EL TIRADITO WISHING SHRINE

The Wishing Shrine is a place where Tucsonans take their grief and broken hearts.  Candles are lit, pictures and mementos are left, and small notes with messages are stuffed into the worn mortar around the adobe bricks in what is left of an historic adobe home in the historic Barrio neighborhood.

Friend Carrie and I took wishes to place in the Shrine today due to the result of the US Presidential election. 

TUCSON MEET YOURSELF

This past weekend was the 43rd annual Tucson Meet Yourself event that features the cultural, gastronomic, and artistic diversity of Tucson, Arizona.  

I have never been to an event quite like this.  It is not the typical street fair.  It featured representative foods, music, art, crafts from this multi-dimensional and transcultural community.  I learned so much!

I heard fabulous Latino music, heard speakers on foraging native Sonoran desert and mountain foods, watched Asian artisans demonstrate their skills, and sampled some local cuisine.

This festival featured why Tucson is the only US city to be named one of UNESCO's Creative Cities of Gastronomy!

HIKING IN SEDONA, ARIZONA

 

 

We arrived in Sedona during a midday thunderstorm.

 

Our evening stroll along the Centennial Trail allowed us to see the views more clearly and the rocks were bright from the summer downpour.

 

Our hike the next morning into Fay Canyon was full of iconic Sedona views and observations of tons of Anna's and Rufous hummingbirds feeding on the prolific beardlip penstemon (Penstemon barbatus ) and scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregate) blooms.

 

After a steep climb, we reached the small cliff dwellings at Palatki Heritage Site just outside Sedona where the Sinagua people lived over a period of 175 years.

 

 



 

Pictographs at the site represent all the native cultures that once lived in the Arizona Verde Valley.

 

 



QUEEN BUTTERFLY METAMORPHOSIS COMPLETE

This is how the chrysalis looked at 6:30 this morning.  It is the very dark pod-like shape in the middle of the photo. The chrysalis had turned black over night. (See previous post from 6.24.16 on the early stage of the chrysalis, when it was celadon green in color.)

I returned a little after 8am and found the Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) hanging on the desert milkweed (Asclepias subulata) just outside the broken through translucent chrysalis.

About every 30 minutes the butterfly opened its wings.  And, then closed them quickly!  This is the one photo I was able to get.

Butterfly is climbing up the branch.  She sat on the plant until about 12:30pm and then just took off. 

I found the caterpillar in a J shape, hanging from the milkweed stem in the evening of June 23.  The next morning hung the completed chrysalis in the same location.  The butterfly emerged July 1st for about eight days of metamorphosis.

Different plants are used by different kinds of butterflies for the metamorphosis. Please consider planting native plants in your yard that are used by butterflies in your ecosystem. 

DESERT MILKWEED HOSTS QUEEN BUTTERFLY CHRYSALIS

 

 

 

This beautiful caterpillar last night tucked itself and hung from a Desert Milkweed stem and this morning . . .

 



 

 .  .  . I found this chrysalis!  The chrysalis is right in the middle of the photo.  The orange tint is coming from within the chrysalis.  Notice how the chrysalis mimics the milkweed pods and the color of the plant itself.  It is absolutely beautiful! 

 

I found four small caterpillars on the plant on June 19th. They grew quickly as they ate constantly up and down the milkweed stems and flowers.  Yesterday evening only one remained and had started its transformation.

 

Find out what the native milkweed is for your area and plant one.  The butterfly lays its eggs on the milkweed and the newly hatched caterpillars eat the leaves along the stems.  So do not be alarmed if your plant looks a bit bare!  The leaves will come back and the milkweed will not be harmed.  And, you may be fortunate to have the complete metamorphosis!





ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD ON HER NEST!

This beautiful Anna's Hummingbird built her nest in a hanging sculpture on our next door neighbor's back covered patio.  You can see the red spots (faint in the shade) on her throat that identify her as an Anna's. 

I saw the hummer chasing off a Curve-billed Thrasher from the yard.  I guessed she had a nest nearby.  Then I saw her fly to the nest. 

My neighbors are gone for the summer so the hummingbirds will have their privacy.  But, I will keep watch for any Thrashers harassing her.

In fact, there is another nest in this sculpture from last year that is a little worn. Perhaps it is hers or her mother's.  I saw her fly and settle in the old nest, then she moved to her new nest when she realized she was in the wrong spot!

GILA NATIONAL FOREST NEW MEXICO PLANT WALK

Ethno-botanist Dr. Richard Felger led an interesting plant walk on 5.15.16 for the Silver City Native Plant Society. 

Look closely for the newly hatched horned lizard we came upon sunning on a rock face.

A view of the Gila National Forest, just north of Silver Springs, New Mexico.