Swallows. Wires.
All along the road to Whitewater Draw there were clusters of swallows on the power lines — mixed flocks of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and bank swallows (Riparia riparia) assembling for their southward migration. I suppose there are a few northern rough-wings too, though I didn’t pick out any individuals in these big flocks, each with about 500 birds. It seems like a fairly ecumenical and welcoming gathering.
And if you need any proof that summer is done, this is it.
Gleeson Cemetery.
I usually only post cemetery pictures on Halloween, but the small graveyard at Gleeson, Arizona is so cheery, and the Arizona sun is so bright, it’s hard to achieve the right spooky atmosphere Halloween shots require.
Prior to territorial settlement Native Americans gathered turquoise here. Copper and silver deposits were found near Gleeson in the 1890s, and the town boomed to about 500 people. Those mines played out by the 1930s. There are still a few people living there, but it has mostly gone to the ghosts.
I’m moved by the offering of beer in the bottom photo. It is such a sweet and personal and considerate gesture. It affirms that the person buried there is still alive in someone’s memory, in a way that flowers and candles do not. When I’m gone by all means bring beer, though I hope you will drink it and just leave empties. I won’t mind.
Good enough.
Sentinel.
This is an old photo of blue grama grass flowering and setting seeds, taken in Flagstaff in September 2014. I was approached in March by the authors and publisher of The Ecology of Plants, who found the photo on tumblr and wanted to include it in a college textbook that was being revised for a new edition. I got a complimentary copy of the book yesterday. I guess this makes me a minor cog in the great mill of the College Textbook Industrial Complex, but it is still a thrill to see my shot featured on the book’s back cover. To all the students who will be shelling out to buy it, I’m sorry, and You’re welcome.
Blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis) at Buffalo Park, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Untitled.
Ménage à trois.
Giant mesquite bugs
(Thasus neocalifornicus) at San Pedro House, Cochise County, Arizona.
Waterlily.
Reticule.
Most of the willows in Garden Wash were covered with these lacy coccoons, each supported by a tangle of willow leaves. I think they are housing the pupae of geometer moths. Arizona does infestation remarkably well. There were thousands of these in the trees.
Grass again.
Dithyramb 