Scottsdale – Page 65

A Little Light

A week ago I hiked the Marcus Landslide Trail for the first time and came upon Mushroom Rock before sunup. I decided to photograph the rock formation until the sun was up and then explore the rest of the trail. It took a while for the sun to fully clear the hills and not leave the left of the frame in shadow, but my favorite image from the series was this one before any direct light fell on the rocks. There are other places on the trail I found later that I would like to photograph in those fleeting moments of reflected light but I had trouble falling asleep this weekend so those pictures will have to wait.

There is a little light falling on my country too but in this case I’d prefer a lot rather than a little, that we be its source and its receiver. But a little is better than none.

Ketchup & Mustard

Verdin remind me of ketchup and mustard with their yellow heads and red shoulders. On this summer morning there was an extra dose of red as one of the diminutive birds perched to feed on an open saguaro fruit.

Fruit Purchase

Saguaro fruits provide a handy perch for a young cactus wren, now fully fledged, born in a nest in the arms of this self-same cactus.

Red is the Color Of

Early on a summer morning, a white-winged dove uses its tongue to eat from deep within the fruit of a saguaro. The red covering many of the spines atop the cactus is not blood but rather pulp and juice from already-eaten fruit.

Good Morning

Sunday I hiked the Marcus Landslide Trail for the first time, getting this glimpse of Weaver’s Needle in the early morning haze.

Ragged

A cactus wren sings amidst mostly eaten fruit atop a saguaro on the Latigo Trail. Its feathers were looking rather ragged, understandably so, it had just raised its young in the harsh desert environment.

At Home in the Cholla

A young cactus wren perches in the middle of a buckhorn cholla on the Latigo Trail. It was actively exploring its desert home but never strayed too far from the nest in the saguaro where it was born.

Who Doesn’t Enjoy Fruit for Breakfast?

A white-winged dove eats the red fruit of a saguaro early on a summer morning. The doves make the most of the short-lived bounty of the fruiting saguaros before migrating further south.

Changing of the Guard

A male Gila woodpecker prepares to leave the nest as his partner brings a spider for their hungry children inside the saguaro. Both parents excavate the nest cavity, the cactus will slowly harden the inside to prevent water loss and it is only then that the woodpeckers can use the cavity as a nest. You can see how much of the surrounding surface of the saguaro has been scraped away as they created their home and now land over and over again.

New Homes

It was one year ago today they brought my team in and laid us all off, setting in motion our eventual move from our longtime home in Portland to our new home in Arizona. We’re renting for now but will start looking to buy within a month or two. This Gila woodpecker made his new home near the old, moving slightly around the saguaro. Other small birds sometimes use the old nests after the woodpeckers abandon them. Getting to see such new sights has been part of the fun of moving to such a different location.