Aging by kenne
Archive for the ‘Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists’ Category
Aging 2 comments
A beard teaches patience:
You learn what it means
Teacher Leave a comment
SCVN Teacher In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Teacher
Ideals are like the stars,
Always above our reach.
Humbly I tried to learn,
More humbly did I teach.
On all honest virtues
I sought to keep firm hold.
I wanted to be a good man
Though I pinched my soul.
But now I lie beneath cool loam
Forgetting every dream;
And in this narrow bed of earth
No lights gleam.
In this narrow bed of earth
Star-dust never scatters,
And I tremble lest the darkness teach
Me that nothing matters.
Always above our reach.
Humbly I tried to learn,
More humbly did I teach.
On all honest virtues
I sought to keep firm hold.
I wanted to be a good man
Though I pinched my soul.
But now I lie beneath cool loam
Forgetting every dream;
And in this narrow bed of earth
No lights gleam.
In this narrow bed of earth
Star-dust never scatters,
And I tremble lest the darkness teach
Me that nothing matters.
— Langston Hughes
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Panning For Garnets 1 comment
Panning for Garnets In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
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Cooper’s Hawk And The American Flag Leave a comment
Cooper’s Hawk Atop The Flagpole Outside The Sabino Canyon Visitor Center — Image by kenne
“One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore”
— Oliver Wendell Holmes
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End Of The Trail On Blackett’s Ridge Leave a comment
End Of The Trail On Blackett’s Ridge (11/04/11) — Image by kenne
Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
Steep inclines with little shade
Six miles up and back.
— kenne
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SCVN Lizard Walk 2 comments
Saturday Morning Lizard Walk — Image by kenne
Greater Earless Lizard — Image by kenne
Saturday Morning Lizard Walk — Video by kenne
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SCVN Lizard Walk Guides For The Last Walk Of The Year Leave a comment
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists Bill Kaufman and Mark Hengesbaugh are Guiding the last Lizard Walk of the Year.
— Image by kenne
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Sabino Canyon Lizard Walk Leave a comment
A small group of us braved the mid-morning desert heat in Sabino Canyon to conduct an SCVN lizard walk.
(August 3, 2024)
Common Side-blotched Lizard
Common Side-blotched Lizard
Common Side-blotched Lizard
Greater Earless Lizard
Greater Earless Lizard
Greater Earless Lizard
Gila Monster — Images by kenne
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Spring Wildflowers In The Sonoran Desert 2 comments
This book by Frank S. Rose is more like a bible for naturalists walking and hiking in southern Arizona.
The abundance of wildflowers varies from year to year, and this year is definitely one of the better years.
“I was lying on the ground in Molina Basin, camera at the ready, attempting to photograph a flower. I had no idea what it was, but I had a list of the plants in the Santa Catalina Mountains. How, I wondered, would I connect what I was seeing through my camera lens with a particular plant on the list? Then I heard a woman’s voice. ‘Ooh, another plant photography.” I looked up to see two women approaching. The person who spoke introduced herself as Joan Tedford, and, to my delight and amazement, she was the person who had made this list I was using . . . Joan invited us to join a group that takes a weekly nature walk in the Catalinas. Every week for the summer and into the fall I happily followed the leader, Bob Porter, as we explored many different trails, noting plants, birds, and anything else of interest along the way. So began a ten-year adventure, some of the happiest hours of my life, spent in the company of Joan Tedford, Bob Porter, and other Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists who helped us explore the extensive trail system in this Sky Island range.” — Frank S. Rose
(Click On Any Of The Tiled Photos To See A Larger Image.)
“The Sonoran Desert is nature’s giant watercolor.”
— unknown
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Taking Nature Notes Leave a comment
Taking Notes On My First SCVN Training Class Nature Walk (09/14/2011) — Image by kenne
STANDING AT THE ALTAR OF NATURE
When we stand
at the altar of nature,
we stand with the greats;
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry David Thoreau,
and John Muir,
each having helped define
our relationship
with nature and language –
“every natural fact is a symbol
of some spiritual fact,
. . . words are signs of natural facts.”
Nature’s beauty becomes
a source of spiritual energy
connecting all things
into a universal whole
with the energy of our
thoughts and will.
We stand at nature’s alter as man
not separate from her,
seeing her in the flowers,
insects, animals, mountains,
creating a unified landscape
of our inward and outward senses.
Like all relationships,
the experience depends
on the degree of harmony
between us and nature,
therefore becoming a gift
granted while walking with nature
as she is embraced in our minds –
Enlighten, she shares her secrets,
making the universe more “transparent.”
Yet the gift may only offer a glimpse,
to be shared in images and words,
charming all living things.
— kenne
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Picturing Sabino — A Door To The Past Leave a comment
On the morning of April 4, 2023, the creator of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists organization,
David Wentworth Lazaroff gave a talk on his new book, Picturing Sabino.
Picturing Sabino represents three decades of work on the history of Sabino Canyon.
David became fascinated by Sabino Canyon while working there as an environmental education specialist from 1977 to 1986.
Picturing Sabino tells the story of the canyon’s transformation from a barely known oasis, miles from a small nineteenth-century town, into an immensely popular recreation area on the edge of a modern metropolis. Covering a century of change, from 1885 to 1985,
this work rejoices in the canyon’s natural beauty and also relates the ups and downs of its protection and enjoyment.
Picturing Sabino — Video by kenne
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Desert Mistletoe Berries Attracting Birds To Sabino Canyon 1 comment
This morning on the Plant and Bird Walk, we could see a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds, none close enough to get any good photos,
but more will be coming to Sabino Canyon because of all the desert mistletoe berries in the canyon. Till then,
the berries are attracting plenty of Phainopeplas.
— kenne
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Second-Graders At Sabino Dam 2 comments
Second Grade Class Participating in SCVN Field Trip To Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
A day with nature
Loving the time together
Excitement for all.
— kenne
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Pandemic Kids In The Canyon 4 comments
Pandemic Kids (1st Graders) In Sabino Canyon Recreation Area — Image by kenne
In the last week of October, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) began offering nature classes to elementary school children
four days a week, the first time since March 2020. The number of children per day is a maximum of 30 students that are
divided into six groups. Masks are required except where social distancing is possible. The children have been perfect about
wearing masks, even though it may not be a school requirement. Some field trips have been canceled due to COVID outbreaks at the schools.
All the SCVN members have been vaccinated. Still, some naturalists have tested positive and have been self-quarantining.
— kenne
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Cut Saguaro Ten Years Out 3 comments
I took this image in September 2011 while on my first Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) nature walk.
I was so appalled that someone cut off the top of this young (probably 35-40 years old) saguaro cactus.
Sadly, over the years, I have frequently seen this type of vandalism.
This Image, taken July 27, 2021, illustrates the resiliency of nature. — Image by kenne
Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns,
so that each small piece of her fabric reveals
the organization of the entire tapestry.
— Richard Feynman
