Archive for the ‘Drought’ Tag

Monsoon Blues   2 comments

View from the Patio — Panorama by kenne

Monsoon Blues

July mornings begin
With a beautiful blue sky.
This is the monsoon season,
So by mid-day, the clouds
Begin to move in,
Again and again
Only to move on
Dropping rain
Somewhere else —
The drought continues.

— kenne

 

Monsoon Sunset   Leave a comment

Monsoon Sunset — Image by kenne

With just a few days left in July, Tucson has already received 5.71 inches of rain, making this the fourth-wettest July.
I have recorded 7 inches on our patio in the Catalina Foothills. This amount of rain will help Southern Arizona recover
from the ongoing drought, improving from a D4-exceptional drought to a D3-extreme drought (National Weather Service).
There are indications that monsoon activity will start uo again toward the end of the week.

Monkeyflowers On Mt. Lemmon   Leave a comment

Monkeyflowers On Mt. Lemmon (June 11, 2021) — Image by kenne

Sometimes when writing

I take whatever words come,

like a drifting boat. 

— kenne               

Succulent Graveyard   Leave a comment

Succulent Graveyard (Normally drought resistant plants having trouble surviving.) — Images by kenne

When we moved to Tucson eleven years ago, a small patch of succulents (a type of aloe) grew on the rocky slope next to the house. I have not watered them, but the past year we have had very little rain; many have died, and those not dead the tips have dried up in an attempt to save the plant. There were no flowers this spring.

So, I decided to pull up each plant. For several days I spent early mornings pulling up each aloe plant. Now I have to bag what remains.

— kenne

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

Days Of Drought In April   Leave a comment

Coyote Fence — Photo-Artistry by kenne

  April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke’s,
My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.
 
— from The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot
 
 

Cactus Blossoms   1 comment

Cactus Blossoms — Image by kenne

Even though the southwest is experiencing a mega drought, nature finds a way to continue life cycles.

“Drought conditions in the West, particularly the desert Southwest, have intensified over the past 45 years,
with less precipitation and longer and more frequent dry spells between storms. The Southwestern deserts
that include Tucson were slammed the hardest by far.” Arizona Daily Star

Loma Alta and Coyote Wash Trails   Leave a comment

Straggling Saguaro — Photo-Artistry by kenne

The spring weather in the Sonoran Desert is alluring, with beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.
However, many drought-resistant plants are dying, very few if any wildflowers are blooming due to a troubling
draught in the Sonoran Desert. What makes the Sonoran Desert so diverse and beautiful are two rainy seasons,
summer monsoon storms and steady winter rains. The two seasons still exist, but half the normal amount of rain.

— kenne

Loma Alta and Coyote Wash Trails (March 19, 2021) — Photo Essay by kenne

 

 

Dead Cholla Cactus   2 comments

Dead Cholla (Sabino Canyon Recreation Area) — Image by kenne

The continued drought in the desert southwest is taking its toll.

Potted Lemon Tree   1 comment

Patio Lemon Tree — Image by kenne

We have had a potted Meyer lemon plant on our patio for several years.
We fertilize and water it regularly. The record-setting desert heat this year 
has been rough on our small plant. Some of the lemons formed splits in the surface.
This is the first year we have experienced the splitting. In addition to the hotter
than normal temperatures, we have had a little over two inches of rain,
which is about four inches less than normal for this time of year.

This year we still have 15 lemons on the plant, which is not a lot for this plant.
A couple years back we harvested 55 lemons.

— kenne

The Drought Continues   Leave a comment

The Drought Continues In The Desert Southwest — Photo-Artistry by kenne

Coyotes passed through the field at the back
of the house last night — coyotes, from midnight
till dawn, hunting, foraging, a mad scavenging,
scaring up pocket gophers, white-breasted mice,
jacktails, voles, the least shrew, catching
a bite at a time.

They were a band, screeching, yodeling,
a multi-tone pack. Such yipping and yapping
and jaw chapping, yelping and painful howling,
they had to be skinny, worn, used up,
a tribe of bedraggled uncles and cousins
on the skids, torn, patched, frenzied
mothers, daughters, furtive pups
and, slinking on the edges, an outcast
cow dog or two.

— from A Passing by Pattiann Rogers

 

 

Austin’s Water-Bucket Is Going Dry   6 comments

Oasis- art II framed blogThe Oasis On Lake Travis — 2002 Image by kenne

Today, voters in Texas have an opportunity to help determine how the state will be able to fund future water needs, especially considering recent trends in population and climate. As reported in StateImpact, “The state’s reservoirs are currently just over 60 percent full.” The continued drought throughout the southwest continues to worsen an already dire situation.

Recently we were visiting family and friends in the Houston area and on our return trip to Tucson, spent a couple of days in the Austin area. Having heard how low Lake Travis is, we went to The Oasis On Lake Travis for lunch, a scenic location we had visited several time over the years. 

Oasis-8610 blogLake Travis is currently 33% full. — Images by kenne

The Oasis, because of its high venue over Lake Travis has fared much better than many businesses on the lake. Another well-known restaurant on the lake, Carlos’n Charlie’s, open for nearly twenty years, shut down September 2, 2013. Jeff Beckham wrote in the NY Times article, “With Lakes Drying Up, Businesses are Parched,”

“The closing of Carlos’n Charlie’s was the latest and most visible business impact of the drought. In the past, thousands of patrons would arrive by boat and car to watch the restaurant’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show and listen to live music. But the boat docks have been unusable for more than three years.”

Oasis-8612 blogOne of the Oasis decks well above the current lake level.

“In 2011, a coalition of governments, nonprofits and businesses commissioned a study to calculate a baseline economic and fiscal value to the area surrounding Lake Travis. The Lake Travis Economic Impact Report found that when the lake level dropped below 660 feet, visitor spending dropped by up to $33.8 million, resulting in up to 241 lost jobs and $6.1 million in lost wages a year. Lake Travis has been below 660 feet since April 2011, and the current level is about 620 feet.” (NY Times)

The last time Lake Travis was full was 2007.

Oasis-8613 blogLunch-Time at the Oasis (October 28, 2013)

Currently, public boat ramps are closed on the lake and most residential boat decks are hundreds of feet away from the residence, high and dry.

Oasis-8618 blog“High and Dry” On Lake Travis

Jeff Beckham quoted Pete Clark, co-owner of Carlos’n Charlie’s — “It’s kind of like a sick friend in the hospital right now, but it’s still a friend and it’s still a great place. And it will be again.” 

Let’s hope he’s correct, but like it or not, the odds are not good.

kenne

Beautiful Trail On A Very Dry Mountain — Aspen Draw Trail   Leave a comment

Turkey Run To Aspen Draw

Turkey Run To Aspen Draw

Turkey Run To Aspen DrawAspen Draw Trail On Mount Lemmon — Images by kenne

It Is Dry, Dry, Dry   1 comment

Turkey Run to Aspen Draw Trail

Turkey Run to Aspen Draw Trail

While hiking the very dusty Aspen Draw Trail on Mount Lemmon I saw my first columbine flower of the summer. It was one of the few wildflowers currently blooming on the mountain. It is very dry in the Santa Catalinas. Much of the trail has a top layer of gray power dust. The summer rains are needed to help bring on the wildflowers. The few that have appeared are short in height and the blooms aren’t lasting very long.

Last summer this blog probably had too many columbine images because they are so irresistible. I hope I will soon be able to post a beautiful fresh-looking columbine.

Here are two links to posts last June:

https://kenneturner.com/2012/06/14/capturing-the-moment-golden-columbine/

https://kenneturner.com/2012/07/03/one-of-my-favorite-wildflowers-golden-columbine/

kenne

Turkey Run to Aspen Draw TrailImages by kenne

 

Catch’em While You Can   2 comments

Sycamore ReservoirNew Mexico groundsel

Sycamore ReservoirNew Mexico Thistle

Sycamore ReservoirPerry Penstemon

Sycamore ReservoirMariposa Lily — Images by kenne

kenne

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