Yesterday was the final day of installation of our landscape assignment for Desert Landscaping School. Hauling and laying rock, gravel and sand is hard work so I felt badly that I couldn’t help much because of my wrist. I did take this great shot of our class, though! Actually, it’s great because everyone is very happy that the work is over 🙂
Exam next week! Good luck everyone 🙂
All posts by Marianne Skov Jensen
red brome
Getting rid of an invasive grass, like Red Brome, is a losing battle but I figure even a little removal is better than no removal at all (fire fuel). So with that in mind, I have a little ritual of removing Red Brome every time I stop for a photo op in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I mention this because that’s how this photo came about. I had stopped to take a photo and then started removing grass when I spotted the Silver Puff. Beautiful scene, don’t you think? Always anthropomorphizing, I think the Red Brome is hanging out with the pretty stuff so we won’t remove it 🙂
surprise bloom
I transplanted a few cuttings from my Trichocereus Hybrid last year and was surprised to see a bloom on one the day after the Javelina stripped the mother cactus! So at least I was able to photograph one and share the gorgeous color with you 🙂
of all the gall……
These are by far the coolest galls I’ve ever seen! I spotted them on the leaves of some Sonoran Scrub Oak at the top of Tom’s Thumb Trail. In checking BugGuide on the net, the most likely candidate for creating this gall is a Gall Wasp. If anyone has an idea of the exact identity of this gall, please let me know and I’ll post the ID. Thanks!
The largest gall measured approximately five eights of an inch.
desert cottontail
I spotted this Desert Cottontail yesterday evening as I started to drive away from the Tom’s Thumb trailhead (yes…I’m a glutton for punishment 🙂 . I stopped my vehicle hoping he wouldn’t move. A few moments later, he snacked on a Buckhorn Cholla bloom.
So…Jerry…what I mentioned yesterday morning really works. Get out late in the day and you’ll have better luck capturing animals!
buckeye butterfly
I captured this Buckeye butterfly up at Tom’s Thumb.
There’s nothing like an injury to make you appreciate just how hard simple tasks are for some people. For instance, having to do everything with only your left hand when you’re right handed! I will have that empathy this week after falling yesterday and spraining my right wrist. It could easily have been much worse so I’m very thankful to only have a splint to show for my rock hopping mishap. This was my fourth hike up there in a week and half so it’s possible I might have been just a little tired 🙂
hemiparasitic
Some desert plants and shrubs steal water and nutrients from the roots of nearby shrubs which makes them hemiparasitic. One such plant is White Ratany (Krameria grayi). You typically see them next to Creosote or Jojoba and so far (in my observation anyway), it doesn’t appear that the shrubs are too adversely affected. Ratany is in bloom and/or starting to bloom at the moment so take a close look at the flowers next time you pass one. They’re really unusual! The seed pods are neat too so I’ll no doubt be posting a photo soon 🙂
garden cafe
Every Spring, I eagerly await blooms from my Trichocereus Hybrid. I’m happy even if I only get to photograph one of its spectacular blooms so this year when I saw there were 10 big fat buds and more to come, I was ecstatic!
Because I knew the Javelina would be excited about it too, I’ve been spraying a repellent on and around the cactus that’s “supposed” to keep them away. I always thought it worked pretty well but it obviously didn’t this time because here’s what I found yesterday morning 🙁
I still have hope for a few blooms so all is not lost and next year, the Javs will find boulders in their path 🙂
a belated Happy Earth Day!!!
11 of us spent Earth Day scrambling over boulders in a no name canyon.
Only one snake encounter (Gopher), thankfully. Click photo to go to video from the hike.
A big thanks also to Steve Jones (our favorite botanist) for joining us!
I personally learned 3 new plants including the Desert Poinsettia aka Beetle Spurge.
hedgehog sp.
Not all 8 buds made it to full bloom so this is a shot of the last pink Hedgehog bloom. The glow in the center is the result of strong sunlight coming from behind the cactus. Then, as if cued to appear, here comes a bug 🙂
