback before Bear did, the wind was swirling which undoubtedly threw off his sniffer, plus it was partially obscured on the right side of the trail. As soon as he recognized it he got behind me and gently tugged on the leash in the other direction (he’s trained to give them a wide berth). We stayed well back and gave it room to cross the trail and we last saw it exploring some rocks on the other side.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: April 26, 2024

Water Break

Our dog Bear stands beside his water bowl at the overlook on the Jane Rau Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 19, 2024. Original: _ZFC9205.NEF

Bear and I take a water break in a spot where perhaps neither human nor dog has ever set foot before. I so miss being able to take him hiking every day! We were back here yesterday, I didn’t think we’d have time for this short trail at the end but he charged around our favorite loop so fast that even after stopping to watch a herd of deer we still had plenty of time to come up here and take a water break before heading home.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: January 19, 2024

Stirring

A black-and-white shot of a saguaro I call The Muppet on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 21, 2023. Original: _ZFC8092

A while back I decided to not use my leave of absence as a trial retirement but instead to let my mind go quiet for a while. There’s a part of myself I’ve kept in hibernation for a very long while and I’m not ready to let him rise from slumber, as if he stirs it will be too hard to go back to work for the year or so before real retirement. I have relented a little in the weeks of leave that remain, small awakenings I don’t think I’ll regret. One that caught me by surprise was a desire to play around with black-and-white photography as usually I only shoot it in desperation. I don’t think I’ll ever shoot much of it, the point is to let my mind wander into new territory, but not only did I love this quick snap of The Muppet as Bear and I hiked in the desert, so far it’s my favorite picture I’ve taken of this saguaro.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: November 21, 2023

Basking

A female common side-blotched lizard closes her eyes while basking in the sun on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 29, 2023. Original: _RAC6608.ARW

Common side-blotched lizards are one of my favorite desert residents and one of the rare reptiles you might glimpse during the cooler months, though only on the warmest days. I met this basking female in the late spring when warmth is not hard to come by, she was basking in the sun but could easily retreat into the shadows if necessary. She decided I was alright and even closed her eyes for a while.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: May 29, 2023

A female common side-blotched lizard basks in the sun beneath a rock overhang on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 29, 2023. Original: _RAC6565.ARW

The Ascetic Aesthetic

Part of a dead saguaro’s skeleton is visible behind dried white flesh with black specks on the Chuckwagon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 12, 2023. Originals: _ZFC8752.NEF to _ZFC8881.NEF

High on a snow-covered mountain I came across this secluded retreat, only the wooden door hinting at the dwelling behind, carved into the sheer cliff face. I wondered who would answer if I approached and knocked. Perhaps a desert ascetic meditating in the highest places. Perhaps a mystic who removed themselves from the world to better understand it, waiting to answer all my questions. Perhaps this is where all the rattlesnakes go to wait out the winter.

I decided not to knock.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: December 12, 2023

Not Latourell Falls

Yellow lichen covers part of a dead tree near the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 29, 2023. Originals: _Z726904.NEF to _Z726998.NEF

I was thinking of Latourell Falls in Oregon when I took this picture, there’s a rock face beside the waterfall completely coated in yellow lichen. The gray wood stood in for the high cliff face, and while the lichen here is but sparse compared to its Oregon counterpart, it is a little more moist beside a waterfall than on a dead tree in the desert.

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