desert – Page 21

A Bear in the Desert

There are lots of mammals in our desert but you actually had a chance of seeing a Bear on the trails the past few days as I’ve been taking the pup into the section of the preserve closest to our house. I want to get him more exposure to hikers and especially cyclists than we typically get in the neighborhood so this is a good opportunity as there aren’t nearly as many people as the other parts of the park. His on-leash behavior still needs some work but he is miles better than he was when we adopted him, I would have never attempted this back then both because of his behavior and because he was overweight and not used to long walks.

His weight is looking good these days and he’s a champ on the trails, so naturally leading me down the path that I think the mix part of this black lab mix must have made for a good sled dog. I found the collapsible water bowl we got for Ellie so we take frequent water breaks as though it isn’t hot, it certainly is dry.

Today when I had him step off trail and stay beside me to let a cyclist go past, I stayed for a moment as I could hear another cyclist coming. As he passed and saw how still Bear was, he said “What a great dog!” and while I didn’t look at the pup, I felt some serious side-eye as I’ve only ever said he’s a good boy.

I haven’t been out for any photography this week but what a joy it is to spend time with him in this beautiful place.

The Road Closed, A Path Opens

I’ve been taking advantage of the cooler weather and Bear’s improving on-leash behavior to take the pup on longer walks, and as with Ellie in Portland I bring a camera along so I can take snapshots of the neighborhood when the mood strikes. I took this picture of Arizona’s favorite pastime, digging up the desert, on a road we hadn’t been down before, near where we turn around and start heading home.

It isn’t meant to be a depressing picture, after all our neighborhood would have been pristine desert several decades ago, and when we moved here I assumed all private land would turn into subdivisions in short order. The hopeful part lies in those mountains to the north, the eastern end of the massive northern section of McDowell Sonoran Preserve that is my favorite and which played a big part in my wanting to move here (I hike most in the middle). Behind me a ways is my other favorite part of the park, linking them is a narrow strip where I haven’t done much hiking.

A few days ago while walking Bear down this road I noticed a trail at the end leading into the desert, grabbing my hiking app sure enough it was a neighborhood trail into that little strip of the preserve, so Bear and I have started exploring this little area while I’m off for a week at the end of the year.

A Simple Portrait

I’ve been in the mood for environmental portraits the past couple of years but I still love a simple portrait, in this case a cactus wren perched on an old ocotillo. The ocotillo is sometimes mistaken for a cactus as the spiraling arms are often covered in spines, but unlike a cactus they grow out of the stem rather than an areole. The cactus wren is our state bird and I was going to say our noisiest bird but the Gila woodpeckers might have a word or two to say about that …

Blue Skies Are Gonna Cheer Up

I wasn’t ready for summer to end but a consolation prize was the arrival of one of my favorite winter residents, phainopepla. This female turned the blue skies a little gray, in a happy way, as these cheery red-eyed flycatchers are frequent companions on hikes and dog walks.

The Sunset Watch, Part II

A week after watching a pair of Harris’s hawks on a large boulder at sunset, I saw them again on the boulder but this time from a different vantage point. I thought about waiting to see if they would stick around until sunset for a different take on the image, but I was in the mood to hike and decided to hoof it out to my favorite cactus. I never got there as I found this pair of kestrels on a distant saguaro and spent the end of the day with them instead. I’ve long loved photographing the encroaching sun or shadow at the start and end of the day, I forget exactly when the fascination first took hold but it was probably on a visit to the Tetons many years ago.

I haven’t been out hiking since, I’ve been taking Bear on really long walks on weekend mornings and afternoons, I need to find a better balance but it’s hard because I can’t usually walk him during the work week.

📷: Sony A6500 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: November 6, 2022

The Sunset Watch

A pair of Harris’s hawks look out from a large boulder as the setting sun colors the rocks red. Earlier in the evening I saw a family of five on one of the big electrical towers but I’ve not seen the birds on these rocks before. From a distance I could see three forms on the boulders and couldn’t imagine what else they could be, by the time I got close the third had flown off but these two stayed to watch the sun set with me.

The Lion King

In September I went out specifically to photograph this pattern at the base of a saguaro, the ring of mud reminding me of a lion’s mane. But then I discovered a lizard hiding behind the spines a foot above this spot and spent so much time photographing her that I had to rush these shots before fleeing the park. Last weekend I went back to photograph the lion again, to compose when I was more composed, but my mind was wondering and wandering and I walked right past it. Realizing my mistake much later than I should have, I doubled back and easily located my target.

Except the lion was gone. The saguaro was there thankfully but the pattern was not. I had a little laugh as I remembered the heavy rains from earlier in the week while I was at work, which had probably washed away the work of the little artists who painted this canvas. Termites I suspect, there are a type here that eat the rough bark-like material at the base of old saguaros, which might explain the tan section in the middle.

There Is Too Much Death In The World

We are beautiful forms but for such a short time. I rounded the bend to see a desiccated snake carcass hanging from what used to be my favorite saguaro in the park, perhaps an abandoned catch of a bird of prey. The desert recyclers had already changed the flesh of each into new forms, the scales and skeletons will take longer, the saguaro bones still a favored perch for a Gila woodpecker couple nesting nearby. The light was dying too, the sun dipping below the mountains, handing over the desert to the night watch before its rebirth in the morning.

Little Red

A little fall color in the Sonoran Desert.

The Mocking Bird

I keep track of what animals I see in the parks but I’m not too religious about it, I mostly just pay attention to the animals that are close so a proper wildlife watcher would come away from the same visit with a much larger list. I’ve seen mockers in the local preserve every month except September, so I was hoping to spot one on recent hikes but had no luck. Yet in the first week of October as I headed out of the park, the light a ridiculous red from the setting sun, there sat a patient mocker in this gorgeous old ocotillo, just begging to be photographed.