From Hedgehog to Prince of the Desert
Visiting the desert in summer gives an impression of a barren, sterile landscape. Hiking along one hears a crispy, crunching sound of last Spring’s flowers while other plants are resting and waiting for Autumn’s rain and fade into the background, becoming unnoticed. A rather good example is the humble Hedgehog Cactus (http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/mar/papr/hhog.html).
Most of the year this cactus is well camouflaged.
It is not a big cactus and blends into the background the most of the year.
Come Spring the cactus needs to shed it’s obscurity and put on a colorful show attract pollinators. What was once a plant that was not noticed is now a burst of color seen from many yards away. Soon the flowers fade and the cactus can go about the business of making seeds in obscurity, hiding from preditors and perpetuating the species.
A burst of color in spring that lasts several days.
What a Little Water Can Do!
Spring is in full force in Arizona from Rim to Desert. Remnants of snow still can be found in the Sitgreaves National Forest and water is every where. Lakes are full and ephemeral ponds are plentiful.
Snow can still be found in Rim country this April.
The result of all this water is an explosion of color in the form of wildflowers, best seen as once descends from Payson to Phoenix along AZ 87. Besides the flowers, watch out for rock falls loosened by the water as well.
The other denizens of the desert have benefited from the water as well, Opuntia, Agave and the Monarchs of the Desert, the Saguaro all appear plump and growing. Late Spring flowers should also be in abundance.
View from AZ 87
Beautiful Desert
Beautiful Desert
SPRING!!
Time for Spring trip to AZ to see the desert in bloom. We have always managed to miss Spring and that might happen again until we live there permanently. AZ has had a lot of rain this winter and it will be interesting to see if the biting bugs and flies are a problem.
Fall Geocaching
The weather in the Phoenix area during November is great! Not too hot and not too cold, though early mornings can be chilly. Crystal clear blue skies. We have done lots of Geocaching this weeks, snapping lots of pictures along the way.
One of many views while geocaching.
Late Autumn Trip to AZ.
As October comes to a close we are heading back to AZ and the weather for this trip will be decidedly cooler. A chance for hiking, Geocaching and gardening without getting heat stroke.
“I Didn’t Know it Snowed in Arizona”
Snowball fight anyone?
I get this statement all the time from people who hae neer been to the state and seen the variety of ecosystems that it has. Yes there are deserts but also Ponderosa Pine forests and High Desert scrub too. Within a few hours drive you can change in elevation from 1000 to 7000 feet, from short-sleeved shirts to snow jackets.
New Treasure in the AZ Desert
It’s not the gold or silver that the Lost Dutchman was seeking but the wealth of Geocaches. What are geocaches? Here is the definition from the Geocaching.com web site: “Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.” Containers can be large of small (micro). Some contain toys, travel bugs, geocoins or other forms of “swag”. Others may just contain a log sheet (requiement) that is rolled oh-so-tiny. Just in the area of AZ I frequent there are hundreds of caches, some old ones depart but new ones are set out to replace them. I will never get them all, especially the ones way out in the back country. Desert caching is no more dangerous than in other places if one does the necessay preparations, water, good boots, snake avoidence and saying away for those nasty Cholla.
"Evil" Cholla
In fact, I prefer desert caching to places filled with mosquitos, tick, chiggers and timber rattlers. Urban caches have there own associated hazards, so danger is everywhere.
Do I hear, “It’s too darn hot…”
As usual, we arrive and the weather extremes begin, could be cold or rain or heat but this time it is heat. The hottest weather of the season has arrived right in time for our vacation. Depending on the thermometer you looked at, yesterday was either 108F or 114F. We can pick something in the middle like 111F and you’d probably be right. Yet despite the heat, the flora and fauna that live in the desert proves time after time what adaptation can do and produced
a beautiful display of flowers like the ones posted here. However, I am not a desert creature and a trip to the pool seems to be in order for today.
July Weather Fireworks
We arrived in the Phoenix are just in time for the season’s first, big Monsoonal downpour. There was wind, there was rain, there was lightning and there was rain. Streets were were flooding and washes were flowing with water. By morning the sun was back about and the the heat began to build. That nice storm induced 20F drop was gone. Drier has has moved in now and no more rain until later in the week.
The desert is dotted with ranches, cattle chutes and water windmills for grazing cattle. These old, abandoned Aermotor Windmills can be seen everywhere. Some still turn with the wind and make an eery metallic sound in the breeze.
