Greater Roadrunner (Sabino Canyon) — Image by kenne
Sacred Datura Flower — Image by kenne
Witches and sorcerers cultivated plants with the power to “cast spells” — in our vocabulary, “psychoactive” plants.
Their potion recipes called for such things as datura, opium poppies, belladona, hashish, fly-agaric mushrooms (Amanita muscaria),
and the skin of toads (which can contain DMT, a powerful hallucinogen). These ingredients would be combined in a hempseed-oil-based
“flying ointment” that the witches would then administer vaginally using a special dildo. This was the “broomstick”
by which these women were said to travel.
— Michael Pollan
Snow On The Peaks Above Sabino Canyon — Image by
We are blessed to live on this beautiful planet.
Yet, most people don’t show any gratitude.
Benedicto
– Edward Abbey
Esperero Trail in Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Sabino Creek Dam — HDR Image by kenne
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
— Richard Feynman
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
“Lunch On A Limb” Cooper’s Hawk Eating a Catch In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
A life ended so another can survive.
— kenne
Pin Cushion Cactus (the most common cactus in the Sonoran Desert)
and Funnel-Wed Spider In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
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
Round-tailed Ground Squirrel — Images by kenne
Budding Season For Saguaro Cactus (Sabino Canyon) — Images by kenne
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
Northern Mockingbird On Saguaro Blossom — Photo-Artistry by kenne
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
