Yesterday we received a much-needed 1.6 inches of rain (patio reading) with even more at the higher elevations.
This image is from our patio, looking south past our neighbor toward the Tanque Verde wash.
Later in the day the clouds began to breakup, with still a heavy cover over the Catalinas.
This morning I walked along the Tanque Verde wash, which now has water flowing toward the Rillito river at Craycroft Road.
Images by kenne
Before the rains this weekend, I was leading a SCVN hike in Sabino Canyon, which involved crossing the Sabino Creek —
an easy task compared to what some hikers were having to deal with yesterday in Bear Canyon, located just east of Sabino Canyon.
Winter brings its own beauty, but flowers are not usually part of the picture. In the Santa Catalina foothills of the Sonoran Desert there exist a plant with small yellow heads with narrow yellow rays. The above image was taken yesterday in the Sabino Canyon riparian area near the Sabino Canyon Dam.
Another image of this plant, by Ned Harris, can be viewed on Ann Green’s blog, Sabino Canyon.
“What did we do before the monsoon rains?” — The Sonoran Desert Toad, Arizona’s Largest Toad
Images by kenne
Thanks to recent rains, there’s now water running in Sabino Creek and over the dam. New life is in evidence everywhere, and the lake above the dam has become a toad playground.
I wonder what Jeremiah is smoking? “Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was a good friend of mine” — all toads are frogs, did you know that?
Lake Above Sabino Creek Looking Out Where The Above Image Was Taken, June, 2012
Lake Above Sabino Creek Looking Back From The Dam, June, 2012 — Images by kenne
When the Sabino Creek Dam was built during the 1930’s the resulting lake was 30 feet deep. Over time sediment has been collected behind the dam. The cost of dredging has become prohibited, resulting in a very shallow lake that will dry-up during the desert dry season. The water depth in the December photo was six to twelve inches.
Hopefully, the coming monsoon season will again fill this shallow lake.
This image is almost identical to one on Ann Green’s blog, Sabino Canyon, taken by naturalist Bob Wenwick, which is not surprising since we were on the same nature walk yesterday. Ned Harris probably has an identical image. It was naturalist Fred Heath that spotted the work of the mesquite girdler on the Bluff Trail above Sabino Creek.
This small beetle plays a big role in shaping the landscape, and being new to the desert, this is what I have learned from my naturalist friends — the female beetle chew a deep groove around the diameter of a mesquite stem, and the resulting girdle kills the stem beyond the groove, where she will lay an egg. The larval offspring bore into the dead wood. Thus, this little beetle effectively prunes mesquite trees helping shape the desert landscape — probably more than you ever wanted to know. What else would you expect from a convert!
“In the last years of the century (19th) Tucsonans devised increasingly elaborate schemes for bring the waters of Sabino Creek to Tucson, but none were carried out. Then, in 1901, Sherman M. Woodward, a young professor in the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics at the University of Arizona, formulated a plan so compelling that it would influence events in Sabino Canyon for nearly four decades,” writes David Lazaroff in his 1993 publication, “Sabino Canyon – The Life of a Southwestern Oasis.” It was all about trying to bring water to the booming city of Tucson. During Lazaroff’s talk on Sabino Canyon, to the 2011 SCVN trainees, he shared the history of attempts to dam Sabino Creek, which I have edited into a minute video.
kenne
Naturalists and Trainees Listen To David Lazaroff — Image by kenne
Near the end of last Wednesday’s SCVN Nature Walk, leader Ned Harris lead us over to a marshy area near Sabino Creek where he had seen dragonfly a few days earlier. Since the cooler weather isn’t conducive for dragonfly flight, I wasn’t expecting much. So, not surprisingly, there were only a few dragonflies darting around the small marsh area. I walked out near where one had found a favorite place, which I had notice, in his flight, he kept coming back to the same spot. The top image is the spot, and the lower image is dragonfly in flight — my first ever.
Desert Broom Weed In Sabino Basin Along The Trail To Hutch’s Pool — Image
Beetle On Camphorweed Wildflower — Image by kenne
A Sulphur Butterfly (best guess) on a Camphorweed Wildflower — image by kenne
Honey Bee on Camphorweed Wildflower — Image by kenne
Honey Bee on Camphorweed Wildflower — Image by kenne
Horse Labber Grasshopper — Image by kenne
Horse Labber Grasshopper — Image by kenne
Beetle (not sure about specific type) On Camphorweed Wildflower — Image by kenne
Unknown Spider (to me) On Rock In Sabino Creek — Image by kenne
Trying to name some of these insects and spiders can be a real challenge for this novice naturalist. Input is very welcomed. Most of the images were taken in Sabino Basin near Sabino Creek, November 18, 2011.
kenne
Sabino Creek In Sabino Basin Below Hutch’s Pool — Image by kenne
Images by kenne
Tarantula Hawk In 
