Thistles in Molino Basin — Image by kenne
Archive for the ‘Molino Basin’ Tag
Thistles In Molino Basin Leave a comment
Another Year of Few Wildflowers Leave a comment
Another Year of Few Wildflowers In The Sonoran Desert — Image by kenne
Spring wildflowers in the Sonoran desert depend on fall and winter rains. When there are little to no rains, as
has been the last few years, then there are few wildflowers in the spring. The above image is in the Molino
Basin, where in non-drought years, there are plenty of wildflowers to photograph. This year there are only a
few patches to be found.
— kenne
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Mustard Evening Primrose — Prim! PRIMROSE! Leave a comment
Mustard Evening Primrose — Image by kenne
Prim! PRIMROSE!
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Bees On Thistles — Photo Essay 3 comments
Bees On Thistles — Photo Essay by kenne
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Molino Basin Flowers 1 comment
Yucca Blossom in Molino Basin (April 24, 2020) — Photo Essay by kenne
Arizona Fleabane
arizona Valerian
Cliff Rose
Penstemon
Yellow Wood Sorrel
Holding the hope of morning
I walk down the Arizona trail
mission to photograph flowers
in the dry cool mountain air
looking for objects I do not have
nurtured in the space of time.
Now in late April mountain flowers
take on a long life brought about by
elevation changes and summer rains
pushing flowers into warped time.
— kenne
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Thistles In Molino Basin Leave a comment
Thistles — Images by kenne
It’s the time of year to start doing nature walks and hikes at higher elevations, so last week
I went to Molino Basin at 5,000 feet. A lot of wildflowers including more thistles than I’ve ever seen.
— kenne
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Common Buckeye On The Arizona Trail 1 comment
Mariposa Lily — Molino Basin 2 comments
Mariposa Lilies in Molino Basin — Images by kenne
My previous post was a reblogged from April 28, 2013, “Lily of the Desert.” Because of
the pandemic, I haven’t been on the trails in Sabino Canyon and the nearby
mountains. The Forest Service has closed access to parking areas and campgrounds,
but not the trails. One such trail is the Arizona Trail, which winds through the Santa
Catalina Mountains. One place to access the Arizona Trail is in Molino Basin. So,
this morning I headed up the Catalina Highway to the 4000-foot level to photograph
the wildflowers, which are beginning to blooming at this elevation level. Among the
flowers blooming were the mariposa lilies.
— kenne
Mariposa Lily
Mariposa Lily
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MacDougal Nipple Cactus 1 comment
MacDougal Nipple Cactus — Image by kenne
MacDougal Nipple Cactus (Mammillaria heyderi var. macdougalii) is a large, flattened
cactus that grows on hillsides in the desert grassland above 4000 ft elevation.
The large yellow flowers usually open in a full ring.
— kenne
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Biomes Of The Santa Catalina Mountains 5 comments
October 7th, SCVN naturalist David Dean conducted an advanced training tour of the Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
We began the tour by meeting at the McDonald’s at Catalina Highway where David provided an overview of the biomes of the Catalinas. Before starting the car caravan up Catalina Highway, David covered the lower biomes, the Saguaro-Palo Verde (100′ – 4,000′), which includes the dominant cacti and legume trees; the Desert Grassland (3,800″ – 5,000′) with grasses, succulents & shrubs being dominant.
At about the 5.5-mile marker, we pulled off at Molino Basin where David lead a discussion on the Oak – Grassland biome (4,000′ – 5,600′) and Oak Woodland (5,000′ – 6,000′) biome. Here he used posters and the natural taurine to cover; Trees: Emory Oak, Mexican Blue Oak, Silverleaf Oak, Arizona White Oak, Alligator Juniper, Western Soapberry, Border Pinyon Pine: Shrubs: Mountain Yucca, Soap-Tree Yucca, Shindagger Agave, Sotol, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass; Grasses: AZ Panic Grass, Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Cane beard grass, Spidergrass, Bush Muhly, Bull Grass, Lehmann Lovegrass; Oak – Grassland: Oaks & Junipers, Chihuahua Pine, Buckbrush, Golden-flowered Agave, Mt. Yucca.
Our next stop was along the highway near Bear Creek to discuss the Riparian Corridor (Not a biome) where we found AZ Sycamore, AZ Walnut, Gooding Willow, Fremont Cottonwood, Velvet Ash, AZ Cypress, AZ Alder.
At the approximately the 5,400″ elevation we stopped at the Middle Bear Picnic/Green Mountain Trail Head to learn about Pine-Oak Woodland biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, Chihuahua Pine Silverleaf Oak, AZ White Oak, Emory Oak, Black Cherry, Alligator Juniper.
Next, we stopped at Windy Point Vesta(6,500′), a popular place for tourists driving up the scenic Catalina Highway. At this location, David talked about the Chaparral biome, which includes Silver Oak, AZ Madrone, Border Pinyon Pine, Alligator Juniper, Manzanita, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass, and Buckbrush.
At the 19.3-mile highway marker (7,825′), David leads a discussion on the Pine Forest biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Ponderosa Pine and occasional Douglas-Fir.
As you can see, David used live plant specimens on his posters.
Ever wonder how Mt. Lemmon got its name? The highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9,152′) was named after Sara Plummer Lemmon, a respected botanist from New Gloucester, Maine, who arrived in Arizona after living in coastal California. Her Arizona fate was sealed when she attended a botany lecture in 1876 led by her future husband, John Gill Lemmon, and the whirlwind romance was on. After four years of courtship, the two wed and worked together cataloging the flora of the West, which would lead them to the Coronado National Forest in the southern section of what was then the Arizona Territory.
A discussion on the last biome in our tour, Mixed Conifer Forest (Above 8,000′) took place at Bear Wallow (8,100). Here David illustrated the common plants in the Mixed Conifer Forest: Ponderosa Pine, AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Douglas-Fir, White Fir, Quaking Aspen; Silverleaf, Netleaf, and Gambel Oaks; Rocky Mountain, Big Tooth, and Box Elder Maples.
In hindsight, I wish I had done both photography and video of the biomes tour. Near the end of the tour, I did think about doing a video clip, which is what follows.
Note: Much of the copy in this posting is from David Dean’s handout, Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains
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Molino Basin Landscape In Black and White 5 comments
Molino Basin in the Santa Catalina Mountains — Black and White Image by kenne
Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer –
and often the supreme disappointment.
— Ansel Adams
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Wildfire In The Santa Catalina Mountains (Prison Fire) 3 comments
Even though parts of southern Arizona received some rain late yesterday, the southwest remains very hot and dry. It is hope the the summer rains will help firefighters contain the fires without additional loss of life after the 19 deaths in the Yarnell Hill Fire last night.
When conditions are this dry, rain is needed to add moisture, reducing the amount of fuel for wildfires. However, with rain comes lightning, as was the case with yesterday’s rain in southern Arizona. Lightening started a fire at about the 5,000′ level in the Santa Catalina Mountains, not far from the eight mile marker on the Catalina Highway. The fire has burned over 200 acres and has been named the Prison Fire since is in the area where the former WW-II prison camp, now the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site.
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View of Catalina Highway near Windy Point with smoke to the upper right and a red helicopter near the lower center of the photo.
On most Mondays in the summer, I hike with the Monday Morning Milers on Mount Lemmon. This morning’s hike was on the Knagge Cabin trail at Incinerator Ridge, which is located about 3,000′ above the Prison Fire.
Readying the bucket to drop water on hotspots.
After starting the hike, I noticed a red helicopter circling below, so I move for a better view of what was up. The helicopter was landing near a water tank where a bucket was being attached to a cable from the helicopter.
Since I had driven up the mountain by myself, not needing to wait for other hikers, I decided to get a closer look at this helicopter firefighting method to help put out hotspots. Driving down the highway, stopping at several points to take photos. I was not able to go into the Prison camp area because of security, so my closest photos were taken near the entrance. A professional photographer was nearby, so we talked about the wildfire. He is in one of 26 images you can see on Flickr by clicking here.
kenne
Images by kenne (To See More Images, Click here.)
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- 19 AZ firefighters confirmed dead (kypost.com)
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- Photos: Arizona Firefighter Deaths Mark Active Wildfire Season (usnews.com)
- It Is Dry, Dry, Dry (kenneturner.com)
- Arizona wildfire balloons to 20-square kilometres after elite crew of 19 firefighters killed (news.nationalpost.com)
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- Obama statement on Yarnell fire tragedy (azstarnet.com)
- Monsoon hits Tucson with a bang (azstarnet.com)
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Macdougal’s Nipple Cactus (Mammillaria heyderi var. macdougalii) 6 comments
Edi Moore guided us to a couple of Macdougal’s Nipple Cactus in Molino Basin last Monday while hiking the area. These two are only about 4″ high and somewhat concealed by other plants and desert debris. This sighting was my first.
The blossoms had not yet opened on one plant, but should soon follow the other with beautiful greenish-yellow blossoms.
Although not that common, they are native to the desert’s higher elevations and are a protected plant. — Images by kenne
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Capturing The Moment — Mariposa Lily Desert Wildflower 5 comments
Mariposa Lily Wildflower — Image by kenne Captured in the Molino Basin, Santa Catalina Mountains
WILDFLOWERS IN THE DESERT
There’s blue sage and
Comet Blazing Star,
Forget-me-nots and
Desert candle;
Owl’s clover, and
Dune Primrose and
There is the Scarlet Bugler
And Rattlesnake weed,
Prince’s plume and
Linear-leaf Goldenbush;
Tidy Tips and Rock Cress,
Globe Gilia and Adonis Lupine;
Pineapple Weed, and
Wooly Paintbrush,
Baby Blue Eyes, Fremont Pincushion
And Sun Cups,
Fiddleneck and bright yellow Coreopsis,
Thistle Sage and Desert Calico,
Dandelion and Apricot Mallow and
Fiddleneck and
Of course, a landscape of
Millions of golden poppies;
The desert is in bloom
And it’s all here,
Clamoring for attention,
Demanding to be admired.
–Sandra Lee Smith
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Bug Springs Hike — Kenne with Twelve Women 1 comment
Bug Springs Trail Head, Santa Catalina Mountains — Image by kenne
The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists hike today has started the move up to higher elevations by driving the Catalina Hwy to Bug Springs at 6,000 feet. Starting in June, all our hikes will be in the Mt. Lemmon area. These photos start to show the vegetation change. It was my pleasure to be the only man with 12 women.
kenne
Bug Springs Trail — Image by kenne
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- April Snow In The Catalinas (kenneturner.wordpress.com)
- Capturing The Moment – More Sabino Canyon with Kate’s Family (kenneturner.wordpress.com)
- Sabino Canyon (quasherthoughts.wordpress.com)
