Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

First Saguaro Flowers of 2016

First Saguaro FlowersAs of last Wednesday, we have been on the road, visiting friends and enjoying the scenery. Just before leaving Arizona for points west, I saw this saguaro in Parker. I believe this is the first one that we have seen with open flowers this year. Click on the image to enlarge.

We are currently in Palm Desert, California where we meet our son and his wife and our grandson who will be nine months old in a few days. The other set of grandparents, who live near here, are away in Mexico and the kids are watching their house while they’re gone.

We stayed the first two nights along the Colorado River on the California side visiting our good friends that live there. We had a pleasant visit with them and some of their family where we played cards Wednesday evening and went to dinner at the BPOE across the river in Parker on Thursday for Mexican Food Night.

Image: First Saguaro Flowers

Yesterday, on the drive from the river, we took the scenic route across the desert and through Joshua Tree National Park. It is always a beautiful drive through there; we entered the park near Twentynine Palms and exited near Yucca Valley. I took a lot of pictures in there and may post some of them here later.

23 Apr 2016 by Arizona Flowers Photography Retirement Wanderlust

Last Great Sunspot for a While?

AR 2529

According to several on line resources, we are probably headed toward the minimum end of the current eleven-year solar activity cycle. Giant sunspot AR 2529 looming toward the right limb of the sun may be the last large spot for a while as solar activity diminishes.

I took my Canon EOS Rebel SL1 out to the courtyard equipped with the 75-300 mm telephoto lens and an inexpensive solar filter to capture this image of AR 2529 before it fades as it circles out of view. Camera settings: 1/3200 sec., F5.6, ISO 6400, 300 mm focal length.

16 Apr 2016 by Astronomy Photography Science

The Bird Feeder

Cactus Wren and Cardinal

We get a lot of birds at the feeders out back. There is a pair of finch feeders plus fixtures where we usually have a bird block (shown) and bell (just below the block) for the critters to be fed and for us to watch them. Damsel gets most of the good pix, but once in a while, I score a good one, too.

I managed to catch a cactus wren working on the seed block just as a male cardinal lit on the top of the feeder cage. I took this image with my Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and the 75-300mm lens set to 180mm, ISO 100, 1/512sec and F7.1. Click on the image to enlarge.

15 Apr 2016 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

April Flower Show


This is a slideshow of six types of flowers we are currently seeing on and around our place here in Wickenburg. The first image is that of a cholla flower close-up followed by flower-topped ocotillo canes, a yellow prickly pear flower, palo verde flowers, a hot pink cactus flower cluster and a Mexican Bird of Paradise flower pod. Click on the image to advance to the next image.

More flowers are coming. We have already seen the first of the saguaro cactus flowers up the road and expect our big saguaro to come into bloom this summer. We really love the spring and summer flowers here in the desert.

13 Apr 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Desert Cottontail

Desert Cottontail

There are literally dozens of these Sylvilagus audubonii on and around the property. I photographed this one as it was feeding up in the wash behind the RV drive. It paused feeding long enough to strike this pose as it became alert to my presence when I pointed the telephoto lens some 30 feet away. It resumed its feeding shortly thereafter.

From Wikipedia:

The desert cottontail is found throughout the western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, and in northern and central Mexico. Westwards its range extends to central Nevada and southern California and Baja California. It is found at heights of up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft). It is particularly associated with the dry near-desert grasslands of the American southwest; though it is also found in less arid habitats such as pinyon-juniper forest.

The desert cottontail is quite similar in appearance to the European rabbit, though its ears are larger and are more often carried erect. It is also social among its peers, often gathering in small groups to feed. The desert cottontail uses burrows made by rodents rather than making its own. Like all cottontail rabbits, the desert cottontail has a rounded tail with white fur on the underside which is visible as it runs away. It is a light grayish-brown in color, with almost white fur on the belly. Adults are 33 to 43 cm (13 to 17 in) long and weigh up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). The ears are 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in) long, and the hind feet are large, about 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in length). There is little sexual dimorphism, but females tend to be larger than the males, but have much smaller home ranges, about 4,000 square metres (1 acre) compared with about 60,000 square metres (15 acres) for a male.

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel SL1, 1/400s, F5.6, ISO 200, 300mm focal length.

12 Apr 2016 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Cholla Flowers

Two Cholla Flowers

Spring is again upon us and it is now in full effect. Most of the cacti on and around the property have already, are currently or will be, making their appearances shortly.

This pair of cholla flowers opened today just behind one of the retention walls that we had built here last year. At that time, we asked the contractors to be as minimally invasive as they could be to the flora and fauna near the work areas. They did a great job!

Our desert springtime is the best time of the year (even though we love the summers, heat and all) with the flowers on the trees, cacti and our landscape shrubbery. More pictures to come! Click on the image to enlarge.

11 Apr 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

A Twentieth Century Icon – Howard Hughes

Howard R. Hughes, Jr. 1904-1976Between 1965 and 1980, I was employed at Hughes Aircraft Company, generally at the Culver City Facility that contained both the Hughes Aircraft Company (which developed and built electronics systems) and the Hughes Tool Company (which developed and built aircraft and a few oil drilling tools). Sort of backwards, I know, but so were a lot of things in the Hughes Empire.

I found the long-lost poster seen at the right today when I was opening a picture frame to scan in a certificate I earned in my Ham Radio activities (DXCC for those who know) and found the poster was in the same picture frame. Frankly, I cannot remember putting it in there, but there it was in near-perfect condition. I scanned in my certificate (for another purpose) and also this poster, since I was scanning.

IMAGE: Iconic Howard Hughes portrait along with some of the Hughes legacy icons. Click on the image to enlarge to poster size.

Since I was suddenly dropped into the topic of the famous Howard Robard Hughes, Jr., I went out to Wikipedia and looked him up. I found an extremely interesting entry about Hughes’ life and times, much of which I had been previously unaware. It was intriguing and I was riveted to reading it all the way through, disregarding the references, of course. I can’t attest to all of it being true, but since I was there towards the end of Hughes’ life, I know some of it is gospel.

I never met the man, but others I knew and trusted told me of times when they had seen him come to Culver City for various visits in which they had caught a glimpse or two of the man. He had mostly gone full reclusive after I had been there a year or two.

If you’re interested in icons like Hughes, I recommend reading the Wikipedia Article (disclaimer – I can’t guarantee any of it is true, but it IS interesting).

10 Apr 2016 by Aerospace Aviation Money and Business People

Categories

Archives