Just like the white-winged dove Sings a song, sounds like she’s singing Ooh, ooh, ooh Just like the white-winged dove Sings a song, sounds like she’s singing Ooh, baby, ooh, said ooh
And the days go by, like a strand in the wind In the web that is my own, I begin again Said to my friend, baby (everything stopped) Nothin’ else mattered
He was no more than a baby then Well, he seemed broken-hearted Something within him But the moment that I first laid Eyes on him, all alone On the edge of seventeen
Just like the white-winged dove Sings a song, sounds like she’s singing I said ooh, baby, ooh, said ooh Just like the white-winged dove Sings a song, sounds like she’s singing I said ooh, baby, ooh, said ooh
“The Early Bird Gets the Nectar” (White-winged Dove on Saguaro Cactus Buds) — Image by kenne
In April, the budding of saguaros is followed by the return of white-winged doves from Mexico who love the nectar in the saguaro blossoms. This image captures a white-winged dove atop buds soon to blossom — another take on “The early bird gets the worm.”
“I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
The white-winged doves spend their summers here in southern Arizona. There are signs they are beginning to migrate south for the remainder of the year.
Each spring the white-winged doves return from wintering in Mexico and the air is filled with their mating calls. The hoots and coos are so common they sometimes drown out the sounds of other birds.
The return of the white-winged doves plays a very important role in the life cycle of the saguaro cactus. When saguaros flower, white-winged doves move from flower to flower, sipping nectar and pollinating the plant.
Once the flowers become fruit, the doves have a new food source. The sweet fruit is filled with thousands of tiny seeds, which pass unharmed through the digestive system of the dove. If seeds are passed while the dove is perched on a tree or bush, that tree or bush might become a nurse plant to the growing saguaro. Such a plant protects the young saguaro from extreme weather and animals and greatly increases its chances of survival.
For the Tohono O’odham, the saguaro cactus and its fruit (bahidaj) is a very important part of their heritage. The towering saguaro cactus provides both physical and spiritual sustenance for the people. With temperatures now over 100 degrees, the bahidaj is now ripening and being harvested by the Tohono O’odham. (Images by kenne)
This time of year if you are going to spend time in Sabino Canyon, it needs to be early in the morning. It doesn’t take long before the temperature can be in the triple digits — yes, this is Tucson, Arizona.
For a lot of us who love spending time outdoors and hiking, this time of year most of our time is spent up on Mt. Lemmon. Couple that with my trying to spend more time with Joy, except for checking the mail and an occasional meeting, I haven’t been in the canyon lately.
So, this morning after a little jog in the neighborhood, I headed over to Sabino Canyon where I went on an hour and a half hike in and effort to relieve my guilt.
We are still early in the desert monsoon season, so signs of the heat and dry air are everywhere. (Barrel cactus)
Sabino creek is dry . . .
. . . and the area above the dam looks like a beach.
Down stream from the dam rocks minis water flowing over and around them have taken on different colors.
Even so, there is still plenty of live in the canyon, here two squirrels are cooling themselves in the shade at the creek dam.
Here a busy ground squirrel checking me out before retreating into his cool den.
A late-blooming Saguaro can occasionally be found.
Desert Marigolds . . .
. . . attracting butterflies.
A gall produced by flies that inhabit creosote bushes.
An ocotillo leafed out from an early July rain.
Another ocotillo surrounded by prickly pear cactus whose fruit is beginning to turn red.
Prickly pear fruit.
Still, often under austere conditions, life goes on. (White–winged Dove)
The harshness of this land causes many to see the Sonoran desert to be a wasteland.
Those who have experienced the beauty of this amazing desert know it is not, but if left unprotected, it can become a man-made wasteland.
— kenne
Among all the geographic areas of the United States, the Southwest in general
and Arizona in particular is blessed with a panoramic beauty that almost defies description.
Only a limited number of poets, painters, and photographers
have been able to do justice to her splendor.
— Marshall Trimble, Arizona: A Panoramic History of a Frontier State, 1977
Each spring a pair of
white-winged doves
return to our patio area
and each year I welcome
the morning cooing calls,
sometimes on the front
courtyard wall as I leave
to go hiking or a morning run.
Later in the day,
always near sunset,
I see them at the patio fountain
for an end of day watering —
they may not know it
but we have become close friends
over the five years
we have called Tucson our home.
The other day as I returned from
an early morning run
I noticed a dove
on the street circle grassy area
face down
tail feather pointed up,
almost instinctively
I began to look around —
there on the courtyard wall
was a lone dove
looking toward the circle.
Later that morning I saw him
in a mesquite tree near the circle —
and for days now I see
him as if without looking.
Slowly I have accepted
that my friend
has lost a friend.
Now only one dove
visits the fountain at sunset.
I have begun to noticed
morning cooing again,
maybe, just maybe my friend
will find a new friend.
White winged doves plays an important role in the life-cycle of saguaro cactus, loving the nectar of the the saguaro flower.
Here, this white winged dove appears to be patiently waiting for the buds to open. — Image by kenne
“Just like the white winged dove Sings a song Sounds like she’s singin’ Whoo-whoo-whoo Just like the white winged dove Sings a song Sounds like she’s singin’ Whoo, baby, whoo Said, whoo”
White-winged Dove — Image by kenne
White Winged Dove and Ocotillo Blossoms — Images by kenne
White-Winged Dove — Images by kenne
Once the flowers become fruit, the doves have a new food source. The sweet fruit is filled with thousands of tiny seeds, which pass unharmed through the digestive system of the dove. If seeds are passed while the dove is perched on a tree or bush, that tree or bush might become a nurse plant to the growing saguaro. Such a plant protects the young saguaro from extreme weather and animals and greatly increases its chances of survival.
For the Tohono O’odham, the saguaro cactus and its fruit (bahidaj) is a very important part of their 
White-winged Dove Abstract Art by kenne
White-winged Dove Abstract Art by kenne
White-winged Dove On a Giant Saguaro Cactus — Images by kenne
A Pair of White-Winged Doves — Image by kenne
![Youlgreave [Flickr Explore 25 Jul 2021]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51333729747_c2c1214532_s.jpg "Youlgreave [Flickr Explore 25 Jul 2021]")
