Tag: desert

Bringing Balance to the Universe

Balanced Rock with Brown's Mountain on the left and Cholla Mountain on the right, taken on the Balanced Rock Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Balanced Rock with Brown’s Mountain on the left and Cholla Mountain on the right. Brown’s Mountain and Cone Mountain (out-of-frame to the left) have a nice cone shape, while Cholla Mountain and Granite Mountain (behind me) look like someone piled up a bunch of granite boulders on top of each other. Balanced Rock sits between, a reminder of the strength and beauty in diversity.

Shrike One! Shrike Two!

A loggerhead shrike perches in a tree along an off-map trail near Granite Mountain in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona

When I saw this loggerhead shrike on an off-map trail near Granite Mountain I assumed it was my first one in Arizona but not my first one ever, having seen them in Washington. Except I hadn’t, when I got home and checked my notes I realized the shrikes in Washington were northern shrikes so this was both my second shrike and a new species for me. In my defense I rarely saw shrikes there or here.

Let Me Hold You in My Arms

My Tom Bihn Guide's Pack sits next to an old saguaro with a large number of arms along the Whiskey Bottle Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I love this old saguaro with a seemingly endless number of arms along the Whiskey Bottle Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I put my backpack beside it for scale (this is my Tom Bihn Guide’s Pack). The pack probably misses the Pacific Northwest where I didn’t sweat all over it but if so it hasn’t said a word and has faithfully carried all my water and other hiking essentials every time I go out.

Objects in This Lens May Be Further Than They Appear

A Mojave rattlesnake sticks out its tongue as it crosses Brown's Ranch Road in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona

This Mojave rattlesnake appeared large in the viewfinder but was a safe distance away when I began to photograph it. Even so, as it crossed the trail and started moving steadily towards where I was (having given it a wide berth and gone off-trail to let it choose its path), I pulled the camera away from my eye occasionally to get a clear view of how far away it actually was. It was well aware of me and headed over to my right so I sat still until it chose a bush to curl up under, then I continued up the trail.

Soft and Sharp

A white-winged dove pauses as it feeds on the fruits of a saguaro in the soft early light of a summer morning along the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

The sun was up and shining on the tops of the saguaros but when this white-winged dove dropped down to feed on the fruit on a lower arm I was able to photograph it in the soft reflected light. The full sun arrived seconds later. Taken on July 4th while the saguaro were fruiting and the white-wings still flew above the desert.

The Last Leap

A dead lizard, its separated tail beside it, is swarmed with ants along the Watershed Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I came across this flattened lizard (a tiger whiptail I think) and took some time deciding if I was going to photograph it or not. Finally I changed lenses and took a picture as a tribute to this once beautiful creature as ants swarmed the lifeless body. The lizard had shed its tail, now lying beside it, in an unsuccessful attempt at saving its life. The trail is heavily used by mountain bikers so perhaps it wasn’t able to get out of the way of a bike or perhaps a predator killed it but got scared off before it could eat its meal. Or perhaps a hiker stepped on it, someone once stepped on a newt I was photographing (fortunately the ground was soft and the newt unharmed).

Sorry little one.