Turkey Vultures Migrating North Image by kenne
The Tanque Verde Wash is an overnight home for turkey vultures
migrating through the Tucson area every October and March.
— kenne
Archive for the ‘Tanque Verde Wash’ Category
Turkey Vultures Migrating North 2 comments
Careless-weed Has Taken Over The Tanque Verde Wash Trails 2 comments
Images by kenne (Click on any of the images to see in a slide-show format.)
October is the time of year the Turkey Vultures are migrating south to Mexico, and for years they would overnight near the Tanque Verde Wash.
I have many images of them in the trees near the wash. I planned to photograph again this year but was waiting to see the vultures circling up,
usually around 8:30 AM. By this time in October, we have counted hundreds leaving in the mornings circling above headed south to Mexico.
For days now, I’ve been looking skyward for the circling vultures with no sign of them. Was it climate change delaying the annual migration? Where were the turkey vultures? Maybe I had not been paying attention.
So, this morning I grabbed my camera and walked down to the wash. I had not walked the trails along the wash since before the
summer monsoon. What I discovered was shocking. First, there were no vultures to be seen. Second, almost all the trails had disappeared,
covered by two to three meters of careless-weed (Palmer amaranth). This year’s heavy rains in July and August had brought on
a massive crop of this native weed. I walked through thick weeds, sometimes over my head. When I did find parts of a trail, its
path would soon disappear in the weeds.
Still, I kept walking, trying to find some old markers, especially the Margarita Berg memorial. Margarita had passed away in the spring of 2010, months before we moved to Tanuri Ridge in late June. At the time, I would often spend early mornings
walking the trails near the Tanque Verde wash, and in doing so, I discovered the memorial under a mesquite tree near the wash.
In fact, it was too close to the wash that the tree and the memorial were washed away in the winter of 2019.
However, pieces of the original monument were found and placed at the foot of another mesquite tree much farther north of the wash.
After spending over an hour walking through the weeds, I found the memorial, hidden by all the careless-weeds — a weed worthy of its name.
As for the turkey vultures nowhere to be seen, could all the careless-weed growth of two to three meters cause them to feel their usual perches
are now too close to the ground?
— kenne
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Fence Along the Wash Leave a comment
Fence Along the Tanque Verde Wash — Image by kenne
Hat on the fence post
Do not put on any airs
You goddess of gloom.
— kenne
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Giant Reed Leave a comment
Giant Reed In The Tanque Verde Wash — Image by kenne
Giant reed is an invasive grass common to riparian areas, streams, and rivers throughout the Southwest.
It thrives in moist soils (moderately saline or freshwater), sand dunes, and wetland areas.
Giant reed forms dense, monocultural stands and often crowds out native vegetation for soil moisture, nutrients, and space.
When dry, it is highly flammable and becomes a fire danger in riparian habitats unaccustomed to sustaining fire.
It uses far more water than native vegetation, thus disturbing the natural flood regime.
Shoots and stems grow rapidly (as much as 4 inches per day during spring), outpacing native plant growth.
Shallow parts of the root system along stream edges are susceptible to undercutting, which contributes to bank
collapse and spreading of reproductive parts downstream. Giant reed grows back quickly following a fire,
thereby increasing its dominance over native riparian species.
I spotted this growth out in the Tanque Verde wash while walking the trail near the wash the other morning.
— kenne
Source: Forest Service
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The Hanging Tree 2 comments
The Hanging Tree — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Morning walks where dead trees
take on a new life near the trail
by the Tanque Verde wash.
Falling limbs are collected
always searching for a design
transforming life in a new way.
A treasure awaits the hiker
in a state of things recovered
only the eye of the wise can see.
Make the invisible become visible
breaking the pact with the unseen
each day’s magic moment.
— kenne
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Desert Willow Blossoms 1 comment
Desert Willow Blossoms Along the Tanque Verde Wash Trail — Images by kenne
Walks come earlier
As desert days get hotter
Out of bed by five.
— kenne
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Sculpture Building In Progress Leave a comment
Sculpture Building in Progress Near the Tanque Verde Wash — Image by kenne
I have time to photograph
they have time to create art
for trail walkers near the wash.
— kenne
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Shades Of Gray Leave a comment
Shades Of Gray — Photo-Artistry by kenne
In the youth of spring
the river runs freely
between a cleavage —
two breasts flowering.
In the age of winter
the river runs dry
light between shadows
fainter, fainter, fainter —
as the fire burns out.
— kenne
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Tanque Verde Wash Trail- Photo Essay 1 comment
Tanque Verde Wash Tail — Photo Essay by kenne
(Click On Any Image To See In A Slideshow Format
I have been walking the trails along the Tanque Verde Wash for over ten years,
taking many photos of the art and still have no idea who is the artist(s) —
for me, it’s a mystery.
— kenne
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Morning Walk On The Tanque Verde Wash Trail 1 comment
Morning Walk On The Tanque Verde Wash Trail — HDR Image by kenne
“Direction is so much more important than speed.” Or said another way;
“Sometimes being low is the best way to reach your goal,
just think about what you may learn on the way.”
— kenne
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Snake In The Tanque Verde Wash 1 comment
A Rock Art Snake In The Tanque Verde Wash — Images by kenne
The creative people living near the Tanque Verde wash keep doing their thing, this time in the wash rather than alongside the wash.
To create a rock art snake with rocks this size, the creator(s) would need to carry rocks from fifty or more yards away.
This rock art snake in the wash is located about a mile west of most of the art previously posted on this blog,
just east of the Craycroft Road bridge where the wash runs into the Rillito River.
— kenne
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Cowpen Daisy Art — A Solo Gift 2 comments
Cowpen Daisy — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Last Thursday (May 5, 2021), I posted a photo of the lone wildflower (Cowpen Daisy) on a trail along the Tanque
Verde Wash between Sabino Canyon Road and Craycroft Road. Our community, Tanuri Ridge, is located north of the
wash, where I sometimes walk over four miles up and back along the wash. This is an art piece from the photo.
A good friend commented on the May 5th posting; “These solo gifts, especially, should be celebrated!” With this art posting, I celebrate it again.
— kenne
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Tanque Verde Wash Art — Photo-Essay 4 comments
Tanque Verde Wash Art — Images by kenne
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Cowpen Daisy 6 comments
Cowpen Daisy In Tanque Verde Wash (Tucson, Arizona) — Image by kenne
Morning walks along the wash
months have passed since water
flowed above ground down to the river.
A lone daisy takes on the odds
standing in the parched sand
having found the right place
to display its beauty.
— kenne
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Migrating Turkey Vultures 2 comments
Migrating Turkey Vultures Near The Tanque Verde Wash — Fine Marker Drawing by kenne
They arrive each spring
Hundreds resting overnight
Morning departure.
— kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 