Dangerous Sights and Sounds

Cactus Wren

This is the worst time of the year (rattlesnake season) to daydream while hiking.  A suspicious shape will catch your attention, and for a moment your adrenaline will flow until you realize you're looking at a stick.  Later, while not attending to the here-and-now you may be frozen in your tracks by a rattling sound that makes your think "Rattler!" when, in fact, it's nothing but a cicada in a bush.  These innocent sights and sounds will convince you to pay more attention while trekking in the spring, summer and early fall.

Becca in "kill a fly" mode

Loggerhead Shrike

Spotting an insect?

Launch!

Mesquite Tree just west of Tortugas

Not much of a shade break

Getting going again

The distant Organs

Soaptree Yucca flower stalks

Sometimes a shape will catch your eye and bring you up short

Ocotillos and Yuccas

Catclaw Acacia in bloom

Strawberry Pitaya are blossoming again

A cicada can sound very much like a rattlesnake

About a quarter mile from the trailhead