Its the first day of Autumn though at 97 degrees it hardly feels like it here in the Valley. For a taste of true fall weather, head north and take in the views of Arizona's beautiful fall foliage. Check out our new FALL COLOR page! You'll find:
Links to Arizona Fall Foliage Updates
Wheelchair Accessible Fall Hikes
Fall Color Railroad Tours
Fun Fall Events
Fall Native Plants Sales (The best way to attract wildlife to your yard is to landscape with native plants!)
Don't forget, its Bye Bye Buzzards Day this Saturday at Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, and Verde River Days this Saturday and Sunday at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood. Both parks have great wheelchair accessible trails.
For more details on the accessibility of these 2 beautiful state parks, see AccessingArizona.com :
Desert Tortoise poster above is available from AZ Game and Fish in limited quantities.
So maybe they don't fly, but you just can't help but love this great denizen of the desert. On October 1st at McDowell Mountain Regional Park it is the Grand Opening of the Tortoise Habitat along with a Tortoise Adoption Awareness Event. Join other tortoise lovers in celebrating the opening of this beautiful, huge tortoise exhibit and meet Scarlett, Lady, and Lily who will move into their brand new ‘digs’ at McDowell Mountain Park. Due to the many foreclosures and people moving in Phoenix, there are many tortoises in the care of the Phoenix Herpetological Society that need new homes. Find out how you could adopt a tortoise into your family—a lifelong commitment. 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Friday, October 1st at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park Visitor Center. No registration required, park entry fee is $6 per car. For more info Contact: amyford@mail.maricopa.gov 480-471-0173 x201.
On a recent trip to Show Low, Arizona, I was hard pressed to get a good long look at any birds. Most were high overhead flitting from tree top to tree top, steering clear of the big gnarly Ravens.that seem to have taken over the area. I had expected to sit back on my parents porch and blissfully watch Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches and Hummingbirds whizzing by. Instead, I watched huge black Ravens walking around the neighborhood like free-range chickens! It took days to accumulate just a few far-off photos of my wish-list of birds.
Save money on National Park entry fees by getting a free lifetime access pass for citizens with permanent disabilities. The pass covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by four Department of the Interior agencies – the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation, and by the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.
The interagency pass is good at vehicle-based entry sites for all occupants in a single, non-commercial vehicle. At walk-up sites, the pass is good for the pass holder and three adults (total of four adults). There is no charge for children under 16.
Documentation is required to obtain the pass. Acceptable documentation includes: statement by a licensed physician; document issued by a Federal agency such as the Veteran’s Administration, Social Security Disability Income or Supplemental Security Income; or document issued by a State agency such as a vocational rehabilitation agency.
Unfortunately, the Access Pass is not valid at State Parks or local city/county recreation sites.
An Access Pass can be obtained in person from a participating Federal recreation site or office.
Ok, I'm a wimp. I just couldn't stand the heat, so I got out of the kitchen - so to speak. I cut loose and headed north with no set plan. When I reached Payson it still wasn't enough to cool my major meltdown state, so I kept going until I hit Show Low. Ahhh, cool air whistling through the pines, and dark monsoon clouds looming overhead!
My first birding trip was over to Big Springs Environmental Study Area. Its not totally wheelchair accessible, with rough lava rock gravel in the parking lot, you'll certainly need help if using a manual wheelchair, and possibly need a shove or two in a powered wheelchair.
But its just a short trail to get to a wheelchair-friendly viewing platform overlooking a beautiful meadow with a small spring-fed stream trickling nearby. From the viewing platform a small trail leads to a little hidden viewing bench, then on to a bridge with views of the small stream. Nearby snags are home to Acorn Woodpeckers and Stellar Jays. The trail beyond the bridge is not accessible, winds along the meadow, and hooks up with Woodland Lake Park (which has a great paved path all the way around the lake, and an accessible fishing pier!) See Accessing Arizona for a great review of the accessibility of Woodland Lake Park.
Birds commonly seen here, depending on the season, include Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, Northern Oriole, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Western Tanager, Kestrel, Great Horned Owl, Evening Grosbeak, Mallard, Pintail, Red-winged Blackbird, Green-winged Teal, American Coot, American Goldfinch, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Canvasback, Gadwall, Dark-eyed Junco, Acorn Woodpecker, Lewis' Woodpecker, Western Bluebird, Hairy Woodpecker, Stellar's Jay, American Robin, Scrub Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Pygmy Nuthatch.
Big Springs is just off of HWY 260 in Pinetop/Lakeside on Woodland Road. Woodland Lake Park is also in Pinetop/Lakeside off of HWY 260 and Woodland Lake Road.
To see a slideshow of the Big Springs Environmental Study Area, CLICK on the image below.
Okay, maybe not completely, but it has been reduced to a big stinky mud puddle. It blew a bladder last night around 10PM, sending nearly 1 billion gallons down through the Rio Salado. Later today Tempe city officials deflated the remaining 3 bladders that make up the dam, allowing the rest of the water to drain out.
Sadly, the flood has left hundreds of fish, stranded and dying, in 2 or 3 inch deep pools of water. The usual set of birds that hang out on the lake were strangely absent, only a few scavenger birds - Grackles and Doves - remained. So, I ventured to the habitat east of the lake (the Tempe Marsh), and tada!
Cormorants and Egrets huddled together, seemingly befuddled,
likely wondering where in the hell their lake disappeared to.
Cormorants and Egrets crowd together at the Tempe Marsh
riparian habitat upstream from the now empty Tempe Town Lake.
Double-click on image below for an enlarged slide-show.
City officials say the lake will be empty likely until Novemvber. It will then take 2 weeks to re-fill the lake. To see a video of the empty lake, see this YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXHt-APoY4
The overnight low was 95 degrees, and today's forecast is 115 degrees with high humidity. Now is the time that we all begin to question our sanity. Why, why, why on earth do we choose to live in this god-forsaken hellacious inferno? Here is a gentle reminder...
During the winter, when others are dealing with this...
We desert dwellers are out enjoying ourselves, and admiring the snow off on the horizon, not piled up in our driveways.
Its February, and I'm out on the scenic and wheelchair accessible Nursery Tank Trail in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, and yes, that's SNOW on Four Peaks! Nursery Tank Trail is a great trail with panoramic views of the McDowell Mountains, and the Four Peaks Wilderness Area in the Mazatzal (pronounced Mat-a-zel, not Matzaball!) Mountains. The trail ends at a wildlife watering hole (tank) so you'll see a nice variety of birds, and at dusk and dawn possibly a few javelina, deer, coyotes, or cottontail rabbits stopping by for a drink. Many of the mesquite and palo verde trees are loaded with desert mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum) which Phainopepla love to eat. We saw a number of male and female Phainopepla feeding on and nesting in the big dark clumps of mistletoe high in the palo verdes.
We also saw Gila Woodpeckers, White-crowned Sparrows, Abert's Towhees, Gambels Quail, a few Raven, and a kettle or two of Turkey Vultures soaring high overhead. Other birds that frequent this area of high Sonoran Desert are Northern Cardinals, Cactus Wrens, Curve-billed Thrashers, Harris Hawks, American Kestrels, Flickers, Hooded Orioles, Wilsons Warblers, Mockingbirds, Annas and Costas Hummingbirds, and Verdins.
Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens)
The surface of the trail was smooth, wide, and hardpacked. Its 1.2 miles roundtrip, dotted with benches, informational signs, and one shade kiosk. Recent heavy rains had caused a saguaro and a few barrel cactii to become uprooted and topple over. If you go, check the weather ahead of time, as this is a flash flood area. Dust dry desert washes (gullies) can fill quickly and run forcefully enough to carry away entire vehicles!
So, lets try to maintain our sanity for the next 2 months, hope for a good monsoon season, and try not to get cabin fever...
Grandma (a.k.a. Shotgun-Shirley) in a desperate attempt to get to Walmart, holds grandpa at gunpoint so he'll shovel the driveway.
See more photos of Nursery Tank Trail and McDowell Mountain Regional Park by double-clicking on the photo below.
