Temp Cooldown

Colorized prickly pear X

A little cooler this morning, but no wind during our outing.  Dr. K was especially grateful.  Willow and I enjoyed the windless conditions as well.  We followed our regular route, at one point spotting Two-White-Dogs-Lady +1 bushwhacking in the desert northwest of us.  Later, as we were ascending the right branch arroyo we saw the Basset People and their hounds hiking northward along a ridge to the east.

Regulation prickly pear pic

Wils on lead

Our buddy the cactus wren

Our resident Curve-billed Thrasher

 

Blooming Early

All white flowers are from this Faxon Yucca

When Dr. K, Willow and I were descending LDR-A arroyo this morning we spotted a blooming Faxon Yucca at a great distance from us.  We decided to bushwhack over to it to see how far along it was in the flowering process; turned out to be surprisingly bloomed out for this early in the season.  I took a lot of photos of it (as you can see).  We turned around from there, altering our return route to backtrack up the LDR-A arroyo to reach the waiting CR-V.  The 50F start turned out to be colder than we anticipated due to a brisk wind, but we warmed up quickly during the outing.

Willow loves bushwhacking

Organ Mountains, flank of Tortugas at left

A female House Finch

 

Blood Moon Morning

I was up at 4:45 a.m. and ended up taking some photos of the Blood Moon, one of which appears here.  Later Willow and I took our morning hike without Dr. K who had to attend a meeting.  We followed our regular route during which we spotted several people bushwhacking across the desert far northwest of us.  When we returned home after the outing I left for my weekly shopping stint at Albertsons.

This & next:  Spectacle Pod

On break already

Large mass of Prickly Pear Cactus

Mickey Mouse

The lone Soaptree

Last 2:  Black-throated Sparrow

 

Cactus Wren Again

Cactus Wren on our favorite yucca

Just Willow and me on the morning hike today; Dr. K had a meeting to attend.  On the drive to the trailhead we saw the Basset People and their hounds heading east on the south side of Tellbrook Road, but we never spotted them again after that.  There were two people bushwhacking through the desert far to the northwest of us, but I couldn't make out who they were.  It was 49F when we started our hike, but the temperature rose significantly while we were out there; we're supposed to hit 86F this afternoon.  I'm praying for a cool down.

This & next:  Bicolor Fanmustard (Velvety nerisyrenia)

Wils

The rest:  our buddy the Cactus Wren

 

Summery Sunday

A long dirt road

Dr. K, Willow and I took a regular hike following a slightly different route on a warm, springlike morning; no wind to speak of.  We saw the Basset People and their hounds while we were ascending the right branch arroyo; they were descending the long dirt road pictured in image #1, which we had gone down earlier.  After our trek we took a long drive listening to Matt Jones and Myron Medcalf on their Sunday Morning show.

Found an empty container of something we'd never heard of

Noble Willow

This & next:  male Cactus Wren

Last 2:  Say's Phoebe

 

Warm Morn with Wind

Curve-billed Thrasher singing its head off

Windy this morning during our hike, but not excessively chilly, though Dr. K might dispute that; Willow and I thought it felt just fine out there.  We saw the Basset People and their hounds hiking along a ridge east of us while we followed our regular route; Willow was especially interested in watching them.  We took a long drive after the outing while listening to sports talk radio.

Willow eager to go

Favorite yucca

Willow looking in the direction of Basset hounds

Saguaro wannabe barrel cactus

Above the right branch arroyo

 

Wils and Me Redux

Shadowed heart

Dr. K had an appointment this morning so it was Willow and me on the daily trek.  A tad windy out there, but 54F with lots of sun; didn't feel cold at all.  We saw no other nature enthusiasts while we followed the regular route.  Both of us enjoyed the exploration.

Long view of Tortugas and the Organs

Three wise men showing their age

Bare mesquite branches

Wonder dog

Northeast toward the mountains

Gaggle of Soaptrees

Baby teeth