After several years of a failed experiment with Envirolet composting toilets, I’ve installed two new ones of an innovative design –– Nature’s Head, a urine-diverting, composting toilet. Already I’m a convert, and elated with the results. Our Nature’s Head composting toilet I’m posting the news … Continue readingTribute to a Toilet
Dale Zimmerman’s new memoir, Turaco Country, has been published, and the advance copies are here! The big smile on Dale’s face says it all! Dale Zimmerman with his advance copy of Turaco Country (Photo by Narca) Turaco Country meticulously illumines Dale’s adventures and ornithological investigations in … Continue reading“Turaco Country” Arrives!
After 20 years, that most excellent of quail –– the Montezuma –– has finally deigned to visit our Roundhouse. Grasses around and above us are now very thick, giving them plenty of protective cover. A pair of Montezuma Quail, venturing onto new ground (All photos … Continue readingThe Grail Quail
Among the delights of living in the southwest borderlands is the opportunity to watch interesting reptiles going about their lives. Western Diamondbacks are the most frequent rattlesnakes to visit our yard –– sometimes to drink, sometimes to battle each other for dominance, sometimes to mate, … Continue readingOpen Wide, Diamondback!
My glimpse of an interesting bird at dusk was confirmed soon after when Dave Jasper called to tell us that he had just seen Rufous-backed Robins by the post office in Portal that morning. Rufous-backed Robin in Arizona Sycamore (Photos by Narca) Normally at home … Continue readingRufous-backed Robins Visit Portal!
Among many highlights of our recent trip to Cambodia and Borneo were treeswifts––the ultimate in avian elegance! Related to swifts and hummingbirds, treeswifts comprise one small family of only four species. For a long time they confounded ornithologists, who placed them with swallows. Even their … Continue readingTreeswifts––Pure Elegance!
Bob Rodgrigues (who owns the property still familiar to some of you as “Jasper’s feeders”), sent this account of the changes to the flow of Cave Creek where it crosses his land, below the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon. In Bob’s words: “I could not … Continue readingPortal after Odile: Bob Rodrigues’ Story
Just a quick update: I don’t have time right now to do justice to the subject. Kevin Warner, the Douglas District Ranger, told a gathering (which filled the Portal Fire Station classroom) that walkers and cyclists can now enter Cave Creek Canyon. Most cars are … Continue readingCommunity Meeting with Forest Service
The Southwest Research Station finds itself in a difficult position, caught between the financial demands of its parent company, the American Museum of Natural History, and the US Forest Service, which is enforcing a road closure that will likely exclude the station’s workers and guests … Continue readingSWRS Survives the Flood, But Can It Survive the Road Closure?
Kevin Warner, the District Ranger for our district, plans to meet with the Portal community on Wednesday at 12:15 PM at the Portal Fire Station classroom. He has a short Powerpoint presentation, and then will answer questions from the community about the road closures and … Continue readingThe State of the Canyon Address on Wednesday