Bird of the Day: Black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata), in the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
These are common birds on my desert walks, in town not so much. This is the season for extravagant display. I often see them in the tops of creosote bushes, or on the tallest boulders on the path, making “come hither” noises. Theirs is the first birdsong I’ve learned since relocating to the desert south. You can hear recordings at Cornell’s All About Birds website.
Desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), in the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
I took Professor Duncan Porter’s course on Systematics of Vascular Plants when I was a student at Virginia Tech. Though this was many many years ago, I still remember the final exam. After all of the technical, objective questions, Dr. Porter asked us to write an essay on our favorite plant family. I wrote about the Malvacaea – the mallows. The group includes the plants that give us many of my favorite things: cotton for bed sheets, hibiscus for Red Zinger tea, marshmallows for marshmallows, my grandmother’s lovely heirloom althea shrub, cacao pods for all things chocolate, okra. I easily filled a few pages in my exam blue book. I didn’t know desert globemallow back then, but I surely add it to my list now. It holds the top spot in my favorite desert wildflowers.
Desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), in the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
I took Professor Duncan Porter’s course on Systematics of Vascular Plants when I was a student at Virginia Tech. Though this was many many years ago, I still remember the final exam. After all of the technical, objective questions, Dr. Porter asked us to write an essay on our favorite plant family. I wrote about the Malvacaea – the mallows. The group includes the plants that give us many of my favorite things: cotton for bed sheets, hibiscus for Red Zinger tea, marshmallows for marshmallows, my grandmother’s lovely heirloom althea shrub, cacao pods for all things chocolate, okra. I easily filled a few pages in my exam blue book. I didn’t know desert globemallow back then, but I surely add it to my list now. It holds the top spot in my favorite desert wildflowers.
Blue dicks (Dichelostemma captatum).
In the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
Blue dicks (Dichelostemma captatum).
In the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
Brittlebush blossoms (Encelia farinosa), in the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
This plant is known as hierba del vaso (“glass grass”) in Spanish – a reference to how easily its stems can be snapped and broken. An older Spanish name is incienso. Spanish friars used resins from the plant to make an incense reminsicent of frankinsence.
Brittlebush blossoms (Encelia farinosa), in the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
This plant is known as hierba del vaso (“glass grass”) in Spanish – a reference to how easily its stems can be snapped and broken. An older Spanish name is incienso. Spanish friars used resins from the plant to make an incense reminsicent of frankinsence.
New growth on buckhorn cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa). In the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
New growth on buckhorn cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa). In the Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
Greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), in the Hedgpeth Hills, Thunderbird Conservation Area, Glendale, Arizona.
During mating seasons roadrunners leave the ground for exposed perches on rocks or open branches of trees, to establish territories and improve visibility to potential mates. Or maybe they just want their pictures taken.
Dithyramb 