Archive for the ‘Sabino Canyon Recreation Area’ Tag
I took this image in September 2011 while on my first Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) nature walk.
I was so appalled that someone cut off the top of this young (probably 35-40 years old) saguaro cactus.
Sadly, over the years, I have frequently seen this type of vandalism.
This Image, taken July 27, 2021, illustrates the resiliency of nature. — Image by kenne
Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns,
so that each small piece of her fabric reveals
the organization of the entire tapestry.
— Richard Feynman
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Lacepod Mustard — Image by kenne
Lacepod Mustard is a common species found throughout Arizona in various habitats below 4,000 feet.
It has a distinctive rounded or oval-shaped fruit with small perforations around its perimeter.
The plant is rather drab-looking and inconspicuous, but the distinctive rounded fruits are most exciting and
appealing. I captured this image along the Esperero Trail in Sabino Canyon, April 2013.
— kenne
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8th Grade Student Deciding Whether To Eat The Berries — Image by kenne
but not enough to know you’re wrong.“
— Neil deGrasse Tyson
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“Lunch On A Limb” Cooper’s Hawk Eating a Catch In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
A life ended so another can survive.
— kenne
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Pin Cushion Cactus (the most common cactus in the Sonoran Desert)
and Funnel-Wed Spider In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
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Elementary School Class In Sabino Canyon (February, 2012) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Since March of 2020 Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) have not bee working with students on field trips
in the Tucson area. We are hoping to start offering nature classes again this fall. Meanwhile, SCVN has developed
a series of videos called The Canyon Classroom covering some of the “Fun Facts” covering the history, geology,
ecology, and wildlife of Sabino Canyon.
(Original image provided by the teacher.)
— kenne
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Round-tailed Ground Squirrel — Images by kenne
Round-tailed ground squirrels are comparatively small animals with grayish-brown coloring that matched the
sandy soils of their environment. Their unique characteristics are, most noticeably, their long, slender, rounded
tail, and secondly, their long, wide, hairy hind feet. Their claws and their small ears positioned low on the head,
enable them to live underground in a lifestyle that is semi-fossorial. They are often mistaken for prairie dogs or
gophers, but prairie dogs are much larger and gophers do not forage above ground. — Source: Animalia
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Budding Season For Saguaro Cactus (Sabino Canyon) — Images by kenne
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Spring In The Sonoran Desert — Image by kenne
The Creosote bush is a plant of extremes: it is a widely used medicinal plant; it is the most drought tolerant
perennial in North America, and it may be the oldest living plant.
Creosote (Larrea tridentata), also known as greasewood, is the most common shrub in three of the four north American deserts.
It is too cold in the Great Basin Desert of Nevada, but it thrives in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts.
Creosote is an evergreen shrub, commonly up to six feet tall or taller, that has tiny green leaves, yellow flowers,
and grey-fuzzy fruit. It flowers several times a year depending on rainfall. — Source: Arizona Daily Independent
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Northern Mockingbird On Saguaro Blossom — Photo-Artistry by kenne
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Agave Plant — Image by kenne
“Nearly all agaves, along with most bromeliads such as pineapple, are somewhat peculiar in their flowering habit.
They grow vegetatively for many years (though not the hundred years that gave rise to the common name of
century plant) without producing a single flower, and then when they get the urge to reproduce, they send
forth an enormous stalk with hundreds and hundreds of them. These plants that flower and set seed only once
in their lives are called monocarpic.” — Source: Succulent Gardens
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A Gila Monster Spring (Sabino Canyon) — Image by kenne
Gila monsters are heavy-bodied lizards covered with beadlike scales, called osteoderms, that are black and
yellow or pink covering all but their belly. The Gila monster is venomous; its venom is made by a row of glands
in the lizard’s lower jaw. When the lizard bites, small grooves in the teeth help the venom flow into its prey. The
bite of a Gila monster is very strong, and the lizard may not loosen its grip for several seconds. It may even
chew so that the venom goes deeper into the wound.
As the name might suggest, the Gila (pronounced HEE-la) monster has one of the worst reputations in the
reptile world. This lizard is often feared and has been described as frightful and repulsive, especially in local
folklore. Source: San Diego Zoo
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Female Phainopepla In Sabino Canyon — Photo-Artistry by kenne
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Palo Verde Trees In the Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
The palo verde tree is Arizona’s state tree, and rightfully so since once established, these trees truly need no
supplemental water to live. The tree’s bark is green and can photosynthesize something that in most plants,
only leaves do. This characteristic also allows the leaves to be very small and drop off during extreme drought conditions.
In the Sonoran desert, there are four types of palo verde trees. The above image illustrates two; the Blue Palo Verde
on the left and the Foothills Palo Verde on the right. The Blue Palo Verde will generally bloom first in the spring,
followed by the Foothills a few weeks later. During April, you can see these trees blooming everywhere in Tucson.
— kenne
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Esperero Trail Wildflowers In Sabino Canyon (Spring 2013) — Image by kenne
What lies in the heart
of a hiker is that a
spiritual landscape exists
within the visual landscape
something fleeting in the land,
a moment when shape, color,
and movement intensify
revealing something sacred
leading to another level of reality.
— kenne
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![[ ... ghostly apparitions no. II ]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51484190229_72e88b39f9_s.jpg "[ ... ghostly apparitions no. II ]")
