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The Desert Museum

SW trip part 2

 

On my first full day in the SW we visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. This is an amazing place to learn about the plants and animals that inhabit the Sonoran Desert and it was high on my list of must-see destinations on this trip. We were there about five hours and could have easily spent two days exploring all the nooks and crannies of the place. There are exhibits of animals of various habitats – including aquatic animals, plants and how they cope with the desert climate, raptor flights, and so on. They had just started a raptor flight when we arrived so we saw a number of trained hawks and owls. I was surprised by the number of hummingbird species. They had their own aviary. I wish there’d been a docent there to help me identify all of them. I’ve tried to guess and I think I got the males right but the females, I just don’t know.

If you’re ever in the Tucson area, it’s well worth the time to see the Desert Museum.

A Great-horned Owl was part of the raptor free flight demonstration.
The Great-horned Owl looks over the visitors
I think this is a Western Screech Owl
I think this is a Western Screech Owl
American Kestrel. Falcon always have such large eyes!
This Cactus Wren was gathering nesting materials
Young desert tortise
Verdin
I think this is a female Anna’s Hummingbird
So many hummingbirds
Hummingbird nest
Broad-billed Hummingbird
So many hummingbirds
Hummingbird on a nest
That egg is smaller than your smallest fingernail
Costa’s Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Amazing flora in the desert
Bird’s nest on a saguaro
The Greater Roadrunner. My favorite new bird on the trip.
The roadrunner has very beautiful markings
Joshua tree
So bored
Another bored animal
Beaver
Otter
Jennifer explains something
Ocotillo with new growth
Frogs
I mostly avoided the snakes
Ground squirrel
Elf Owl
Invasive House Sparrow in a saguaro cavity
Cholla. I did not touch them.
Prickly pear
I think this is an agave
What a landscape

Mission San Xavier del Bac

SW Trip part 1

 

Yesterday I returned from a ten-day roadtrip in Arizona, Nevada and southern California. It was a whirlwind journey with a new adventure everyday in places I’ve never visited before. My friends Jennifer and Judy, otherwise known as Notable Exceptions and also two thirds of Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band, have been touring in the SW since November and invited me to join them for a two week break from their musical gigs. It was a great opportunity for me to see a new part of the country and spend time with friends. They travel in a 33 foot motorhome with two cats and a dog.

Our first stop was the St Xavier Mission near Tucson. Actually our first stop was Trader Joes but I didn’t make any pictures there. According to its website, the mission is ‘the oldest intact European structure in Arizona’. Construction was started in 1783. It has suffered from an earthquake and a lightning strike. Work continues to restore the building. We were awe-struck by the colorful paintings and sculptures inside the church. The colors are vibrant and full of warmth and life. We were also impressed by cool temperature of the interior. Its thick walls protect it from the desert heat. On the day I arrived it was over 80. Only a side door away from the sun, was open and inside it was nearly chilly.

I know little about the Catholic traditions so much of what I observed was a mystery to me but I could not help but be in awe of the majesty of the mission.

The ceiling
There were two of these lion-like figures that were recently restored.
Only smokeless candles sold in the Mission’s store can be used in the church. Generations of smoky candles have left their mark on the walls.
Only smokeless candles sold in the Mission’s store can be used in the church. Generations of smoky candles have left their mark on the walls.
The pews looked none too comfortable.
This painted pattern was repeated throughout the bulding
The one open door
A Pyrrhuloxia, a life bird for me.
A fairyduster flower.
Cactus Wren nests in saguaros often appear to be heart-shaped.
Local dog
Shadows

Winter Dogs

These are mostly photos of Sky. Luna had some minor surgery and had to take it a little bit easier. That and being nine now, has slowed her down a little bit. She refuses to go in any of the deep snow. Who can blame her? We have one good path and some minor paths and the plowed roads on our hillside where we can easily walk. Sky loves the deep snow and nearly swims in it when she is in pursuit of a toy or stick. We have lost many tennis balls and when snow melt does happen, I expect it will be like an Easter Egg Hunt for the dogs.

That’s a favorite toy
I’ll get it!
I need some new sticks!
Nice nose

The Birds and Bees of Winter

Lots of birds have enjoyed our feeders this winter. The feeders are set up so we can see them from our main windows throughout the day. A tiny Northern Pygmy-Owl has been terrorizing the even tinier Common Redpolls. Red Crossbills (yes, their bills are crossed) show up most every day and there is, occasionally an American Goldfinch. Most years we have lots of goldfinches and House Finches but not this year.

On days when the temperature gets up to freezing and the sun is shining the honeybees will work at cleaning out their hives. It seems so strange to see dead bees in the snow. It’s supposed to be a good thing – an indicator that the live bees are keeping things tidy in there.

We had a tree-climbing expert come in and install a new nest box from Nice Nests, high up in our biggest dead ponderosa pine tree. Hopefully the kestrel that was here earlier in the winter will return and raise some young birds in it next summer.

American Kestrel nest box
White-breasted Nuthatch
Common Redpoll
American Goldfinch
Red Crossbill
Red Crossbills
Common Redpolls and Pine Siskin
House Finches
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Red Crossbills

Winter at Home

Here it is February already – more than a month into the new year. Time goes by so quickly. I made lots of images last month and finally got around to editing them.

We continue to get lots of snow and it is deep and perfect for winter activities. Ken’s brother stayed for a few days and tried his AT gear and his snowboard on the hill above us. It really made me want to get some back country skis.

Some days have had snow falling all day long and others have been brilliantly sunny. The frost and icicles have been amazing. Of course, we’ve had our share of shoveling. A friend gifted us his used snowblower and it was just in time. We were nearly overwhelmed with the amount of work. And then we had to have a big front loader come in and move the big berms left by the plow guy.

Here is a sampling of images from around our hillside.

Ken watching from below
Nice turns
Morning alpenglow
Morning alpenglow
frosty serviceberry leaves hanging on
It’s deep out there
Garden fence
You think this is deep? Now you can’t even see the window!
The river below us
Drip