On Monday, the Forest Service plans to institute a ‘hard’ closure of Cave Creek Canyon, meaning no entry by any means, including foot, except to canyon residents. The closure will most likely last for months. Thus, tomorrow is the last day when people can enter … Continue reading‘Hard’ Closure Coming to Cave Creek Canyon
This year, again, Alan and I joined the national ritual of Christmas Bird Counts, once more participating in the back-to-back counts for Portal, Arizona, and the Peloncillo Mountains, New Mexico. The weather couldn’t have been finer, with temperatures rising into the high 60s and low … Continue readingCelebrating Our Local CBCs
Yesterday the Horseshoe Fire was inordinately well-behaved: I saw no smoke! The fire crews report that the fire continues to back into the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon in the vicinity of the trailhead, although you can see by comparing today’s fire map with … Continue readingSuppression in South Fork
The El Niño storms of winter soaked the desert southwest, and now we’re seeing the results: native Mexican Gold Poppies cloak the lower slopes of the Chiricahuas and Peloncillos, and flood the San Simon Valley in a golden tide. Mexican Gold Poppies I’m off … Continue readingBring on the Poppies!
Ciénaga: cien aguas, one hundred waters. A jewel of a cienaga, among New Mexico’s finest, may be found on one of the big private ranches in the Animas Valley. The cienaga’s waters originate in the Peloncillo Mountains just to the west and flow underground through the … Continue readingCiénaga
A year ago on the Atascosa Highlands Christmas Bird Count south of Tucson, Alan and I encountered a little Whiskered Screech-Owl at its day roost. The owlet perched at the entrance to its roost cavity, comfortably soaking up the sunshine on that wintry day. A … Continue readingWhiskered Screech-Owl