Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Monsoon – Continued

Monsoon

We had a major downpour this afternoon as the monsoon thunderstorms descended upon Wickenburg late this afternoon. The skies darkened and the sheets of heavy rain came. It was raining so heavily at times that we could not see 500 feet. I braved the wind and rain long enough to get this shot of the RV drive flooding and the downspout from the gutter running off like a little Yosemite Falls.

We, and the dogs, were safe and sound inside while all this was going on. The dogs preferred to hibernate under their blankets through the worst of the storm. Click on the image to enlarge.

06 Jul 2014 by Arizona Environment Photography

Monsoon Season Is Back

Cumulonimbus

I took this photo of a towering cumulonimbus cloud forming over the Bradshaw Mountains north of Wickenburg earlier this afternoon. (Click on the image to enlarge.) At this time (~5:30 PM), clouds are forming overhead and we can hear the sound of thunder in the distance. Looking at the area radar, I can see precipitation moving generally toward us. I expect that we may be in for some more rain. We had showers two days ago that lasted late into the night.

Before we retired, Damsel and I would come to Arizona on vacation and would look forward to seeing the monsoons. We have been in them everywhere from Tucson to The Grand Canyon. Now, we can sit on the back patio or in the courtyard and see them when they come here. We love the smell of the creosote in the rain.

05 Jul 2014 by Arizona Environment Photography

Fourth of July Cereus Cactus Flower

Cereus Cactus Flower

The monsoons started last evening. I guess the rainfall prompted one flower on my protected* cereus cactus to open during the night. I was fortunate enough to get this photo before the flower wilted a couple of hours later. Click on the image to enlarge.

Happy Independence Day!

* Protected because I keep the pots surrounded with fine wire mesh to keep the desert critters from eating the flower buds before they have a chance to open.

04 Jul 2014 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Arthur

Arthur

We were watching some of the NASCAR practice runs for the races taking place in Daytona Beach, FL, this weekend. The officials suspended the raceway activities due to rain and lightning in the area. I went to the NWS National Composite Radar website to have a look at the extent of the shower activity in Florida. I was taken by surprise when I saw the radar image of Hurricane Arthur off the Carolinas. I read about Arthur when it was a tropical storm a couple of days ago but it is now a Class II hurricane.

The image is a screen capture from about four PM (AZ time) this afternoon.

03 Jul 2014 by Environment Technobabble

Our First Great Grandchild – Updated

First Great Grandchild

Our granddaughter had her prenatal 3D ultrasound scan yesterday. She said “Hey guys. I’m 205 days pregnant. That means, only 75 days left.” She emailed me a set of the images.

This is the face of our first great grandson as seen in his mother’s womb with the aid of advanced ultrasonographic techniques. I got curious about the technology, so I looked it up; there was a brief description on Wikipedia.

From Wikipedia:

3D ultrasound is a medical ultrasound technique, often used in obstetric ultrasonography (during pregnancy), providing three-dimensional images of the fetus.

There are several different scanning modes in medical and obstetric ultrasound. The standard common obstetric diagnostic mode is 2D scanning.[1] In 3D fetal scanning, however, instead of the sound waves being sent straight down and reflected back, they are sent at different angles. The returning echoes are processed by a sophisticated computer program resulting in a reconstructed three-dimensional volume image of the fetus’s surface or internal organs, in much the same way as a CT scan machine constructs a CT scan image from multiple x-rays.

01 Jul 2014 by People Technobabble

Decorating for Independence Day

Patriotic Mailbox

With the Fourth of July just around the corner, I decided to do our usual thing and decorate the mailbox for the holiday. The mailbox is the first thing one sees when approaching our driveway along the road from the east.

I went to the dollar store and got some red, white and blue flowers. I also got a few little American Flags to scatter around, two of which are on the mailbox. The mailbox already has a patriotic cover. Click on the image to enlarge.

30 Jun 2014 by Holidays Home & Garden Patriotism Photography

Curve Billed Thrasher Eating Saguaro Fruit

Saguaro Fruit

This is a curve billed thrasher helping itself to the fleshy fruits growing on our giant saguaro in the front yard. We were walking the dogs and heard the bird’s distinctive “weet-witt-weet” call, which made us look up to the top of the saguaro where the bird was feasting. I did not have my camera, so Bob grabbed the little pocket camera and got this shot. Click on the image to enlarge.

We found a reference (sorry, no link) to the saguaro and seed propagation:

The saguaro is the largest columnar cactus found growing naturally in the US and bears the state flower of Arizona. This magnificent cactus represents the botanical symbol of North American deserts for many people around the world. These unique plants are tall, long-lived cacti that occur naturally and only in southern Arizona, northwestern portions of Sonora, Mexico, and sparsely near the lower Colorado River in California. Saguaros can live to be 200 years old, grow 50 feet tall and weigh as much as 20,000 lb. Saguaro roots radiate out from the base up to 50 ft and close to the surface of the ground. The shallow roots allow saguaros to absorb as much water as possible, especially from light precipitation events, which they store for several years if necessary. Flowers bloom in late spring (late April through early June) and fruits ripen about 37 days after flowering. Saguaro flowers are large, elongated, and bloom nocturnally allowing both night (bats and insects) and day foragers (birds, bees, and other insects) to feed on the nectar and aid in pollination.

29 Jun 2014 by Critters Home & Garden Photography

Categories

Archives