Archive for the ‘Sabino Creek’ Category
Sabino Creek — Ash From The Bighorn Fire — Image by kenne
It happens that I get tired
of revolutionary cafes
and peacock poets
of narcissistic reflexives
and the songs of the deaf.
It happens that I am terrified
by this hardened generation
that rushes out in search of absolutes
fashions names and blasphemies,
doctrinizes on the pros and cons
of armed struggle,
and meditates, with a beer in its hand
and a sour cry on its lips
on the cadavers of others
Who are we?
Those same parishioners perhaps
who come and go indifferent
along the streets
on the Day of the Dead
with our hands full
of death’s-head cakes
and our hearts in ashes.
— from Day of the Dead In June by Lucha Corpi
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Yesterday (08/05/20), I drove up the Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon. The highway was opened to the general public last Saturday morning for the first time since the Bighorn Fire began in early June. The mountain town of Summerheaven, successfully protected from the fire, is now open for business, although still having to follow HOVID-19 business regulations in Arizona.
Oracle Ridge and Mt. Lemmon Fire Station
Before entering Summerheaven, there are two ridges going north; Red Ridge and Oracle Ridge. Both ridges were severely burned during the 2003 Aspen Fire that destroyed almost all the homes in Summerheaven. Over the years since the Aspen Fire, the forest canopy has still not returned on these ridges. However, a lot of ground cover containing some bushes and small trees had returned. On June 17th, the two ridges were again burned. On June 19th, I posted two time-delay videos of the fire coming through the area pictured in the above photo. The fire station and most of the pines behind it were spared — not true of the storage building and new growth since the 2003 fire. It has now been 50 days since the fire occurred. Note how green the scared area has become with the return of ferns on the mountain slopes.
Except for the highway and Summerheaven, the public is not allowed to go anywhere in the National Forest. From what I was able to observe from the highway, most of the hiking trails with trailheads near the highway are ok, at least partially. Parts of Lower Butterfly Trail and Green Mountain Trail don’t look good from a distance.
My guess is that the trails in the forest around Summerheaven were burned like the two ridges north of Summerheaven. From a review of burn scar maps, the Marshall Gulch area to the north and west, which would include Carter Canyon, has been badly burned. For those of you who hike this area, It’s possible a lot of the Marshall and Mint Springs trails were destroyed. We may not know until November.
Since Sabino Creek originates along the Marshall Gulch Trail, the monsoon rains can result in a lot of potential flash flooding coming down through Sabino Canyon. So far, the rain amounts are very below average, but we are still in the monsoon season.
— kenne
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Images Taken From Catalina Highway by kenne
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Sabino Creek Has Two Ducks — Image by kenne
Sabino creek has two ducks.
Winter rains and spring
Snowmelt on the mountains
Increasing the streamflow
Of a frequently dry creek
Attracting additional waterfowl.
— kenne
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Sabino Creek Below The Dam In Sabino Canyon — Image and video by kenne
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Star Ferns and Ressurection Plants On the Bluff Trail Above Sabino Creek — Image by kenne
Most people think of the desert as being a hot, dry and barren place which is totally inhospitable to the likes of ferns, mosses, and leafy plants. Nonetheless, all the above-mentioned species thrive here in the Sonoran Desert. There are many varieties of ferns growing in the desert climate. The desert ferns are true xerophytes (a plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, dry loving). These ferns have evolved several strategies to thrive in our warm, dry climate here in the southwest. They can shrivel and go dormant for many months, they begin life in rock fractures and other moist sheltered areas that provide a microclimate for early growth. Other characteristics of desert ferns are reduced surface area (small leaflets), leathery leaflets, thickened leaf margins, waxy, hairy or fuzzy coatings, and scales on stems. Does this sound like some of the water-saving adaptations of other desert plants? You bet! We’ve heard about these adaptations for many other desert plants such as creosote, mesquite, ocotillo, Brittle Bush, so why not the ferns too? (Debbie Bird, Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalist)
The plants at the top of the above image are Selaginella lepidophylla is a species of desert plant in the spikemoss family. Known as a “resurrection plant”, it is renowned for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation. During dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball, uncurling only when exposed to moisture.
— kenne
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Sabino Creek Art — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Sabino Creek
Spring brings the sound of
Water running in the creek
Deer walk to the edge.
— kenne
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“Moments Alone” (Sabino Creek) — Image by kenne
Moments alone
looking for answers
in deep caverns
of my soul,
only to see them
blurred by others
as water
in the stream
of life
rushes by.
— kenne
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Students Panning For Garnets In Sabino Creek — Infrared Image by kenne
One of the programs taught by Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists to elementary
school children is geology called “Strike It Rich.” They learn how the Santa Catalina
Mountains were formed and the minerals contained in the “gneiss” rock.
The primary activity is panning for garnets (sand rubies) in Sabino Creek.
The students uncovered the link between the towering granite cliffs
above the Tucson Basin and all that lies below.
— kenne
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Sabino Creek is flowing in the new year due to some winter rains
and new snow melting in the mountains. — Images by kenne
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Fall Colors Along Sabino Creek in Winter (January 2020) — Image by kenne
Water in the creek
Frost at night in the canyon
Color cottonwoods.
— kenne
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“Fall Drifting Away” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Fall drifting away
On the creek above the dam
Filtered through the sun.
— kenne
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Pusch Ridge Wilderness, Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
“Wilderness. The word itself is music.
Wilderness. Wilderness… We scarcely know what we mean by the term,
though the sound of it draws all whose nerves and emotions have not been
irreparably stunned, deadened, numbed by the caterwauling of commerce,
the sweating scramble for profit and domination.”
— Edward Abbey
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“Boy Painting In The Woods” — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“I’ve often lost myself,
in order to find the burn
that keeps everything awake”
― Federico García-Lorca
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Ken Requard Painting In Sabino Canyon (Kenrequard.com) — Photo-Artistry be kenne
This is the second posting on Ken’s painting in Sabino Canyon, the first was last Friday (March 1, 2019). What a perfect time of year to be painting in Sabino Canyon, especially creek scenes.
“I find my inspiration in the created world but it is just a starting point on the journey of creating art. I am excited to find the inner essence of a place or a moment in time and then apply my own emotions. It is exciting to see the right shapes, colors and values come together. Each element in a painting (a shape with value and color) is like a note in music. In a pleasing musical composition, there are just the right number and type of notes in the right arrangement.” — Ken Requard
Show Announcement & Reception Show Announcement & Reception
Sonoran Plein Air Painters and Rillito Park Foundation Present:
“Off to the Races Art Show”
March 2nd-March 19th
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Impressionist Oil Painter In Sabino Canyon Near Sabino Creek (Ken Requard) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Everything on the face of the earth
is constantly being transformed
Because the Earth is alive and has a Soul.
— Paulo Coelho
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