Rainy day patterns

We've had a couple of rainy days this September. Not nearly enough, though all it takes is one good rain to set the stage for pictures. And to answer your question, yes, that is Granite Mountain in the background.

Between the camera and the porch railing: above, glass, and below, screen. I especially like the rivulets that formed on the screen.

There is a hint of Granite Mountain beyond the screen (above). For some reason, the rain drops on the screen below appear to be opaque white dots.

And here are more rain drops, in this case on the glass door. For the record, I certainly hope that our current El Nino brings us a wet enough winter to make up for some of this year's drought.

Mr. Civic Graffiti Guy

Meet Mr. Civic Graffiti Guy in person. He's the fellow who wields that cool, long gizmo loaded with multiple cans of spray paint to inform one and all as to the location of assorted underground utilities and services (water, electricity, gas, sewer, cable, etc.)

I espied him the other day out the kitchen window as he left his mark up and down the street. Wonder what horrors of civic improvement drivers can expect as a result in the next couple of months! Below is a closer view of his white and green messages.

More examples of very recent writings. There are two basic differences between civic graffiti and the other kind: 1) the other kind is likely to be a lot more varied as well as artistic and 2) there is no program to wipe out dated civic graffiti (unlike the other kind). These text message-style scribblings remain on the streets, sidewalks and other surfaces until they either wear out or flake away.

Wouldn't it be grand to have a graffiti gizmo like the one this guy gets to use?

Why I disappeared

GrannyJ, it turns out, is NOT made of steel after all. I was just sprung from the local hospital, after a panic and/or emergency over the past couple of days. Now that it is all over and I am back in my own bed, I'm kicking myself for all the pictures that I did not get. The ER, for instance, is chockablock full of photogenic apparatus -- as the Hollywood guys are well aware.

Friend Patty, who tended to critical details like notifying the relatives and delivering me home, brought the camera after I was ensconced in a less highly equipped double room, where I took this handful of pix for the memory blog.

Here are the privacy curtains and twin TVs. Not being a TV person, I think I might have made good headway on War and Peace in the past couple of days. Below, the controls on the hospital bed.

However, the most remarkable event of all was having a transportation person, who showed up to move me down to to a lab, look at me and say, "Why, you're GrannyJ, aren't you!" Made me feel like a celebrity, it did. But then, I've never had a bad experience at our local hospital -- all part of living in a very cool smallish mountain town.

Sunflower gold for the goldfinches

Recall the lesser goldfinches inhabiting the seedbags, posted last week? In nature, the same goldfinches would be swarming that prolific sunflower bush in a couple of weeks once the flowers give way to seeds.

By the way, here are the same seedbag feedbags with a full complement of 21 hungry birds. My thanks to Bob for sharing this photo.

Pet lovebirds fly free in Phoenix

Move over, starling. Fly away, rock dove (pigeon). Make way for a more colorful newer exotic invader -- the peach-faced lovebird. Imported for the pet trade, this native of the SW African desert has escaped into the wilds of Scottsdale and other eastern parts of the greater Phoenix area. Saguaro cactus nesting holes and the fruits and seeds of native Arizona plants suit these little fellows just fine, though they also emjoy the usual feeder grub.

According to one website, Phoenix lovebird flocks may number in the low thousands. 1998 was the first year they were noticed in the Arizona wild. While the same birds are surviving in chilly Scotland and have been seen in Albuquerque at 6200 ft., none have as yet been reported near Prescott. On a tracking map of sightings, the furthest north for the birds at this point is New River. Perhaps it's the easy life that's keeping them in a city where feeding birds is a favorite pastime.

One woman from Moon Valley reported to the lovebird site that they love to play games. Once all eight was swinging on my clothesline making a game out of it. The other day three of them got on the chicken coop roof. It is tin. They would get on the peak and slide down, then go up to the top and slide down again. They usually play games about 10 minutes at a time. Just by the way, I knew nothing about the lovebird invasion before I received these pictures taken by friend Bob down in Scottsdale last week.

Linkage: I found an interesting on-line magazine, New Geography, dealing with demography, city and suburban areas, and other aspects of living on the land. Another site of interest gives an eerie look at military ghost towns in Russia. And speaking of abandonment (if only temporary), take a look at the huge fleet of container ships at anchor east of Singapore.

There must be a story here

Up Coronado just before it runs into Country Club Drive, there sits a lonely building on the hillside. Perhaps a garage at one time. A choice piece of property in a good neighborhood with almost no vacant lots . Nothing has changed in all the years I've lived here in Prescott, even during the height of the real estate boom. I'm sure there's a story here. My first guess would be a fire, but that does not explain the neglect.

Today as we passed the scene, Patty brought this cross to my attention. Or are we looking at something more mundane -- a crosspiece that once served as the foundation for a for sale sign, maybe? Just as likely, it may have said no trespassing.

Sharlot's yard sale

Yesterday -- the first day -- was probably a better choice for visiting the big annual Sharlot Hall Yard Sale. However, it was strictly during morning hours and I don't do mornings very well. So Sunday afternoon it was.

If I were being picky, I'd note that the sale wasn't in the yard -- nor was it in a garage. Strictly speaking, therefore it must have been a rummage sale. Whatever. Lots of Good Stuff, too. A cut well above the usual merchandise that one finds at such an affair. One surprise: no clothing, which is usually a staple.

There was luggage aplenty...

...and evidence of sports that had been given up for less vigorous activities.

Several cool looking electric portable typewriters -- though if my computer is down, that means the electricity is probably down as well. Which, in turn, means that the proper backup for emergencies or loss of civilization is an old manual Royal or Underwood.

Baskets always make a pretty display, as do Christmas goodies.

Mr. and Mrs. Santa (above) and an elegant if pricey set of fine holiday china ($30) below.

There was a room full of good looking, high quality furniture (above) as well as over 30 years worth of the Atlantic Monthly (below). I was sorely tempted to buy an issue from 1900 just to study the ads.

Also among the antiques: a set of Britannica, 9th edition, and the New Century. I'm sure that these references were chockablock full of great line illustrations, as well as presenting a point of view from an earlier time. Of the early topo maps in the antiques corner, none were of the Prescott area, so I was not tempted. On that note, I walked next door to the Park Plaza Deli for a roast beef sandwich.

I had planned to pick up a Thai take-out meal for supper plus a light bulb at the Goodwin Street Pharmacy -- but this was Sunday and nobody was home (except for the deli, thank goodness.) However, I took this opportunity to photograph yet another business down the tubes; I am quite surprised, as the recently opened Stepping Stones was a well stocked thrift shop, which should do well in these times. Anybody know what happened?

The action at Gurley & Grove

Something's going on over at formerly-Allison's. First, a portable fence, followed by the shovel ripping up all the paved parking space.

What comes next? Probably digging up the old gasoline tanks of this former filling station and then an interminable period of mitigation, which is to say, digging up and replacing or cleaning goodness knows how much fuel-soaked dirt.

And for what? Who's bothering to build business structures these days? I thought that the smart money just made do with the old, existing buildings and left the tanks in the ground for the next guy to deal with.

A Problem with Google Image? In a fit of vanity last night, I asked The Google's image department to fetch up pictures of my current favorite moth, the painted tiger moth (arachnis pictus). I was curious to see if my image appeared. No, it didn't. I discovered pictures of several similar moths -- and many of a popular bi-plane called the Tiger Moth (primarily models). On about page four of the images, pix from Walking Prescott appeared. All from the month of August, which is the month that the moth post appeared. And not one of 60 pictures from this blog had anything to do with a moth. Mr. Google -- you've got a problem.

The Arizona saguaro

Last night, my dotter reported that it was late autumn in her part of Alaska. Here in Prescott, the tang of autumn is just beginning to overtake the heat of summer. Once it cools down further, I'll probably think again about visiting the deserts to the south and west. All of which, in turn, brings to mind Arizona's official symbol, the giant saguaro cactus.

Look closely. This is the forest primeval -- Arizona style. Which is to say, a "forest" of saguaro climbing up the mountain slope. Comparatively young plants at that; though tall, few of the cacti feature arms, unlike the big guys below. And I mean BIG: the trunks grow to be 40-50 ft. tall.

The lore has it that you won't find saguaros above 3000 ft. elevation; too cold ... they can be killed by a deep frost. However, the LH and I found saguaros prospering at 4000 ft. elevation on a protected slope on Sadie's Peak near Yava way west of town. Heading south on I-17, the first saguaros appear on the south side of a mesa as the highway begins its descent toward Black Canyon City.

If you're like me, you prefer your deserts like your forests -- reasonably quiet, with a minimum of tourists. For example, heading toward Phoenix, but driving the old Black Canyon Highway through Bumblebee and Cordes. It's dirt all the way, bumpy most of the way -- but takes you into a different world than nearby I-17. My own favorite, as I've noted in the past, is to go to the west on either the Hillside Road or the Bagdad Road.
That's where I found these two fine old specimens growing along the Santa Maria River.

Not all saguaros are desert majesties, as this picture demonstrates. Those strange-looking growths at the ends of the arms are actually flower buds.

Here's a closer look at the flower buds -- and the actual blossoms (those pictures below are courtesy of the Arizona state government site). The flowers are followed by large, juicy red fruit which are a delicacy for native desert dwellers.




The architecture of the saguaro allows it to expand or contract like an accordion, depending upon how much water is available. The pulpy center is encircled by strong wooden ribs. There are some great examples of saguaro bones at the Dead Things store down in Yarnell, if it is still in business. (Or you can click here, to see pictures I took two years ago.)

Like old oaks and other trees, saguaros may grow gnarled as they survive accidents, nesting birds, the weather and the years.

Woodpeckers are the first birds to peck out a cavity in a saguaro, which, in turn secretes a surface that hardens and protects the trunk from rot and disease. The result (below) is called a saguaro shoe, which provides a nesting spot for several species of birds. That, by the way, is my own saguaro shoe given me by a neighbor.