Nov 27
There are some Buckwheats blooming right now. This, I believe, is Wrights Buckwheat. Two other much smaller buckwheats, commonly called Skeleton Weed, turn red as they age. I’ll bet you’ve noticed these small plants along the trails in the Preserve and along roadsides but have you taken a really close look? They have tiny very similar flowers to this Buckwheat but the same Pink Pollen!
Nov 25
Happy Thanksgiving from the Marcus Landslide Turkey! He and many other wonderful rock faces are scattered around in the area of the Marcus Landslide. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, this area may open officially at this time next year. It’s fairly easy hiking and is especially lush with vegetation there so it’s bound to be popular with Photographers, Birders and Lepidopterists.
Nov 24
The Marcus Landslide area of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve has wonderful rock faces. It’s also one of the most lush areas of the Preserve making it especially appealing to Photographers, Birders and Lepidopterists. Rumor has it that this area could be officially open this time next year. Yea!
Nov 23
This past Sunday, I assisted MSC Steward Dave Lorenz on his “Life of a Saguaro” hike. As we were leaving one of his lecture stops, I spotted a possible framing opportunity in these two giant Saguaro. Having a camera with an articulating screen (Canon SX1) allowed me to hold the camera at arms length and and yet still be able to line up the Saguaro in the distance. I then just waited for the hikers to go by and fired off several frames. Cool!
MSC Steward Dave Lorenz leading hikers on the Saguaro Loop.
Nov 22
Pareidolia describes the psychological phenomenon of seeing faces in things like rocks and clouds or the Madonna in a slice of toast 🙂
What do you see? (I see an old man talking to his puppy)
Nov 15
Today I’m helping prepare the trails that make up the bike course for the next McDowell Sonoran Challenge. We’ll be trimming away branches and/or cactus that might whack a rider as they go by. Ouch!
Oct 17
Hiking season with the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy is in full swing so come out and join us! There are fitness hikes and educational hikes…..generally one of each on the weekends. This morning, we learned about Holes, Tracks and Scat in the Desert from leader Len Marciz. Excellent! (Droidx image)
Sep 18
This composite contains 6 images with one dating back 10 years. The base is a DroidX black and white shot of a dead tree captured last week in front of the Marcus Landslide. I then added the following images: a Flagstone tile from my patio, a field of dried flowers, a field of grasses, a rusty car door and a silhouette of a raven. (The other bird is a PS brush). Lots of blending, several color and tonal adjustments, a couple of filters applied and voila! You either love or hate this stuff. I obviously love it 🙂
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