You can’t call them shrinking violets, but they are in full swoon. They’re the flowers on my spaghetti squash plants, and they don’t live long…
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Nature Photography: Omar Comes Back
In the summer of 2007, I began volunteering with Tucson’s Watershed Management Group (WMG). The WMG uses a learning-by-doing approach to solve soil and water resource problems. And I was having one right here at home. After I bought this place in 2004, I started planting a xeriscape. In addition to planting low-water use plants,…
Nature Photography: Budding and Ripening
Earlier in the week, I blogged about the about-to-bud flowers in my squash barrel. Looks like they’ve taken the hint… Over in the pepper pots, it’s ripening time! If memory serves correctly, these peppers are pretty hot. Looks like it’s time to brush up on my salsa-making skills.
Nature Photography: Flowers in the Garden
Nearly two months ago, I seeded my squash barrel. Then it was waiting time. Would any of the seeds sprout? Did they ever! The spaghetti squash plants are growing like crazy, and now they’re flowering. One flower so far, and a bunch of buds that should open in the next few days… Over on the…
Nature Photography: Sprouting Time
One of the most nerve-wracking aspects of gardening is the waiting that comes after seeding. You water, water, and water the bare ground and wonder if anything will sprout. And then it does. The basil was a little sluggish, but here it is, at long last… Okra is also taking its sweet old time about…
Nature Photography: The Sloppiness Continues
Earlier this year, I lamented the sloppiness of my front yard mesquite tree. Has the tree cleaned up its act? Nope. Take a look at what’s all over the branches. Not just spring leaves, but the beginnings of quite a pod crop… And where are all of those yellow fuzzy things going to fall? All…
Nature Photography: A Red Hot Chili Pepper Post
The winter of 2013-14 was a warm one in Tucson, Arizona. To the point that my hot pepper plants survived the brief cold spells of January and February. But for some yellowing in aged leaves that are about to fall off, the pepper plants are in great condition. And they’re producing! I’ve been pleasantly surprised…
Nature Photography: Summer Garden Seeding
With daytime temperatures reaching the nineties, my gardening thoughts are now focused on summer. Time to get the summer seeds planted, starting with okra in this basin. The lattice of branches is there to keep the feral cats out… Can’t get through the summer without basil. Seeds in this pot… Now, a quick check on…
Bicycle Photography: Cyclovia Tucson 2014
This past Sunday dawned bright and sunny. Typical Tucson weather, and it was perfect for a bicycle ride. So, I boarded the Official Bike-tography Bike and joined 20,000 of my best friends on Cyclovia Tucson’s South Side route. This five-mile ride featured a little bit of everything. Kids learning how to ride a two-wheeler. A…
Nature Photography: Seeding the Barrel
The gales of yesterday brought a stranger into town. Its name? Well, it’s called Rain. A real rarity around here. It left a little bit of evidence in my garden… A few minutes after I took this photo, the rain ran away from Tucson. So much for our warm welcome and unforgettable hospitality. In other…
Bicycle Photography: The Art Bike
My “No Gas” photo print has made the bigtime! It’s in today’s “Arts Speak” show at the Tucson Museum of Art. Here are the specs: Archival-quality 19.5” x 29” Giclée print in 38.5” x 29” frame. Which begs the question: How do you transport something that big when you don’t have a car? Meet the…
Bicycle Photography: Old Pueblo Gran FUNdo 2014
Have you been for a ride on The Loop? It’s an off-road path that’s being built around the Tucson valley. The Loop will make it possible for cyclists, walkers, and runners to avoid motorized traffic. This past Sunday, the first-ever Old Pueblo Gran FUNdo took to The Loop. It was a windy morning, no doubt…
Nature Photography: It’s an experiment
Found three uprooted globe mallows during yesterday evening’s walk around the neighborhood. I’m trying to re-root them in a pot… Will they make it? I don’t know. Call this project an experiment.
Nature Photography: Kale Going to Seed
Looks like it’s time to wrap things up on the winter gardening front. My kale is going to seed… This weekend’s forecast calls for big drops of water falling from the sky. That’s what people in wetter climes call R-A-I-N. Looking forward to it!
Nature Photography: Sloppy Mesquite Tree
At this time of the year, my mesquite tree is a bit of a slob. It’s losing its leaves, which means that my yard is full of duff. Here’s what I’m talking about… If the tree limited its duff sharing to the yard, I’d be happy. But no. Duff on the driveway. Duff on the…
Nature Photography: Drip Irrigation
After I did a little hand washing, I put the laundry outside. Where it dripped all over my porch. Which is right next to my thirsty container garden. Time to give three of those cilantro pots a little drip irrigation…
Nature Photography: Jumble Garden
I had the best of intentions last fall. Neat, orderly garden rows. But nothing sprouted. Time for Garden 2.0. Where seeds sprouted wherever I tossed them. Looks like this Jumble Garden thing is working…
Nature Photography: Rain in the Garden
Been in a long-term drought here in Southern Arizona. Thus, scenes like this are always welcome. Especially in the garden…
Nature Photography: Early Blooms
We had one of the warmest Januarys on record. So, Tucson’s plant life responded by blooming early. Here are two eager beaver plants from my yard. First, the aloe… And the feathery senna. How could it pass up a party like this?
Photo Essay: Hard Freeze
Here’s the conclusion to my annual series of “What I Did On My Christmas Vacation” posts. Cold outside! This really was the temperature at the Retallick family home in Westtown, Pennsylvania… Mom’s back from seeing if the newspapers had landed at the end of the driveway. None of them had… Okay, so we can’t read…
Photo Essay: The Soccer Geese
Continuing with my annual series of “What I Did On My Christmas Vacation” posts. Here’s the fourth. There’s a farm down the street from my folks’ house… The farm is part of a private school’s property, and the athletic fields are adjacent to the cornfields. After the geese chow down in the cornfields, they adjourn…