Lately I have not been able to include pictures in my blog postings. I am interested in how that discourages me from adding to it. Until I solve the problem I will create word pictures instead.

Let me start with a little walk Dave and I took today at about 8000 feet in the Catalina mountains. When we set out to go hiking together, we had no fixed purpose in mind. The nights have been below freezing for almost a week, but the days have been getting increasingly warm. We could not see any snow on the mountains from the valley, but knew that much of the snow we had on New Year’s day must surely still be in the higher elevations of the mountain range. After driving about 20 miles up the mountain we felt drawn to a little knoll that overlooks the Tucson valley. We parked the car, and gingerly made our way across the verge, covered as it was with ice and snow. There were thousands of footprints in the snow, and signs of sledding trails, including the remains of a sled that had come to a sad end.

We were very careful as we made our way up the snowy slope. On reaching the ridge, we relaxed because we were able to make our way on large patches of bare earth. Eventually we came to an area where we could look out over the entire valley to the Santa Rita mountains, over 50 miles to the south. We enjoyed seeing the mountain ranges that ring the city. We did not need the extra jackets we brought. Instead we took off our warm sweaters, and then our shoes and socks, as if we were sitting at the sea-side. The sky was a clear blue and the sunlight very warm on the patches of bare earth where we sat. It felt like the perfect place to be, comfortable, warm, taking in a magnificent view and enjoying a deep conversation.

About a week ago I was leading a nature walk with a group of seven people in Saguaro National Park East. The high temperature that day was in the forties. There were about a dozen flower species in bloom, though the flowers were very few and far between. The Jojoba and other plants have already started to form flower buds. It won’t be long before the spring flowers start, and given the fact that we have had good December rains, we can expect to see the desert in bloom in a couple of months.

That day we saw three Jack Rabbits (Lepus californicus). In over 30 years in Arizona I have rarely come across them, so it was a special treat, not only to see them, but to get close enough for a few pictures. Originally they were called Jackass Rabbits, because the huge ears were like a jackass. They are not rabbits at all, but hares.  (The Desert cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii, is a rabbit.) At first we saw just one. It seemed to follow us on the trail, so I was able to get some good pictures, particularly fascinated with the sunlight shining pink through its ridiculously long ears. Some distance down the trail we saw two. At first they were scrunched up into the shape of an oversized football, making them very hard to spot. When they saw us they stood up, and began walking away. They did not hop like rabbits, but their gait and size made them look almost like coyotes. I have read that they can go as fast as forty miles an hour.

We are looking forward to some wonderful flower hikes starting in just a few weeks. Until then we gather round the fire-place and enjoy the darker days of winter in Arizona.

On November 26, Ed and I took a leisurely walk in Saguaro National Park East. Even this late in the year there were a number of plants in full and glorious bloom, notably the Paper Flower.

Paper flowers (Psilostrophe cooperi) with a prickly pear in the center.

Our attention was drawn more to the cactuses, especially the dominant cactus of the Sonoran Desert, the Saguaro.  With various losses and new growths, some of them take on amazing forms.

The odd shaped saguaro

The base of the odd fellow. The brown, I believe, is made by termites.

When they have completed their life cycle, they shed their thick green skin, and the mushy interior, to reveal the long, thin wooden ribs that form a skeleton.

The ribs of the skeleton also extend into the arms

Normally a saguaro does not grow arms until it is about sixty years old. We saw a small one (that could have been twenty years old), with a branch, and wondered about it. Perhaps it grew an arm due to an injury. Then we saw a short one with two symmetrical arms at the top, like bunny ears.

The new arm is at the base on the left. What looks like an arm on the right is a small cactus just beyond it.

Our special interest was in the nursery plants that support Saguaros in their very vulnerable early years. For some reason we had not until then, paid much attention to what particular plants provide shade and shelter for the saguaro seedlings. On this short walk we identified six different species, some of which were quite a surprise to us.

Two saguaros nursed by a prickly pear

On the left nursed by creosote, on the right by a cholla

Outgrowing the nurse plant, in this case Mexican crucillo (Condalia warnockii)

A fairly large group under a mesquite tree

One saguaro growing under a Paloverde. Note how the central trunk broke off, and a large arm extends to the right.

Then we came across a semicircle of huge saguaros. Lying at the center of the circle was a fallen Paloverde tree, its branches extending in all directions from the center. The saguaros looked as if they were standing at attention to honor their fallen mother.

Almost as far as the eye could see saguaros towered above the other vegetation. What a remarkable plant. What a rich desert!

About ten days ago Ed and I hiked in Marshall Gulch, just above 8000 feet in elevation. Though it was toward the end of October there was till plenty of color in the maple leaves. I was particularly fascinated with the way in which the leaves that have fallen into the stream distort the normally flat surface of the water. At the right angle the sun reflects off of these depressions creating the effect of having each leaf rimmed with stars.

We passed a fallen tree, and noticed that the cut end of the tree was populated with a number of fungi, in a variety of colors.

I wonder how many different fungi are on this log

The core of another log had evidently been burned out in one of the mountain fires. We found the overlapping scale effect quite interesting.

The inside of this log looks a little like the outside bark of the Alligator Juniper

The temperature has finally dropped a little and walking in the desert is comfortable and rewarding. Ed and I had a pleasant amble in Saguaro National Park East this week and saw more than a dozen plant species in bloom. In addition we enjoyed seeing the remarkable nest of the Cactus wren (ampylorhynchus brunneicapillus, State bird of Arizona), in the densely thorned Jumping Cholla (Cylindropuntia Bigelovii). The nest was at least a foot long, shaped like an elongated football, lying horizontal with an opening at the end.

Ed admiring the Cactus wren nest

The opening is to the left in this picture

We also found a chain-fruit cholla (Cylindropuntia fulgida), with a beautifully formed nest. Ed suggested it might belong to a curve-billed thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre).

This nest is almost in the center of the plant

A Barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizenii) normally forms a single round ball, extending to a long cylinder as it grows, with a crown of flowers, and later fruit at the top. We saw one that had an extra layer, possibly a separate barrel cactus growing on top of it, with fruit.

The double-barrel cactus

Looking down on the fruit of a normal barrel cactus

Hiking in Molino basin, we came across a Mexican blue oak (Quercus oblongifolia) that had fallen some time ago, and was now being cut up. I found the cross-section fascinating. The heart-wood had rotted out, and left an empty center with star-like channels growing toward the bark.

The fallen Mexican blue oak

The growing season is slowing down, but there is still a wealth of beauty to enjoy.