Near Hutch’s Pool in the Santa Catalina Mountains (11/18/11) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
For what is the moon, that it haunts us, this impudent companion immigrated from the system’s less fortunate margins, the realm of dust collected in orbs?
View Above Hutch’s Pool In the Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
“In those vernal seasons of the year when the air is calm and pleasant, it were an injury and sullenness against nature not to go out and see her riches, and partake in her rejoicing with heaven and earth.”
The Two-tailed Swallowtail is Arizona’s State Butterfly — Image by kenne
“The adult butterfly (also commonly called two-tailed tiger swallowtail) has yellow to orangish-yellow wings edged thickly with black. Each wing has 4 almost parallel stripes (the innermost stripe is the longest, while the outermost two may simply be bars). The hindmost part of each wing has a curved row of blue patches and below the blue are several bars or spots of orange. Two tails extend from the rear of the hind wing, with the innermost tail considerably shorter.”
Fall Colors Along Sabino Creek Hiking to Hutch’s Pool — Panorama by kenne
One of my favorite hikes is to Hutch’s Pool. In the past, the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) would guide a fall and spring hike, each hike having a many as 15 hikers. However, like so many things, not this fall because of the pandemic. The trail is open, but not for groups.
— kenne
* * * * *
I bear many scars,
but I also carry with me moments
that would not have happened
if I had not dared
to go beyond my limits.
— Paulo Coelho
Crossing Sabino Creek Below Hutch’s Pool — Image by kenne
Tarantula on Bug Springs Trail (November 13, 2020) — Image by kenne
I spotted the young tarantula while hiking the Bug Springs trail last Friday in the Santa Catalina Mountains. The trail’s elevation is between 5,000/6,000′ elevation as we continue hiking at lower levels of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
Wildflowers on Mt. Lemmon, Santa Catalina Mountains — Images by kenne
What is the late November doing With the disturbance of the spring And creatures of the summer heat, And snowdrops writhing under feet And hollyhocks that aim too high Red into grey and tumble down Late roses filled with early snow? Thunder rolled by the rolling stars Simulates triumphal cars Deployed in constellated wars Scorpion fights against the sun Until the Sun and Moon go down Comets weep and Leonids fly Hunt the heavens and the plains Whirled in a vortex that shall bring The world to that destructive fire Which burns before the ice-cap reigns
Cabin In The Woods (Mt. Lemmon) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
I wish I could escape to that cabin in the woods, Where the trees have a face like no other. And those trees play songs, with the breeze sweeping through their branches. I wish I could hear their songs. Not just hear, but to actively listen Because they fill their chords with notes of love. I want their tunes to brush my ear and their leaves to gently cover me from above. The leaves that don’t crunch or wither or die. The leaves are full of ever-increasing life. When the fallen leaves have touched my skin Chills cover my flesh and shoot me with a sensation. I have been touched by this gracious life.
Clouds Above the Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
This is the second time I have posted, I wandered lonely as a Cloud, on this blog, the first time was September 21, 2013. This image caused me to post this beautiful Wordsworth poem again.
I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden Daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:— A Poet could not but be gay In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the shew to me had brought:
For oft when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude, And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the Daffodils.
Lower Box Camp Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains (09/06/19)– Image by kenne
When hiking the Box Camp Trail, the top part of the trail is in the Pine Forest biome, where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and occasional Douglas-Fir. This image shows a view of the Tucson basin and the Santa Rita Mountain to the south, where the Oak Woodland biome takes over (5,000′ – 6,000′).
Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona — A Field Guide to the Santa Catalina Mountains and Other Nearby Ranges by Frank S. Rose
When I began hiking the mountains of southern Arizona, I always had my camera with me. If you follower of this blog, you know there are many photos of beautiful mountain wildflowers, most of which I could not identify. However, Frank S. Rose made it easy for me to put names with the photos with the publication of his field guide in 2011.
For years before the guide’s publication, Frank spent summers painting watercolor images of the wildflowers. But, much like myself, he experienced difficulty identifying the wildflowers. It wasn’t until Frank got to know Joan Tedford, Bob Porter and other Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists spending time with them on their weekly nature walks, that he began to work on his photographic field guide.
Thank you, Frank, for your many hours and miles of walking, searching, photographing and learning about flowers from which so many of us have benefited.
— kenne
Joan Tedford, Debbie Bird, Edi Moore, Heather Murphy, and Frank Rose (May 2, 2016) — Images by kenne
In this video, Frank Rose tells the story of how he met Joan Tedford.
