Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Like tarantulas, saguaros must periodically shed their exoskeleton in order to grow. Once the new skeleton hardens they are free to roam the desert once more, though the old one sometimes has a hard time letting go.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: December 22, 2024
A different take on a favored scene, deliberately adding my shadow to the desert’s own. I can’t remember if Bear’s shadow mixed in with mine or if his was too short even for this wide view, but I loved hiking this trail with him this past winter and spring.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: April 13, 2024
A quick snap of a favored view as Bear and I were on our way back to the trailhead, surrounded by saguaros and wildflowers with mountains in the distance. I had been back at work for a couple of months and missed our daily hikes, but these days I’d settle for even weekend walks as I haven’t been able to get up early enough on my days off to beat the heat. We did go swimming yesterday for two hours lest you feel too sorry for us.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: April 13, 2024
Whether walking Ellie in our old Portland neighborhood or hiking with Bear in the desert, I value quality but compact and light camera gear so I can keep my focus on our time together rather than photography. I love the mementos of these treasured times, even if you don’t see Ellie or Bear in the picture, I do. If the spirit behind why I take pictures hasn’t changed, the view certainly has.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: April 7, 2024
I love this little scene near Granite Mountain, Bear and I have passed it a number of times on our hikes.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: April 7, 2024
As Bear and I hiked to Balanced Rock via the easier wide path (to be kinder to his paws) we were passed by the Scottsdale Fire Department on their way to a trail rescue. On the way back we took the narrower rocky paths to stay out of their way if they needed to evacuate someone, but they must have called for air support as when we were far along this helicopter came past and hovered near the rescue site. Hope they’re OK.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: January 14, 2024
An aptly named black-tailed rattlesnake goes rock climbing near Granite Mountain in May, a new species for me. From what I’ve read they are relatively laid back but deliver a large dose of venom when they strike. This one was a ways off the trail and I only got partial views as it slowly made its way up the rock pile.
In the spring every square inch of the tops of old saguaros might be covered in flower buds and blossoms, thick as thieves, such as these providing a softer-than-normal perch for an American kestrel. I saw our smallest falcon frequently in the Northwest but only a couple of times here so it was a pleasure to see her as she towered over me on the Granite Mountain Loop Trail.
A rock squirrel calls out atop a large granite boulder near Granite Mountain. It had a piece of saguaro fruit but instead of eating it was sending out the alarm for much of the time I watched it during a food and water break. At first I thought it was complaining about me to the other nearby squirrels, even though I was far down the hill, but it kept looking in other directions and went quiet for a while before starting up again. It has lots of enemies in the desert, most of whom would not have been visible from my vantage point, but I haven’t spent much time with these squirrels yet to get a feel if it was sending out an alarm or claiming this spot as its own.
Many of the granite boulders have thick lines running through them, sometimes extending across an entire hillside, a clue about the Sonoran Desert’s distant past. I’m not a geologist but I would guess it is from debris that rained down on the Earth after the destruction of Alderaan.
Boolie 