Painted Desert Pronghorns
A few weeks ago (October 2021), I was driving back to Cortez, Colorado from Scottsdale Arizona. I had been making this trip a lot over the last couple of years, and decided to vary it by coming back along I-40…
A Good Life
Miscellaneous Wanderings and Maunderings
A Good Life
Miscellaneous Wanderings and Maunderings
Arizona
Coccid Thorn Gall on Emory Oak – Olliffiella cristicola
In September of 2002, I was walking along a trail in Gardner Canyon, in Arizona’s Santa Rita Mountains. I noticed a 4-5′ high shrub on the side of the trail. It looked like some type of scrub oak, or Emory…
After the Rains – a Visit with Pheidole spadonia
For much of the year, the desert can seem like a pretty empty place. If you go out in the early Summer, before the monsoons arrive, it’s dry, dusty, and hot. After the monsoons arrive, though, the feeling is very…
Painted Desert Raven
A Raven in the Painted Desert, from a couple of years ago. I love the way his feathers are tinted by the pink and gray dust of the surrounding desert. And the way his beak is scratched and scored from…
Harris Hawk
This is from a lovely hike in a Winter’s day in Scottsdale. We’d had rain the previous two days and the ground was saturated. The McDowells were wrapped with mists and clouds and the sun was at a low angle.…
Salt River
I was down on the Salt River in phoenix a few months back. First time in maybe 15-20 years. It had changed a lot – more vegetation, much, much less trash and junk, more birds. It was really nice to…
Eagle Nest
Painted Desert Raven
Roadrunner
I was in McElmo Canyon a few months ago and came across a Roadrunner. Wow – I didn’t know that they occurred near Cortez! My Colorado bird book says that they are around Mancos, too. I’m fascinated by these birds.…
Harris Hawks
I recently spent a few days in Scottsdale for family matters. I also managed to get out into the desert early one morning. I went out looking for Harris Hawks. I used to see a lot of them in Scottsdale,…