Lynn Amber - Travel & Photography
sharing my thoughts through words and images
Photo of the Day: 4.27.20
We moved over to New Mexico yesterday to a dispersed camping area in the Gila National Forest. The Continental Divide Trail runs right through here and we embarked on a short hike along part of the trail today. The terrain is soooo very different from the high-desert grassland in Arizona!! We have scrub oak, alligator juniper and pinyon pine surrounding our campsite. The diversity of plant material along the trail was remarkable compared to our previous location!
The CDT was very well marked and we noticed some folks had left snacks for thru-hikers and water at the trailheads. We came upon one young gentleman who was a section hiker – doing most of the sections in New Mexico. He had started at the Mexican border and was hiking north. It was fun to talk with him. He was definitely in the mood to converse and tell his story. He was of Puerto Rican descent from New York City and remarked that the Border Control police kept bothering him since he started from the border. He was baffled by this to an extent – why they would mistake him for Mexican! He recounted to us some very serious reasons why he was out hiking on his own at this point in time and we listened without judgement. He chose nature and solitude to work through some trying times and, in many ways, I think it is just what he needs. He shared with us some of his musings along the way as well. It was interesting to hear what his thought processes were as he hiked. We wished him luck in his journey as we parted. I noticed he was carrying a SPOT GPS tracking device and told him I was glad he was carrying it. Good that he was keeping people notified of his location!! He gave us his trail name and the name of a YouTube channel he was going to post. I’m curious to look this up at some point and see how he made out on the rest of his hike.
Images along the Trail:
Photo of the Day: 4.26.20
Our last night on the Cienegas I set up the tripod to get some evening shots. The sun was positively glowing as it set in the western sky. I waited for some stars to appear before I called it a night.
Photo of the Day: 4.25.20
Mesquite Green
Mesquite awakens
As the days grow long and hot
Painting the land green. —–Lynn Amber
Our time here on the Cienegas is about to end just at the time of year when the mesquite are coming out in leaf and flower. It’s so nice to see this bright green color subtly emerging across the grassland. I will always remember our stay here as our “shelter-in-place” home away from home during this most difficult of times. Las Cienegas, I will be back!!
Photo of the Day: 4.23.20
On our way out this morning to fill our fresh water tank and dump our other tanks, we came upon some pronghorns along the Empire Ranch Road. Usually, they are much further away in the grassland making a photograph impossible. Jim stopped the truck so I could scramble out for a quick shot. They were not as skittish as usual and I was able to get some shots. I still had to crop the photo significantly but happy to have finally captured them on “film.”
Photo of the Day 4.22.20
Happy Earth Day!! My Earth Day morning started with a walk towards Cottonwood Pond. Along the way, I found some new discoveries! The prickly poppies are starting to bloom. I believe this one is Argemone platyceras – the one more commonly found in the Sonoran Desert region. The prickly poppy genus is found throughout the United States and all parts contain alkaloids that are poisonous. Apparently, even cattle will not touch it! The last time I saw this plant in bloom was in Big Bend NP in Texas several years ago.
My other discovery of importance is the red-orange Mariposa lily now blooming on the bank along the road leading to the pond. It’s the first one I’ve seen that is not exhibiting the yellow color variation. When I started looking deeper into this species I found that the yellow variety is known as Calochortus kennedyi var. munzii and the red/orange variety is Calochortus kennedyi Porter or Calochortus kennedyi Porter var. kennedyi. I’ve been using several websites to verify botanical names and identifications. Below are a few that I’m recording here for my benefit as well as yours if you are interested! 🙂
USDA Plants Database: https://plants.usda.gov/
Flora of North America: www.efloras.org
Integrarted Taxonomic Information System: https://www.itis.gov
Encyclopedia of Life: https://eol.org/ – hosted by the National Museum of Natural History
DesertUSA: https://www.desertusa.com
SEInet: http://swbiodiversity.org/
On my way back, I decided to walk up the wash that leads to the backside of our campsite. This tiny little lupine was blooming.
The wash is an interesting ecosystem. I noticed coyote tracks and scat mixed in with the cattle prints as I walked. The coyote are very vocal in the early evening as the sun is setting. I can just picture them prowling the wash stealthily looking for prey!
This was the first morning that I did not make it all the way to the pond to check out my feathered friends. The last time I was there, I saw a Bullock’s Oriole and I was hoping to catch another glimpse of him. Just before reaching the pond, there were three VERY LARGE bulls lounging right in the road – one with some serious horns. I was not inclined to walk past them!! I waited from a distance hoping they would move off into the grass but they were not accommodating me. So, I detoured back home through the wash 🙂
Photo of the Day 4.21.20
On a recent bike ride I got very excited to see this yellow flower carpeting the desert floor! 🙂 It’s a dandelion – but oh so pretty!! There has been so little in the way of flowering plants here this spring that even this “weedy” plant has merit!!
Photo of the Day 4.20.20
I’ve made a few new friends here on the ranch. The birds that frequent Cottonwood Pond have become very familiar with me. The Western Kingbird is ever present – perching on Mesquite branches surrounding the pond and occasionally on the shrubby vegetation along the shore. I love watching them take off and hover in the air – catching insects, I presume – and then, returning to perch.
I’ve been trying to learn more bird songs and calls as well as identifying my feathered friends by their markings. I feel challenged but it’s so rewarding! I have a mobile app supported by the National Audubon Society that I use as a reference and it has been very helpful in conjunction with a Southwestern guide book. The mobile app has bird calls and songs that I can listen to while in the field. So much fun!
The National Audubon Society has a nice, short list of key attributes to pay attention to when trying to identify an unfamiliar bird. (And, many are unfamiliar to me unless it’s the obvious Robin, Bluebird, Cardinal, etc!! You get the point!)
The Cornell Lab also has a short guide on how to start building your skills as a birder. They list 4 key areas to focus on for visual identification with links from each to a detailed discussion of the skill. They also offer online courses.
Some other birds I commonly see at the Cottonwood Pond include: Red-winged Blackbirds, Wilson’s Warbler, Vermillion Flycatcher, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Western Meadowlark, Chipping Sparrow, Great Egret, Phainopepla, and Red-tailed Hawks. Of course, ravens are also abundant.
Photo of the Day 4.19.20
Signage in this area of Southern Arizona is unique. The ironwork is amazing and very intricate at times. I’m not sure who the artist is – or maybe it is multiple artists – but I love the detail and also the simplicity. The gate above is located at the Empire Ranch historic site and marks the entrance to a short trail that travels through the Empire Gulch.
Yesterday, we embarked on a road trip because the wind was pretty intense to the point there were red flag warnings in effect. We made a big loop traveling through the bohemian town of Patagonia, skirting around Nogales and heading north to Green Valley. At this point, we veered off I-19 and headed towards the mountains. We made a quick drive-by through the Madera Canyon area. Although beautiful, it was so crowded that we just drove to the end of the road and returned back to take the Box Canyon Road to Rt. 83. This route ended up being 14 miles of dirt road through a pretty cool canyon. There is about 6 miles of single-land road with no guard rails – that was interesting – especially when there was traffic coming in the opposite direction. We shared the road that day with dirt bikes, ATV’s, pick-up trucks and cars – and a few cattle!
A road sign was posted as we started on the dirt road indicating that the road was impassable for tractor-trailers for the next 5 miles. But then we came to THIS additional sign. So, I guess if you were driving a tractor-trailer and ignored the first sign – this was your final warning!? There was literally no where you could possibly turn a tractor-trailer around here!! Too funny!!
There was a cool, old ranch sign along the road that I just had to photograph. At the top, the words “Hacienda Al Paso” caught my eye. I’m guessing it loosely translates to “Ranch at the Pass.”
It was hard to capture a photograph of the canyon with so many twists and turns of the road, plus much of it was single-lane. It was hard to find a spot to pull over so we were not blocking the road. You can get an idea of the passage from this shot.
Photo of the Day 4.18.20
Cottonwood Pond
Mourning doves cooing
Red-tailed Hawks guarding their nest
Mesquite wind silent.
The incessant wind we have been experiencing over the past several days reminds me of my quiet morning walk earlier in the week! On that particular morning, the wind was silent. An anomaly here in the grassland! The doves were vocal as I neared the pond and the hawks were hanging by their nest in the cottonwood trees. I wrestled with a haiku composition as I walked, settling upon the version above.
I’m posting a photo from several days ago as I don’t anticipate fighting the wind today!! Although, Jim came back from his morning walk in the wash and exclaimed that I had to bring my camera down and take pictures of the Mariposa Lilies he saw – sooooooo……maybe the camera will get some action today! 🙂
Photo of the Day 4.17.20
Today we ventured over to another part of the conservation area that borders Arizona state fish and game lands. We hiked a dirt road through the grasslands that rose up into the foothills of the Mustang Mountains. (I love that name!) Once we started up the road, it was amazing to spot a great variety of wildflowers growing among the grasses. This blue/purple flower really stood out with its deep blue color and dark green leaves. Since it is not listed in the two print plant references I have, it took some online work to figure out the species. I believe I’ve got the identification down correctly. It’s a member of the Phlox family and this plant is common in grassland environments.
One of the websites that I’ve found useful (among others) is the Plants of the West and Southwest. Of course, another great site is the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s plant database. I’ve still much to learn as I get familiar with the plants growing here in the southwest. It’s a lot of fun to investigate these new plants (to me) and keeps me out of trouble! 🙂
