Tea Time

Amanda knows that I love a good cup of tea. Check out this awesome teapot that she made for me at As You Wish! Such a cool gift! The decoration and painting are all her own. I used our front porch flowerbed as a backdrop. The flowers are looking great right now, particularly the dianthus and iris. Would you believe that these iris bulbs came from Home Depot?!

First Ranunculus

It's been almost a full year to the day since Amanda and I took a trip to southern California for her 30th birthday and our 3-year wedding anniversary. While there we visited the beautiful ranunculus fields in Carlsbad. We brought home some bulbs with us and decided to give them a try in the hot Arizona climate. Here are the first blooms!

Name That Bug (It's a Contest!)

4th of July found us up in Flagstaff visiting our friends and escaping the broiling heat of Phoenix. Amanda and I like to think of Flag as our second home after spending so many years in college up there. We'd like to make it our first home, but a quick survey of the real estate market showed that housing prices in Flag are a good 100% markup over Phoenix. We spent Friday with the Ratliff family and got to meet Shane, Ryan and Nessa's parents and extended family, and their new dog, Bentley. Shane's mom put together an amazing restaurant style Mexican dinner that left us all quite satisfied.
On Saturday we took some time out for a nice hike on Schulz Pass Trail (first time on this trail). While not completely isolated in remote wilderness (Schulz Pass Road is a few hundred feet to the side with a steady flow of 4-wheelers) the hike was actually quite beautiful and relaxing. We must have arrived just in time for butterfly season as there were dozens of these guys flitting about. We also found a curious bug (rather, he found us--landed on my shirt). I have no idea what he is, and despite my collection of field identification guides, I never managed to pick up one for insects, just butterflies. This is probably because I'm deathly afraid of spiders, even in print. I've been know to fly out of my seat flipping through AZ Highways when I come across a photo feature on black widows, for example.

Golden Columbine

Golden Columbine

Hoary Comma

Weidemeyer's Admiral

Weidemeyer's Admiral

Weidemeyer's Admiral

Mystery Bug!

So, if any of you out there know a little about bugs, or have a field guide laying around, I invite you to submit your guess as to what he is (besides ugly). The person with the correct ID will win a gift certificate, good towards prints, albums, a portrait session, you name it! So get out there and make friends with your six-legged neighbors!

Hackberry Spring hike

We overnighted at Lost Dutchman State Park in the Superstition Mountains a few weeks ago, and did a nice hike out to Hackberry Spring. It's a moderate hike with little to no people, and spectacular views.

The spring is located at the base of this cliff in the shade of large mesquite trees. The spring itself is a mostly algae-filled basin in the rock with a metal pipe coming out. The water brought in some interesting wildlife, including several thirsty honeybees and some unusual red moss. It is said to be one of the few reliable water sources in this area of the desert. I once hiked out here in 100-degree heat in mid-August and was suprised to find water here even at that time of year.

Amanda discovered these tiny toads all around the spring. I had to pick one up as they were incredibly cool! (and also to show how amazingly small they were). I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure the red warts all over their backs meant they were toxic, so I was careful of course to not lick my hands, and washed up afterward. There were probably 20 or so of these little guys hopping around within 3 square feet!

We also found this brightly colored velvet ant on the way out. I don't anything about velvet ants and was surprised by what I found on Wikipedia. Turns out that they are actually wingless wasps, and they pack quite a punch. I'm glad I didn't pick this one up, thought I didn't really want to anyway: "They are known for their extremely painful sting, the venom of which was jokingly stated to be powerful enough to kill a cow, hence the nickname "cow killers." Additionally, it has been stated cows occasionally would be stung while rolling in the sands of Florida. The resulting sting would fester, allowing the screw-worm fly to enter the wound. This would result in the death of the cow."

Once again a great hike off the beaten path, with many cool sights along the way.

Arboretum at Flagstaff photography

Amanda, Rocher and I headed up to Flagstaff this past Labor Day to escape the Phoenix heat. It took us about 4.5 hours to get there, almost 2 hours longer than normal as the rest of city decided to come with us. But it was definitely worth the effort.

We stopped in at the Arboretum at Flagstaff on Saturday to take in the wildflowers and fresh air. It is one of the highest elevation arboretums in the world, with a short but spectacular growing season. The sunflower maze was my favorite of the gardens this time around.

High Country Raptors was also there to exhibit rehabilitated birds of prey, including a feisty kestrel, barn owl, great-horned owl, Harris hawk, and crested caracara. Amanda and the caracara had a bit of a staring contest, luckily no one was hurt. The birds were beautiful and it was a real treat to observe them so close.

The next day we headed out about 30 miles NW of Flag to the Red Mountain Geologic Area, the remnants of a volcano. Shane, Ryan and Jade (a beautiful Boxer/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix) came along for the hike. While I was taking photos, Jade wanted to follow me up the cinder slopes. She happily trotted ahead of us most of the time, making sure the trail was clear. The hoodoos were fun to explore although a bit treacherous to climb on. You could easily pass two or three hours here just checking things out.

On the way out we were treated with a nice view of the west side of the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.