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Posts from the ‘Butterfly’ Category

Favorite Trails

mjensen-balanced-rockEven during summer, I do A LOT of hiking in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve (starting before sunrise). Several new trails opened this year giving us access into some really interesting places. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve now encompasses over 27,000 acres and more land is set to be preserved. The north area of the Preserve is my favorite not only because the area is very close to home but because of the amazing terrain and rock formations! Following are some photos from my favorite trails. Read more

Desert Shrooms and Blooms

mjensen-desert-shrooms-2018I’m back in Flagstaff but I’m not going to post anything from here until I catch up! So I will divide the rest of September into 3 posts starting with the wonderful rains we received early this month. Lots of rain is needed for Fungi to pop up in the Desert and we received both! Read more

Flagstaff August Part Three

mjensen_butterfly-mourning-cloak-9160Butterflies only come out on sunny days so I didn’t see many. Wildflowers were also spotty but I did manage to get some photos of both. I’ll start with the butterflies and bugs and follow up with Wildflowers. Read more

Flagstaff Part Four-Critters

Fritillary butterfly

Besides Fungi, I also love to photograph butterflies, bugs and all critters, for that matter! Because of the lack of sun, Butterflies were scarce this trip but I was happy to see and photograph at least a few Fritillaries. Read more

Our First Week of Summer

Sonoran Desert SunriseThis last week, we experienced the hottest temperatures since living here and, in fact, some areas set new records! Before you feel sorry for us, though, know that although we would prefer it not get this hot, we all know how to deal with the heat. We all have air conditioned homes and cars and businesses are air conditioned so it is easy to escape. Also, because it is so dry here, even the smallest amount of shade can offer a little relief. You can tell who are locals because they are the ones standing in the shade of ANYTHING. Read more

Butterflies at BTA

BTA is short for Boyce Thompson Arboretum; a wonderful place for photography just an hour and fifteen minutes away from home. Like many Arboretums, it has gardens representing many parts of the world so there are lots of interesting plants to photograph (my favorite area is the Australian Outback) but most people go for the birds and butterflies. This morning I joined an organized butterfly walk. Read more

Higher Elevation Butterflies

Back to the Colonel Devin Trail in Payson, Arizona yesterday with hopes the Butterfly Weed was finally in bloom. (It was late to bloom this year so we found very little on the last trip up). This time, we saw plenty and were rewarded with Western Tiger Swallowtails and Northwestern Fitillaries nectaring on it. My favorite photos from the hike are below. Read more

Colonel Devin Butterflies

Washington Park - Colonel Devin Trail

Washington Park – Colonel Devin Trail

Even though we ended up spotting 21 species of Butterflies, our return trip to Colonel Devin was a little disappointing. Wildflowers were still few and far between; it was windy and the butterflies rarely stopped moving. Read more