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?
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
