Archive for the ‘Mesquite’ Tag
Male Phainopepla — Image by kenne
He is so high in the mesquite
I must squint—
An ace of spades caught in thorns.
Yet I feel the small red spark
of his eye
fasten to me.
The branch yields, does not surrender.
My grandmother said
real strength makes no announcement;
it simply remains.
He falls—
a swift stroke of black—
and rises again
to the same waiting limb.
Nothing altered, it seems.
But the desert keeps a breath
between his leaving and return,
and in that held silence
my heart shifts,
quiet as sand
after the wind.
— kenne
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Two Cedar Waxwings Resting in A Mesquite — Image by kenne
Two cedar waxwings
sit close on the bare mesquite,
their small bodies sharing the cold.
I watch, and learn again
how companionship survives the season.
— kenne
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Varied Bunting on a Mesquite Limb — Image by kenne
He sings from the mesquite,
not for us,
but as if the air itself
needed a name
to keep from vanishing.
— kenne
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Male Pyrrhuloxia In Mesquite Tree — Image by kenne
How did the Pyrrhuloxia end up with such a scary looking name? And what does Pyrrhuloxia mean?
It’s all Greek to me. No, really, it is Greek. The Pyrrhuloxia’s name comes from two Greek words:
The first one means “flame,” which has to do with the male’s red breast; the second means “crooked,”
referring to its large beak. Found in the desert southwest, Pyrrhuloxias typically like drier habitats than cardinals do.
Because of its preference for dry habitat some folks, who can’t figure out how to say Pyrrhuloxia, simply refer to it as the
“desert cardinal.”
— Source: Bird Watcher General Store
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Ash-throated Flycatcher Near Tubac Along The Santa Cruz River
Ash-throated Flycatcher Near Tubac Along The Santa Cruz River
Lesser Goldfinch In A Mesquite Tree
Albert’s Towhee — Images by kenne
One of the birding trips I went on during last month’s Tucson Audubon Society’s annual birding festival was to Tubac,
which is located near the Santa Cruz River. These are a few of the better shots I was able to get while there.
Since I live in the Tucson area and often hiked trails in and around Tubac, most all the birds we saw I can see from my patio.
The major difference was being able to spend time with birders from all across the country and Mexico —
an interesting group of people, if you get my drift.
— kenne
‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
— Emily Dickinson
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Photo-Artistry by kenne
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A Group of Saguaros Under Nurse Trees. — Image by kenne
The previous posting (100 Year-Old Cliff Dweller) showed a photograph of a giant saguaro cactus all alone on a steep cliff. Its location was unusual, but given that most saguaros start life under a bush, i.e., a creosote, or a tree, i.e., palo verde and mesquite, making its existence very impressive. Equally impressive is locating a group of saguaros protected by both mesquite and palo verde trees, which begged the question, “What do you call a group of saguaros?” Tribe? Legion? Family? Thicket? Grove? Clump? Gang? Clan? Bunch? Band? Coterie? Whatever, even researching the question didn’t give us an answer. So, for now, you can choose. Given the Tohono O’odham Nation, or Desert People’s cultural connection to the saguaro, I choose “tribe.”
kenne
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Female Phainopepla — Image by kenne
There She Was
There she was,
Gazing at me
Wondering why
I look so funny.
There she was,
On her perch
An ocotillo branch
Sharing the gray.
There she was
A little red
In her eye
Continuing to gaze.
There she was
As I wonder why
The ocotillo
Not mesquite.
There she was
Flycatcher by name
Preferring the berries
Of desert mistletoe.
There she was
Not gazing at me
Turning her eye
To mistletoe berries.
There she was
In the desert winter
No insects
For this flycatcher.
There she was
Where there are
Berries abundant
For a misnamed bird.
There she was
Until the days
Grew hot
In the desert sun.
Now she’s gone
To the mountains
In search of a
New berry source.
— kenne
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Female Phainopepla — Image by kenne
Phainopepla
Perched high on the mesquite
Sky territory.
kenne
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Ground Squirrel — Image by kenne
Most of the time it’s not easy to photograph these little ground squirrels, since they move quickly behind desert ground cover. However, on this day when some of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists were walking back from conducting the “Web of Life” program with 60 3rd graders, this guy was spotted behind a prickly pear cactus near the path. We stopped, not realizing that this must have been a signal for him to come out and greet us. When I reached into my pocket for my point & shot camera, he stood up. This response led us to conclude he thought I was reaching for food, which means this behavior was being reinforced by visitors to the canyon. Not wanting to reinforce the behavior, we moved on.
A short distance on down the trail, we made the mistake of looking back, to see he was still standing there.
“How could we keep going without giving him something?”
But, we didn’t have anything to give him, that is until one of us checked the many pockets in our naturalist vests and found the mesquite bean pod we use when working with the elementary-school kids. So, we walked back and gave him a pod.
Okay, we know this was not good naturalist behavior, but . . .
kenne
Ground Squirrel with Mesquite pod. — Image by kenne
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A Young Saguaro Cactus Has A Barrel Cactus As A Nurse Tree — Image by kenne
The Sonoran desert is the home of saguaro cacti. Often, for young saguaros to survive, they are located near another faster-growing tree that shelters the slower-growing plant by providing shade, shelter from the wind and sun, or protection from animals that may feed on the young plant. Such a plant is called a nurse tree. In the Sonoran desert, such trees are usually Palo Verde, Ironwood, or mesquite trees, which explains why young saguaros are often seen near trees. It is therefore unusual that a young saguaro would have a barrel cactus as its nurse tree. Let’s hope this quirk of nature works for both since both will be competing for resources, possibly hastening the death of the young slow-growing saguaro.
kenne
Saguaro Cactus That Have Out-Lived Their Nurse Tree — Image by kenne
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Tanuri Ridge River Trail — Image by kenne
When I took this photo, August 3, 2010,
I did so trying to capture the feel
of the trail and this old mesquite tree.
Little did I know that this place along the trail
had been captured before by Margarita and David Berg.
Again, my camera has taught me how to see without a camera.
My experience has taught me how to feel
the moments captured before by others,
so I can focus on capturing the moment.
kenne
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