Jun 24
It was 102 up here yesterday (113+ in the valley!) but for the first time since I’ve lived here, I’m not complaining. OK….love might be an exaggeration but I’ve really come to appreciate it over all the natural disasters the rest of the country has to endure 🙁
Captured with my Droidx on my walk yesterday morning.
Jun 23
There were lots of Thicket Hairstreak as well as many other tiny butterflies on the wonderful Viet Springs trail last week. Rarely sitting still for long, they’re a challenge to photograph. I applied art filters to disguise the very busy background.
Thanks to Tom H. for the ID.
Jun 22
Arizona Queen of the Night is our most illusive flowering cactus. The majority of the time, it looks like dead sticks so they are almost impossible to spot. During my many hikes and also while surveying flora in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve , I have found several specimens. It’s been extremely dry so a portion of this one has already become dehydrated but, as you can see, there are several buds so I’m hopeful. Although they start blooming at night, the flowers can last til early morning as evidenced by a friend who captured one during the early morning at Tohono Chul Park in Tucson.
CLICK HERE to watch a video from there.
Jun 21
(I’m still sharing images from Aspen Nature Loop). Here’s a common Dandelion in its seed stage. My plan was to capture a few of the seeds flying away but it was SO windy, I was lucky to get this shot. I’ll be back in Flag a couple more times over the summer so I’ll get another chance. (Diffuse glow added around edges. Background is back-lit Aspen leaves.)
Jun 20
These beauties are so skilled at camouflage, you’re not likely to see them unless they move. In fact, I didn’t see this guy until a photographer friend pointed him out. My friend was setting up to shoot an Iris on the Aspen Nature Loop when he saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Thank you Fred, for sharing your find!
CLICK HERE to see where he was when first spotted.
Greater Short-horned Lizard (possibly since location and elevation match)
Jun 19
I had planned to photograph butterflies on the Colonel Devin Trail yesterday but that trail and many others in the Tonto National Forest are closed due to the extreme fire danger. Very disappointing but we all understood, of course. So instead of of a butterfly photo today, here is a shot of the wonderful Aspen Nature Loop trail. That’s my naturalist friend, Judi, on the trail.
Jun 18
This was the first Wildflower that greeted my Meetup Group last Saturday. I had never seen a Canadian White Violet so I was on my belly in almost a split second photographing it 🙂
Jun 17
Geum triflorum is also called Old Man’s Whiskers but I love the name Prairie Smoke! I didn’t think there would be any in bloom yet so it was a pleasant surprise to find them on Aspen Nature Loop trail.
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