Archive for the ‘Tanque Verde Wash’ Tag
Turkey in a Mesquite Tree near the Tanque Verde Wash on a Cloudy Day — Image by kenne
Vulture at the Wash
In the mesquite,
a vulture waits above the wash—
morning barely warmed.
A jogger passes,
dust rising around his shoes.
The bird doesn’t move.
Only when the sun
slides one degree higher
does it open its wings,
slow, deliberate—
as if remembering
why it came here at all.
Then it lifts,
a shadow folding
into bright desert air.
— kenne
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Image by kenne
Fly on a Cowpen Daisy
Down by the wash,
a cowpen daisy sways,
a fly pauses—
Ptilodexia, they call it.
It tastes the sun,
turns its head to the wind,
drinks the day
like a man lifting a whiskey
on a long, slow afternoon.
Life here is stubborn,
small as a fly,
big as the sky,
and it doesn’t ask
for anything but time
to do its work.
I watch.
Photograph.
Some days,
that’s enough.
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Saguaro Cactus Down By The Wash — Image by kenne
Gravity Prevails
This old saguaro bends,
arms too heavy for the trunk,
two pressed down to the ground
like crutches that keep it standing.
I know the feeling — knees gone,
back stiff in the mornings,
each step a small negotiation
with the earth below.
They say the cactus has lived
a hundred years, maybe two —
having seen men die younger,
and still it leans,
still it finds a way
to stay upright,
though gravity has claimed
every inch of it.
I used to think
I could resist—
work harder,
drink less,
walk farther,
but the cactus
tells me the truth:
sooner or later,
you bow down.
What matters
is how long you keep
your arms in the air,
catching light,
refusing to be silenced,
before the earth
pulls you all the way down.
— kenne
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Hat Found Near The Wash — Image by kenne
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The Turkey Vulture, Spring Migration North, is Almost Over — Image by kenne
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Dried Weed — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Timeless Moments
There’s a trail down by the wash
Where once new life grew
Providing a new beginning
That has turned into an end.
All manner of things
Shall be well, providing a
Pattern of timeless moments.
— kenne
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Down By The Tanque Verde Wash (Tanuri Ridge) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Whole Lot of Something
I have something to say,
I don’t know why.
It came in a walk
No matter where I walk,
I hear it calling
In a moment
In and out of time
Imposing a pattern in
All that I have been
Hoping for peace
If not peace, clarity
In the place we live
Where there is a
Whole lot of something.
— kenne
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It’s That Turkey Vulture Time of Year — Image by kenne
The number of turkey vultures migrating through Tanure Ridge each day is increasing.
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Turkey Vulture in Flight — Image by kenne
A turkey vulture
Looking for dead animals
Gliding in circles.
— kenne
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Turkey Vulture Down By Wash — Image by kenne
waiting to take off
turkey vulture down by wash
Instinct will say when
— kenne
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Images by kenne (Click on any of the images to see in a slide-show format.)
October is the time of year the Turkey Vultures are migrating south to Mexico, and for years they would overnight near the Tanque Verde Wash.
I have many images of them in the trees near the wash. I planned to photograph again this year but was waiting to see the vultures circling up,
usually around 8:30 AM. By this time in October, we have counted hundreds leaving in the mornings circling above headed south to Mexico.
For days now, I’ve been looking skyward for the circling vultures with no sign of them. Was it climate change delaying the annual migration? Where were the turkey vultures? Maybe I had not been paying attention.
So, this morning I grabbed my camera and walked down to the wash. I had not walked the trails along the wash since before the
summer monsoon. What I discovered was shocking. First, there were no vultures to be seen. Second, almost all the trails had disappeared,
covered by two to three meters of careless-weed (Palmer amaranth). This year’s heavy rains in July and August had brought on
a massive crop of this native weed. I walked through thick weeds, sometimes over my head. When I did find parts of a trail, its
path would soon disappear in the weeds.
Still, I kept walking, trying to find some old markers, especially the Margarita Berg memorial. Margarita had passed away in the spring of 2010, months before we moved to Tanuri Ridge in late June. At the time, I would often spend early mornings
walking the trails near the Tanque Verde wash, and in doing so, I discovered the memorial under a mesquite tree near the wash.
In fact, it was too close to the wash that the tree and the memorial were washed away in the winter of 2019.
However, pieces of the original monument were found and placed at the foot of another mesquite tree much farther north of the wash.
After spending over an hour walking through the weeds, I found the memorial, hidden by all the careless-weeds — a weed worthy of its name.
As for the turkey vultures nowhere to be seen, could all the careless-weed growth of two to three meters cause them to feel their usual perches
are now too close to the ground?
— kenne
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Fence Along the Tanque Verde Wash — Image by kenne
Hat on the fence post
Do not put on any airs
You goddess of gloom.
— kenne
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Giant Reed In The Tanque Verde Wash — Image by kenne
Giant reed is an invasive grass common to riparian areas, streams, and rivers throughout the Southwest.
It thrives in moist soils (moderately saline or freshwater), sand dunes, and wetland areas.
Giant reed forms dense, monocultural stands and often crowds out native vegetation for soil moisture, nutrients, and space.
When dry, it is highly flammable and becomes a fire danger in riparian habitats unaccustomed to sustaining fire.
It uses far more water than native vegetation, thus disturbing the natural flood regime.
Shoots and stems grow rapidly (as much as 4 inches per day during spring), outpacing native plant growth.
Shallow parts of the root system along stream edges are susceptible to undercutting, which contributes to bank
collapse and spreading of reproductive parts downstream. Giant reed grows back quickly following a fire,
thereby increasing its dominance over native riparian species.
I spotted this growth out in the Tanque Verde wash while walking the trail near the wash the other morning.
— kenne
Source: Forest Service
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The Hanging Tree — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Morning walks where dead trees
take on a new life near the trail
by the Tanque Verde wash.
Falling limbs are collected
always searching for a design
transforming life in a new way.
A treasure awaits the hiker
in a state of things recovered
only the eye of the wise can see.
Make the invisible become visible
breaking the pact with the unseen
each day’s magic moment.
— kenne
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Desert Willow Blossoms Along the Tanque Verde Wash Trail — Images by kenne
Walks come earlier
As desert days get hotter
Out of bed by five.
— kenne
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