Texas Crescent Butterfly on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona — Image by kenne
— Nathaniel Hawthorne
Indian Paintbrush Computer Art by kenne
Mountain Wildflowers
— kenne
(Click on any image for a larger view in a slideshow format.)
Hiking the Box Camp Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains (June 9, 2017) — Images by kenne
Hiking the trail near the old ski run on Mt. Lemmon is a short hike with a good elevation change for the first hike of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists summer schedule on Mt. Lemmon. With temperatures now going over 100 degrees down in the valley, temperatures in the 60’s make for great summer hiking conditions.
The nice mountain weather conditions not only attract hikers but campers. The trail led us across campers with an open fire. Currently, the dry conditions in the Catalinas have caused the Forest Service to place Stage 1 restrictions on having wood burning campfires. We made sure the campers understood the restrictions, helped them cover the fire and called in the sighting.
Images by kenne
We continued on back down the trail to the trailhead led by naturalist Ricki Mensching.
Next week’s hike will be on the Box Camp Trail. We will be hiking to a rocky overlook providing a view into the upper Sabino Canyon and will be led by naturalist Tim Ralph.
— kenne
Kenneth Harris (May 20, 2017) — Image by kenne
“Stuff.”
One of my favorite words is stuff.
“That’s Super Stuff!”
“Make Stuff”
“I Love Free Stuff”
“The Good Stuff”
“My Stuff”
“Stuff in My Life”
“Stuff That Works”
“The Right Stuff”
“How’s Your Stuff?”
There are so many variations on the use of the word stuff. This last May we attended the last “Ken and Mary’s Blues Project” house concert in Porter, Texas. Before the music started, Kenneth Harris told the story of how the Project came about from his listening to Sunday blues on Houston’s KPFT. One Sunday he was listening to Nuri Nuri’s Blues Brunch.
“. . . he [Nuri] was interviewing this guy, and they played some of his stuff, and I called Nuri on the phone, and I said Nuri do you know anybody in the Houston area that can do that type of stuff, and he told me you meet me at Billy Blue’s like next Saturday night.”
Long story short, Kenneth found that stuff in the form of the Moe Hansum Band.
As I listen to Kenneth’s story I couldn’t help but think of Guy Clark’s “Stuff that Works.”
Stuff that works, stuff that holds up
The kind of stuff you don’ hang on the wall
Stuff that’ real, stuff you feel
The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall
Continuing on this theme of “Stuff,” in the 1970’s there was a jazz-funk band called “Stuff.” The members were Gordon Edwards (bass), Richard Tee (keyboards), Eric Gale (guitar), Cornell Dupree (guitar), Chris Parker (drums), and later Steve Gadd (drums).
There is good stuff and not so good stuff, because of what we do with our stuff. We have too much stuff. Earth’s beauty is being scarred by the stuff we throw away daily. As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors admiring nature’s beauty, I see stuff on our trails, hanging in trees, blowing in the wind, in our lakes and streams.
In December of 2007, a short documentary was released. The documentary was critical of excessive consumerism and promotes sustainability, which has gone from a movie to a movement over the last ten years — a Community of more than a million changemakers worldwide, working to build a more healthy and just planet. This land is our land! You can join the movement.
Memorial Day Nature-Hike on Mt. Lemmon — Images by kenne
(Click on any image to see a larger view in a slideshow format.)
First time on Mt. Lemmon since last November. At 9,200 feet only a few wildflowers are in the beginning stages of blooming. On this Memorial Day in Tucson, it’s 100 degrees, but it was a pleasant 65 degrees on Mt. Lemmon.
The SCVN Friday Hikes begin this Friday on Mt. Lemmon.
Naturalist David Dean conducts Wildflower Hike. Click here for dates and reservation information.
— kenne
Pusch Ridge Wilderness — Image by kenne
Time of The Heart
High above the city
stands the fool on the hill
Watching thin clouds move in
while chanting the reflection –
“Use me while you can,
for if you but blink,
I will be gone
no more on this watch.”
— kenne
