Relocating a Queen

Sep 14

Relocating a Queen

One part of my yard has an infestation of turf grubs which have probably come from the nearby golf course. I’ve tried every natural pesticide to no avail. What these grubs do is eat plant roots which doesn’t kill the plant but stunts its growth. For instance, I’ve tried for 5 years to establish some Milkweed (asclepias subulata) but the plants have barely grown in all that time. Even so, I typically end up with at least one caterpillar a year. This year there was only one bloom and very few offshoots so the caterpillar (a Queen) was out of food very quickly. I remembered seeing a good sized Milkweed plant along a path I hike every day so this morining, I decided to cut off the stem my caterpillar was on and relocate him/her. It was about a mile and I’m sure everyone wondered what I was carrying. I found the plant and waited for the caterpillar to start moving and it did crawl over to the other plant. However, it seemed to know it wasn’t home because it moved back and forth, up and down as if to be smelling. I will go back tomorrow morning to see if its still there. I’m hopeful it makes the journey to becoming a Queen Butterfly!

Sep 10

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Field of Devils

Last year, one of the hard working Preserve maintenance volunteers spotted an area with a large population of Devil’s Claw and told us about it (thanks Joni!) so as part of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Flora Survey, we documented it this summer. I didn’t get as many photos as I planned but I did get a shot of the pretty pink bloom and also of the very cool seed pods (captured yesterday). You aren’t likely to see this plant while hiking as they are typically in wide washes which are usually off limits to hikers. Seeing unique plants like this is a great reason to join the flora survey! The survey starts up again in a couple of weeks. If you’re interested, contact Melanie at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. Phone number: 480-998-7971.

Sep 4

Sky in Motion

Achieving impressionistic images with a compact is much more difficult than with an SLR but it can be done. Just wait for an overcast day or very low light such as early morning or late afternoon. This image is early morning. I pointed my camera up and metered on the tree branches knowing it would give me a silhouette.

Sep 3

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Desert View

Almost forgot to post a photo! Here’s a shot from my office window last night. I then subtracted a little color.

Sep 1

Desert Sun Tea

After trying for a few years to give up DC (Diet Coke) I finally went cold turkey at the beginning of this year. I’ve always known that the phosphorus in sodas was especially bad for women (it leaches calcium from our bones) but every year, my bone density scans looked great so I felt no urgency to quit. I can’t remember what made the light bulb go off but I decided it was time.

Yes…I miss the fizzy BIG TIME but thankfully I don’t have to give up caffeine. My two favorite sources of caffeine are Chocolate and Flavored Black Tea from Hawaiian Islands Tea Company…not typically consumed together 🙂

Aug 28

Monsoon Mushrooms

It hasn’t really rained much but that hasn’t stopped the mushrooms from popping up everywhere. I spotted these two early this morning and meant to go back for my photo today but got side tracked. At least I made it before the end of the day.

Aug 26

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Wild Rhubarb

Wild Rhubarb at Yankee Boy Basin last month.

Aug 25

Monsoon Clouds

I’ve captured very few monsoon clouds this summer because we’ve been gone so much but better late than never! Here’s one from night before last. I have several wonderful saguaros in my yard so I positioned myself under one. I got out a little too late but managed to catch a little last light.

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Posts from the ‘Flora’ Category