In shoulder season or on mild days in winter I hike in the windswept hills. In exposed spots I often find lone standing snags and wind-shaped trees. On this clear fall day I hiked off-trail through the hills in the … Continue reading →
Just before the onset of Covid-19, we were in the Phoenix area to hike and our last planned hike was up Siphon Draw to the Flatiron in the Superstition Mountains. This was one of the best hikes in 2020. In … Continue reading →
On the road from Tuscon to Saguaro National Park (West), the Sonora Desert Museum is a must-see stop. On the 98 acre grounds is an extensive botanical garden which we toured after hiking in the desert hills. A few photos … Continue reading →
One of our favorite hikes of 2020 was a hike up Pima Canyon in the Santa Catalina Range outside of Tuscon, Arizona. It was a mid-March date and a sunny, warm day. Spring run-off in the dry, rocky canyon provided … Continue reading →
We hiked the Sonoran Desert canyons and ridges in March and enjoyed the warm, dry weather and the burst of wildflowers along the trails. Insects were busy on blooms and the camera was also well-used capturing a few images of … Continue reading →
Lance-leaved stonecrop (sedum lanceolatum) is a succulent perennial which grows in dry, open, rocky locations, especially on south-facing slopes. Lance-shaped alternate leaves cluster around the base. Clustered flowers are bright yellow and the petals are also lance-shaped. Sedums grow … Continue reading →
We have a lot of herbs growing in the vegetable bed and in borders. Some has been planted and replanted. Some reseeds and needs controlling, but in general we like to have flowering herbs and herbs that we can harvest. … Continue reading →
At various times over the spring and summer I ventured out into the garden to take photos of flowers in bloom, a few of which are shared here: Although we do not seed or cultivate mallow, it may seed and … Continue reading →
Near the end of June, I walked the home garden and took some photos of flowering trees, shrubs, and perennials, a few of which are shared here now. A well-established mock orange (philadelphus coronarius) was covered in sweet-smelling flowers. This … Continue reading →
During a hike along a high south-facing moist to dry (spring to summer) open slope, we came across a large number of naked broomrape (orobanche uniflora) in bloom. It is a parasitic perennial (mostly on stonecrop). The stems were short … Continue reading →
We were fortunate to be out hiking on a route that had a good clump of pinedrops (pterospora andomedea) in bloom just off the trail. This perennial grows up to 100 cm, but these ones were about 40 to 60 … Continue reading →
In mid-October we hiked to the top of Zoa Peak in the Coquihalla Summit area on a warm fall day. The trailhead area was busy with Trans Mountain Pipeline work as we started out, hiking along the original pipeline track … Continue reading →
