AZ Nature In Focus

Has anyone else noticed that the lure of travel has gotten much stronger?  That pull of the open road and the freedom of stepping out of my normal life to escape for a little while has only gotten stronger over the past ten months.  Vacation and traveling, in general, allows me to get off the roller coaster of normal daily life and take a break.  A break from responsibilities and demands.  A break from routine that allows me to see the world just a little bit differently.   The holidays are busy times in general and while my family and I might sneak away in past years for a weekend to see holiday lights or experience a festive gathering, this year is very different.   Mentally I knew going into the holiday season that we wouldn't be traveling between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I threw myself into imagining the outside lights that we would now put up to enjoy.  The indoor decorations and the cookies that I would make this year.  And then travel restrictions began to pop up and gue

  I will state right away that I am not a very patient person.  This might sound odd from a nature photographer but in the real world, I don't care for waiting in long lines or sitting in slow-moving traffic.  When I hit the hiking trail with my camera or wander into the wilderness however that all changes.  I wasn't always a photographer but the more I began venturing into nature, the more patient I became.  I learned to slow down to not only appreciate the plants and animals that I was seeing but also to find humor in the little things that I would overlook by rushing down the path. Animals don't tend to appreciate fast movements and tend to shy away from loud noise.  This mama bird in the saguaro made her nest not too far from the ground last spring.  I kept a healthy distance away so as not to stress her and she happily took care of her babies allowing me the honor of observation.  At times animals are just on their way from here to there.  In those moments, I feel exci

When most people think about Arizona they think first about either the Grand Canyon or the desert.  Not bad first thoughts as Arizona does feature a rather large desert and the Grand Canyon is one of this state's most popular tourist attractions.  Today I am going to try to debunk a few popular myths and verify some facts about the state that I have chosen to call home.   Arizona postcard from our Zazzle store by southwestcreations It never rains Never is a bit of an overstatement but I will say that it very rarely rains.  In fact, I can't even remember the last time that it rained in Phoenix.  Probably several months ago at least.  Even during the monsoon season which should be our rainiest time, our rain consists of a downpour of rainwater for a short amount of time before the store quickly moves off.  This past year we had a very dry monsoon and just for kicks, I checked our rain for this year so far.  In 2020 up until today's date of November 20th in Phoenix, we

  When most people think of Arizona they tend to think of desert and cactus.  Southwestern cactus bring to mind long needles and plants that can be admired but steered clear of.  While we do have a huge variety of cacti in our state, cacti are not the only plants to use needles, thorns, or spikes to protect themselves.   Barrel Cactus Pillow Available in Our Store by southwestcreations So why does a cactus plant have needles?  The obvious answer is to protect themselves but why do they need so much protection.  Cacti are made up of a huge amount of water.  The mighty saguaro for example can be caused to topple from too much water.  A cactus will soak up water and store it allowing it to get through our long periods of drought.  Animals seek out water and so a quick meal on a cactus pad can provide needed water for animals.  While the needles keep away some animals, there are others that are very adapted to life in the desert.  Javelina for example will munch on a cactus plant

  Most people who love nature have their favorite haunts around their home.  A place to escape for an hour or two close to home perhaps for a relaxing walk or to regain a few moments of peace.  Recent events have strengthened the pull of nature for me so I carved out a few hours one morning last week for a little time with some friends.  I have a few favorite locations around my home.  I tried my local riparian preserve but so many people had the same idea as I did that it was rather full and the paths were packed with people.  Not exactly my idea of gaining peace in nature so I quickly moved on.  There is a man-made lake not far from the preserve and I decided to head there.  To my delight, it was almost deserted and for most of my visit, I found myself alone with the birds. As I talked about in another post, about the winter birds returning and I was pleased to see a few birds that I have not seen all summer.  The egrets were back in force though there are always a few hardy guys th

  If you are an artist or anyone who tends to spend time in nature, it is likely that you have noticed the often intricate patterns of nature.  From beehives to feathers to tree bark, nature has an artistic flair.  We only need to slow down and take the time to notice.  Even with my camera in hand, I need to often remind myself to slow down and take a look around.  The small details of nature are often some of the most beautiful. This past week, I have been spending more time wandering my neighborhood and have taken notice of the dramatic differences in tree bark patterns.  I am sure that there is a very scientific reason for the vast array of patterns however my ignorance of those reasons doesn't take away from my admiration of their beauty.  This tree trunk almost looks like camouflage to me and in fact, this pattern did a great job of hiding the several small geckos I saw clinging to the trunk.  The curved lines and random color differences caught my eye first. A stark contrast

  I have very recently learned that countries outside the United States also observe Daylight Savings time though they might call it summer time or some other variation or combination of the two.  I have to say that I was surprised and asked for clarification as I thought I heard wrong.  I grew up on the east coast of the United States and never figured out exactly why we needed to change the clocks though I had always done it and didn't give it much thought.  In the fall we turned clocks back to presumably get some daylight in the earlier morning hours but that also meant that it was dark around 5:00 pm for a few weeks.  Spring called for turning the clock ahead, giving up an hour of sleep, and suddenly making it darker in the morning.  I don't know why I never thought about other countries adjusting their clocks.  I guess I just assumed that it was some strange tradition in the U.S. dating back to our more agricultural days.  It was the way things were until I moved to Arizon