White Winged Dove and Ocotillo Blossoms — Images by kenne
Our summer friends have returned from winter in Mexico. These images were taken from just off our patio — welcome back!
— kenne
Archive for the ‘White-winged Dove’ Tag
White Winged Dove and Ocotillo Blossoms 2 comments
White-Winged Dove — Three Photos Leave a comment
White-Winged Dove — Images by kenne
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.
Here’s a link to an early June posting when they were arriving in the area.
https://kenneturner.com/2017/06/07/feasting-on-saguaro-cactus-fruit/
— kenne
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Feasting On Saguaro Cactus Fruit 2 comments
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)
— kenne
White-winged Dove Abstract Art by kenne
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White-winged Dove After The Rain 2 comments
White-winged Dove after the rain — Images by kenne
Outside, I watched her
moving in a nearby tree
after rains ended.
— kenne
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A Summer Morning In Sabino Canyon — A Photo Essay 12 comments
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
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White-winged Dove Abstract Art 1 comment
White-winged Dove Abstract Art by kenne
Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
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A White-Winged Dove Returns to Sabino Canyon 1 comment
A White-Winged Dove Returns to Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Events are always perceived
with reference to a particular
frame. In another system of coordinates,
the same events are not the same.
— Albert Einstein
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A Lonesome Dove 1 comment
A Lonesome Dove — Image by kenne
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.
— kenne
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White Winged Dove 1 comment
White Winged Dove — Image by kenne
a white winged dove
a symbol of my psyche
a life mandala.
— kenne
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“Just Like A White Winged Dove” 5 comments
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”
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A White-winged Dove Enjoys Saguaro Fruit for Lunch 4 comments
White-winged Dove On a Giant Saguaro Cactus — Images by kenne
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Missing Leave a comment
A Pair of White-Winged Doves — Image by kenne
Missing
flying a low line
over my head
the hawk pick-up speed
disappearing
into a grove of trees
flushing a group
of white-winged doves
flying back
over my head
putting distance
between the hawk
somewhere on the ground
below the trees
a feeling
of death lingered in the air
as a lone dove
flew back into the trees
. . . missing.
— kenne
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Staying Cool In Tucson Under My Estes Park Cap 10 comments
Staying Cool In Tucson Under My Estes Park Cap — Image by kenne
mid-day in the desert,
I walk outside
taking a break
watching
the birds drinking
at the fountain
white-winged doves
dart
across the sky.
where are they going,
in their
straight path-line,
I wonder?
I sit
in the shade
of the olive tree
the desert dry heat
an’t bad,
as long as you
are not moving
and have a
iced-cold beer
in hand —
this is what
desert life
is all about!
somehow
these are
peaceful
days.
— kenne
(108 degrees today)
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Peace Struggles 1 comment
Peace Struggles — Image by kenne
Doves of peace struggle
In the branches of terror
Money buying fear.
— kenne
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White Winged Dove On A ‘Nest’ Of Saguaro Buds 4 comments
This White Winged dove stands among a bouquet of Saguaro buds. Image by kenne
Migrating each year
To the Sonoran desert
For cactus nectar.
She awaits blossoms
Soon to open with nectar
In the night darkness.
Nearby cactus bloom,
But she waits among the buds
To open this night.
First serving the bats
She takes her turn each morning
In the warming sun.
— kenne
