All posts by Marianne Skov Jensen
wildflowers
During our hike to Inspiration Viewpoint this morning, MANY wildflowers were spotted. The majority were seen about one and a half miles up but there were plenty of species in the first mile. All in all, I was very surprised at the number. Here’s a list: Fiddleneck, Filaree, Comb Seed, Lacepod, Chuparosa, Golden Eye, Cryptantha, Popcorn Flower, Blue Dick, Gilia (lots), Chicory, Phacelia, Blue Fiesta Flower (lots), California Suncup (1), Poppies (lots), Lupine, Fairy Duster and finally….a single Silverpuff at the ViewPoint!
The above photo was from last year on the same trail. Although I had my camera with me this morning, the hike was fast paced and if I was going to make the 7 miles round trip, I had to keep going!
color in the shade
My friend Dayton M. is visiting from Albuquerque. He’d never seen Chihuly’s glass so we went today.
wildflower watch
I meant to mention the Conservancy’s new Wildflower Watch.
Find out what flowers are blooming in the Preserve and where!
photographing wildflowers
The next photo walk is Sunday March 8th. We will discuss tips for capturing wildflowers.
Click here for details.
I shot the above photos in my yard this morning. Our neighborhood borders the Preserve so you should be finding these on the trails now! The close-ups show two tips. 1. Fill your frame. 2. Use a large aperture. Below is an excellent video regarding photographing flowers! Her presentation is useful for both compact and SLR camera users.
camp creek falls
Update: After a little research, I found that we were at Camp Creek Falls yesterday. It used to be a very popular place for Jeep tours to bring visitors but the washes were closed to any motorized traffic a couple of years ago because of a devastating fire in the area. Closing to motorized will give vegetation a better chance of coming back and a bonus for photographers is that it’s no longer crowded.
waterfall in the desert
The greatest thing about living here is the tremendous amount of diversity in terrain within a fairly short distance! This waterfall is only about half an hour from us in the Tonto National Forest. There is always water here although it’s just a trickle in later summer. We assume the water is the result of snow melt north of us. Whatever the source, it’s a great hike that’s just over 2 miles round trip. Easy going down but tough coming out! So…here are some photos from our hike yesterday. I posted more than I normally do as a make-up for not posting all last week 🙂
exploring
Chris had yesterday off so off we decided to so some exploring.
The mountains (McDowells) in the photo below have been preserved but the land around is quickly being developed. This area is just a couple of miles from our house so whenever we get a chance, we ride our mountain bikes over and explore the rock outcroppings before they are no longer accessible.
At the top of a particularly high boulder outcropping, I hear Chris say that he’s spotted a GeoCache. Below is a photo of what he saw. Click HERE to find out what GeoCache means.
sentinel down
When you live in the Sonoran Desert, it’s easy to start assigning human characteristics to the giant Saguaro so it’s always sad to see one down. This specimen no doubt lost his footing when the wash he was growing next to grew wider over the years. Rest in peace big guy.
wildflowers spotted
Conditions are looking good for another banner year of wildflowers! A heavy frost would be our only enemy. Below are some early flowers I saw on the MSC hike this morning. Also seen but not pictured are Chuparosa, Fiddleneck and Cryptantha. Most flowers are teeny, tiny so you need to keep a sharp eye out for them!
