AZ Nature In Focus

The pull of the ever-present technology of life is strong.  It has woven itself into so many components of my life which is not necessarily a bad thing however it can become overwhelming at times.  I recently took a vacation and decided to go almost technology free for the duration of the holiday and a few days before and after my trip.  The end result was almost two full weeks of virtually zero technology.  I will say that I don't consider my camera to be technology as he is more like a close friend and I would be hard-pressed to go very long without taking a photo of something that catches my eye.  Vacations are a little easier to get away from technology as the demands of work and your normal life are not present however the first few days were very difficult.   My main goals were to  do nothing work-related,  not read a bit of news, stay 100% off all social media and email, and use none of the apps that I use on an almost daily basis.  Those apps that show you daily streaks and

Last weekend, I was looking through my collection of sea glass and I offered a few suggestions about what to look for and where to collect in my last blog post.  Today, I would like to share a few finds that are a little less common and thrilling when found well tumbled on the shore.   These two were among my first finds on South Padre Island in Texas and began my hunt for sparkling treasures any time I find myself along a coast.  The blue is fairly rare and likely from an old Noxzema container, V icks bottle, or other medication or poison that has not been packaged in cobalt blue glass for a long time.  I have a few cobalt blue pieces but not many.  The knob is slightly bowed underneath so I would think the lid to pottery jar or jug.  Both are exceptionally s mooth and well tumbled.  Both likely churning in the ocean for 50 years or more. At times I will find glass with writing, patterns, or the spirals of the neck of a bottle which are always fun to try to identify.   The spiral pi

I was recently "organizing" my collection of sea glass which basically means that I was taking time to explore and admire my collection.  I began collecting sea glass many years ago when on South Padre Island in Texas and I found a piece of beach glass and pottery at the waterline.  I didn't even realize that pottery or glass became so weathered and smoothed by the ocean until that point and I was hooked.  On my many trips to a beach point since my first find, I am on the lookout for the gleaming piece of glass lying in the sand. After I began looking for glass, I would find one or two pieces on most trips to Southern California but on my last trip to the Monterey Bay area of California, I brought home almost four pounds of glass.   Most of my finds were common glass colors of green, white, and brown but there were several rarer finds of blue, milk glass, or pieces that have clearly been tumbling for close to 100 years.   If you are interested in finding or collecting sea

  The grackle is one of the larger birds that I see frequenting my backyard.  They do not tend to go to the feeder thankfully as I imagine that they would make quite a mess.  They will, however, peck in the grass and on occasion eat the jujube fruit dropped by the sparrows.  As I explained in an earlier post , the sparrows seem playful and happy in their fruit feast.  The grackles however become very territorial and if they find a fruit that they claim as their own, they will continue picking it up and flying here and there until they feel they are safe from thieves and then very quickly eat.   I will admit that the grackle was one of my most disliked birds in Arizona until my daughter began pointing out all the interesting things about this bird.  My dislike stemmed from a large ficus tree that we had in the backyard of a former home.  The grackles would nest in the tree in the evening and would make so much noise that I would need to close the door while having dinner just to hold a

  Life Among the Saguaro Cactus Last week, I shared my enthusiasm for the mighty saguaro cactus that towers over the Arizona desert.  As I was organizing photos I came across several that reminded me of the varied life that not only survives but thrives among the cactus needles.  During the early spring and well into the hot summer, a wide variety of birds can be seen making their nest in the many holes of the cactus.  The Gila woodpecker will peck away at the flesh and carve out an ample opening for their nest and then year after year a variety of birds claim these cavities as their temporary home.   These entrances are typically high in the air and are well guarded by the parent.  As you can see in the photo above, as the birds come in and out the needles can be worn away and the area directly around the entrance may be void of those prickly needles. At times, a rather large area of a saguaro has been carved away and doves tend to prefer these areas for their home.  They are protect

 Saguaro Cactus Towering Desert Giant Did you know that the saguaro cactus grows only in certain parts of Arizona, Mexico, and California?  I became instantly enthused with the saguaro cactus when I moved to Arizona 16 years ago.  In fact, my enthusiasm has become something of a household joke as my family is so accustomed to seeing saguaro cacti in our daily lives.  Neighbors have the towering saguaro standing like sentinels in the front yards though in reality, the cactus was likely there long before the home was built. Protected Desert Plant Saguaro cacti can live a very long time.  Over 150 years old is not at all uncommon and the arms you see growing out from the cactus usually don't start to appear until the cactus is 75-100 years old.  Like all cactus plants, they grow very slowly and are not easily replaced when one is lost.  They are actually a protected plant species in Arizona.  When a new road is being put in or a housing development starts wandering into what once was

Uses For Jujubes - Red Dates  Last week, I talked about the hungry sparrows feasting among my jujube trees.  Apparently many have not heard of a jujube or red date before and are curious what to do with them besides just eating them from the tree.  Just to recap in case you have not read my previous post, when mostly yellowish in color they taste a little like a dry apple.  They get sweeter as they turn a reddish color and as they turn completely red and start to wrinkle slightly, they are closer to a raisin or a date.   No matter how you eat them, don't forget that there is a pit in the center.  I find that cutting them close to the pit around each side is the easiest way to rid the fruit of the pit. The Varied Uses of Jujubes The light green to yellow jujubes are easily shredded and used any time apples are called for.  I have used them in breads, muffins, and mixed with pear or apples for a fruit crisp when shredded right from the tree.   I have mixed them in pancake batter in