Ragged Rock Flowers (February 20, 2015) — Images by kenne
This beautiful flower grows on a scrub that is generally found growing out of cracks in cliff rocks often near canyon streams. The flower blossom looks somewhat like a citrus blossom and even has somewhat of a citrus smell. The seeds of the plant are rich in oils love by ants, which leads to a theory why the seeds end up in the cracks of rocks. The cast-off seeds sometimes land in cracks where germination takes place.
kenne
Brittlebush Blooming In The Sonoran Desert — Images by kenne
With good rains earlier this month the Sonoran desert is beginning to explode into a colorful display that changes the brown desert landscape into a sea of floral yellow. With a little rain, this common desert scrub will begin to bloom and will do so almost year round. I last posted brittlebush blossom images two months ago.
kenne
Male Shrub in Bloom (February 9, 2015)
Seeds from Last Year on Female Shrub — Images by kenne
The jojoba male plant blooms in late winter and the female plants ripen their acorn-shaped and sized seeds in summer. Click here for more information.
— kenne
Star Fern (Notholaena standleyi) Nestled Near A Cliff Edge On The Northwest Side of Blackett’s Ridge Trail
Getting A Little Setting Sun (February 2, 2015) — Image by kenne
Beautiful Intruder: Sweet Resinbush (Euryops subcarnosus) — Images by kenne
During a recent nature walk, I was eager to photograph this beautiful plant before learning that it is an “unwanted” intruder in Sabino Canyon and we would soon be pulling it up.
The plant, sweet resinbush, was brought here from South Africa in the 1930’s with the good intentions of providing forage for livestock and aid in slowing soil erosion. But, like a lot of good intentions, it proved to be more harmful than good — encroaching into healthy grasslands and choking out native vegetation.
kenne
— Joyce Meyer
Foam at the Base of the Sabino Canyon Dam Created by A Natural Surfactants, DOC. (January 21, 2015) — Image by kenne
The foam at the base of the Sabino Canyon Dam is a natural surfactants called DOC (dissolved organic carbon). DOC is a food supplement, supporting growth of microorganisms and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle through the microbial loop. DOC comes from the decomposition of a variety of plant material including algae and aquatic plants, but also the leaves from trees that line the creek. The amount of foam at the base will depend on the flow rate over the dam, which might explain less foam this morning.
kenne
“Wings Among Yellow Flowers” Mustard Plant WIldflowers In Sabino Canyon, January 21, 2015 — Images by kenne
mustard
On the Parable of the Mustard Seed
A Paper Wasp Nest Located near the Sabino Canyon Dam (January 21, 2015) — Image by kenne
— kenne
Doors are for Opening (A Door In The French Quarter) — Photo on Canvas by kenne
— kenne
The Winds of Change — Image by kenne
On this Music Sunday, one of my favorite songs from the early 80’s.
“Winds Of Change”
Giant Saguaro Cactus, “Better Than All Measures”
— Photo on Canvas by kenne
— from To A Skylark by Percy Bysshe Shelley
(CLICK ON ANY OF THE TILED IMAGES TO SEE LARGER VIEW IN A SLIDE SHOW FORMAT.)
Jackson Square, New Orleans (December 28, 2015) — Image by kenne
— kenne
Mr. T with 2nd Grade Students In Sabino Canyon (January 15, 2015) — Image by Phil Bentley
A great way to stay young is to spend a morning with five second grade students in Sabino Canyon on your seventy-four birthday. Today’s program, titled “Back to the Past”, was about the Hohokum peoples of the Sonoran Desert that use to inhabit the Tucson basin hundreds of years ago — covering such topics as hunting, gathering, farming, water, shelter, art and sports.
At one point I was talking about how the Hohokum dug canals from rivers to grow crops.
One of the students asked, “What’s a canal?”
To which I replied, “It’s like a ditch, channel through which water runs from the river to the crops.”
The little girl said, “Oh, like a TV channel?” — “Out of the mouths of babes!”
A boy told me how he liked the hike and going by the dam, but added:
“I really don’t like how we stopped every 20 seconds, but I had a great time.” (Think he was telling me that I talk too much?)
Another great day outdoors with nature talking about the past with the future.
— Marcel Proust
kenne
Image by kenne (December 19, 2014)
(CLICK ON ANY OF THE IMAGES TO SEE LARGER VIEW IN A SLIDESHOW FORMAT.)
Hiking the Douglas Spring, Carillo, Garwood Loop In The Saguaro National Park (December 19, 2014)
— Images by kenne
― John Muir, Our National Parks
