Sunset, looking across the Ash Canyon ciénega to Miller Peak.
At
9,470 feet (2,886 m), Miller is one of five ultra-prominences in Arizona. The designation of “ultra-prominent peak” is given to mountains that rise 4,900 feet (1,500 m) above their surrounding topography and are topographically isolated from other summits with equal elevation. Miller barely makes the list of ultras in the United States, with a prominence of 5,011 feet (1,527 m) above the San Pedro lowlands.
Wooly butterfly bush (Buddleja marrubiifolia) at the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, Cochise County, Arizona.
Golden boy.
First-year male rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) at Ash Canyon. Rufous are late season visitors to southeastern Arizona. Their arrival signals the beginning of the southward migration, with hundreds of hummingbirds stopping over at the bird sanctuary each day. It is astonishing to see the air alive with so many hummers at once.
Hummingbird happy hour.
Four hummer species sharing a feeder at Ash Canyon. I saw five other species at the bird sanctuary yesterday, but they were drinking elsewhere.
Katydid panorama.
Unidentified nymph at Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, Cochise County, Arizona.
I know exactly how he feels.
Bath time for bushtits.
Wooly senna (Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima), Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Despite its species name, this senna variety is entirely hairless.
Condensation series.
This may seem to be an odd choice of subject, but in the dry air of southeastern Arizona there is usually not a lot of moisture to condense. Then during the few weeks of our monsoon season, hot humid air pushes up from the Gulf of California, bringing rain and enough rare moisture to collect on the side of an iced drink.
New music from Jesse Epstein and Adam Arcuragi.
Dithyramb 