Getting Back on the Trails

Great to be back in warm, sunny Arizona.  However, it seems the "no see 'ems" are also glad that I'm back.  My hikes yesterday and today were cut short because I was being eaten alive.  How can something smaller than a speck of pepper pack such a vicious bite?  I have welts on my arms and legs that are larger than quarters.  I am quarantined here in my condo with large white patches of baking soda paste on the bites.  I'm finding it works better on the itching than commercial itch creams.  I just can't go out in public. 

The prickly pear cacti are beginning to bloom and judging from the number of buds, will put on quite a show.  I've seen a few with flowers, but the best is yet to come.  The roadsides and medians are abloom with Mexican Hats, Prickly Poppy, Blanketflowers, red-blooming Yucca and more.  Those are on my list of favorites, and I hope to have some of my own one of these days.

There are no pictures with this post...because I forgot to bring the cable that connects my camera to the computer.  Grrr.  Ken is going to mail it to me - I can't stand the thought of not being able to upload photos!

Saw a Common Black Hawk and some orioles along the trail this morning, and on the way home a coyote (very healthy looking) ambled across the road ahead of me.  With no one behind me, I was able to slow down and get a good look.  He glanced back at me and disappeared into the brush.

I put the feeders up at the condo today, welcoming back the American Goldfinches and Black-Chinned Hummingbirds.  The quail are racing to and fro along the roadsides, and the jays are squawking in the trees.  Hoping to hear some coyotes in the evenings or early mornings, but no luck yet.  Full moon next week - looking forward to that!

Getting Totaled

Most of you know by now - my MISadventure in Milwaukee last Saturday.  I was heading up to Elkhart Lake, WI, to watch Ken's car race.  I never made it there to see him do well. 

I was driving along a section of I-43 near downtown Milwaukee.  It had been raining a bit, but not at that time.  I was in the right lane, not speeding, talking on the phone, or involved in any type of distraction.  The next thing I knew, the Jeep was sliding sideways up the middle of the road.  I know that I tried to steer out of it, but don't know if I steered in the wrong direction - or what really happened.  One thing I clearly remember, just before slamming nearly head-on into the concrete wall - I said out loud "I'm gonna get hurt." 

My poor Jeep on the bed of the tow truck

After impact, I smelled what I thought was smoke and thought I needed to get out of the car.  I realized that the smell was due to the passenger side airbag.  For some reason, the driver side bag did not deploy.  A guy in a pickup had pulled over in front of me as soon as he saw the collision.  He was already calling 911 for me.  This terrific guy stayed with me until the police arrived, and did his best to comfort and calm me.  His name is Paul and he is an Arborist in Milwaukee.  Hell of a way for two nature nerds to meet.

View looking thru back window of tow truck

Fast Forward to Ken driving down from Sheboygan to get me, the ruined Jeep being towed to a lot in Milwaukee.  We actually had a lovely dinner out that night with Ken's sister and her husband.  Great food and company, and it was a good distraction for me.  It wasn't really until Sunday morning that the major pain started.  Shirley and Ron kindly drove me home on Sunday morning, so that Ken could stay in WI and finish his race. 

Kelly took me to Delnor's ER on Sunday, where I was given an EKG and chest x-rays.  Luckily, no sign of breaks or other injuries.  And thank goodness for the pain meds.  It has been a miserable few days with little noticable improvement so far.  Major pity party, too little activity, too much pain, and bad tv.

Thanks to everyone who has sent such kind wishes and offers of help.  It means so much to have caring friends.  I know it could have been much, much worse.  I am very gratelful that I did not hit another car, and no one else slammed into me.   And I want all of you to be extra careful out there!

Those who know me well, know the tough facade I like to show...turns out, I'm not so tough after all...

Geting Dumped

Saturday was my third and final trip to the Camp Verde Transfer Station (a/k/a The Dump).  This free service provided a way to rid the new property of massive piles of rotting wood and metal, teal carpet and padding, disgusting chicken supplies - a ton of work and a ton of junk.  Good riddance!

Loaded up for first trip to the dump



My West Fork hike on Thursday did not disappoint. I know, I know...I've written/talked repeatedly about this place.  That is because it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  It's an easy 6.4 mile round trip in spectacular Oak Creek Canyon - sensory overload!  There are 15 creek crossings, using logs/rocks to pick your way across. Apple trees, Junipers, Maples, Ponderosa Pines (my favorite), ferns, wildflowers, birds and butterflies.  All in a setting of soaring red rock walls, brilliant blue skies and the meandering creek.  Birdsong, water sounds, pine smells - if this is Heaven, I should start behaving myself.

Apple trees in bloom - remnants

from a long-ago farm

                                      Arizona Valerian



Spotted Towhee - I also saw a pretty little

Painted Redstart, but he refused to pose

Tranquil spot along the creek         

Canada Violets

     DQ treat after my hike.  OK, OK, so there are some aspects

                        of civizilation that still appeal to me...

I celebrated Earth Day by volunteering with the Forest Service at the local ranger station.  Volunteers pulled weeds in native gardens, and Forest Service employees planted seeds for a hummingbird garden.  It will be fun to see what's growing when I return.  It was a great day, nice people, and I worked in a garden with a view.

The section of garden where I worked -

with a great view of Wild Horse Mesa

Volunteers working to remove Camphor Weed and Russian Thistle

           Woodsy Owl and me - "Give a Hoot - Don't Pollute!"

Fire on the Mountain!

A beautiful sunset, as seen from the deck of the new house

Getting Vitamin D

What a glorious day for a hike!  I followed the trail behind the house, and went farther into Woods Canyon than on previous treks.  Wildflowers, birds, jackrabbits, creek - all under the gorgeous blue AZ sky!

This beautiful Gambel's quail posed for me

                        Goodings Verbena lines the trail

Desert Marigold



Owl Clover

Wow, what a great spot!

Nice place for a rest...                                  



Have never seen this little flower before, and saw only this one bloom

on today's hike.  I think it is Indian Mallow.

Getting Dirty

The weather in Sedona has returned to normal and all of the snow is gone.  Yay!  Back to those beautiful blue skies and temps in the mid-60's.  Perfect!

Did one of my favorite hikes this morning, a 4.3 mile loop around Courthouse Butte.  Lots of birds - jays, wrens, finches, one beautiful Scotts Oriole.  Wildflowers are popping up - desert marigolds, primroses, verbena, and lots of this pretty vetch (I don't know what kind) which I saw blooming in the crook of a dead branch.   So pretty!

             Pile of rotten wood removed from front of studio

It was a long day of working in the yard, and it felt great to be outside and feel the sun.  I finished one job that I started yesterday - pulling up the old wood decking in front of the studio.  What a job!  I did all of this using only a claw hammer and a lot of determination.  The area will be filled in and graded, and the wood will be replaced by flagstone.  (The photo shows only half of the wood - there's another pile...

There are a few nice wildflowers scattered in the yard, but also 84 million weeds.  Yes, I counted them.  There will be many days ahead of weeding/cleaning/clearing/planting.  There are amazing native plants here and I am trying to learn as much as possible so that I can be successful in transforming the yard.

Sweet little primrose in the yard                        

The rest of the afternoon was spent weeding under a juniper near the house.  I saw something move nearby...and there he was - my new friend, Spike!



He is a Horned Lizard, and I think an Arizona Horned Lizard (there are lots of types).  In all the years of coming out here, this is the first one I have ever seen.  He stayed put for a very long time, moving only an inch or two if I got close.  In fact, I had to delay finishing my project because I didn't want to further disturb him.  He finally moved on to...?  I hope he hangs around, as I'd enjoy seeing him again.  I'll have to watch out when I'm digging in the dirt!  By the way, he was about 6" long, very wrinkly and spiky, quite prehistoric-looking.  Cool!

I'll be back at it tomorrow!

Getting Snowed

I fell asleep last night, listening to the rain drum on the skylights.  When I woke at 5:30 this morning...I found that the rain had turned to heavy, wet snow!  Mary O and I were here last year at the very same time, hiking in shirtsleeves (yes, and pants too).  Mother Nature had something else in store.  I am grateful that I arrived in town before this weather hit.  I heard that earlier today, I-40 across Flagstaff was closed, as was I-17 between Sedona and Flag.

This is the front of the condo Sat. morning

I drove around a bit this morning to take some photos, mostly of the poor, shocked plants and trees.   I postponed my planned drive to Prescott, as I heard they'd gotten 8" of snow overnight!  It is south of here, but higher in elevation.   I instead spent the morning at Home Depot and Sherwin Williams in Cottonwood, and it was raining there.  I would love to get out for a hike this afternoon, but the snowfall in Sedona has now turned to rain.   Crazy weather!

What's wrong with this picture?  That's right, there's SNOW on this cactus!

One of my favorite spring blooms, this poor Mexican Poppy is frozen!



The Courthouse Butte trail is a favorite of mine from this area, but this morning neither the Butte nor Bell Rock

 were visible!

Is this a Redbud?  It's in our yard at the house, and it's gorgeous purple

blooms are wearing a blanket of white.

OK, so that's my sad tale of the spring snowstorm here in Sedona.  I will spend the rest of the day at the house, preparing to paint the bathrooms.  Better than doing that on a warm, sunny day (which we had better have soon, or I'll demand restitution!).

Getting the "Iron Butt" Award

Friends often ask me how I make the drive to Arizona alone.  Don't really have an answer for that, except to say that getting to Sedona is worth the effort.  You may have heard that I love it here.  I stock up on audio books and music CDs, snacks (I'm in no danger of starving), try to find some intersting routes, and hit the road!  I have made an amazing discovery - when I sing in the car, alone, I sound just like Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks! 

I mapped out a route that took me across most of Nebraska on I-80.  Between Grand Island and Kearney, Sandhill Cranes stop on their way to their nesting grounds in the north.  Estimates have been half a million birds!  Driving down I-80, they are suddenly in the corn fields along the highway, dozens - hundreds - thousands of them!  The down side is that you can't just stop along the interstate.  There is a wonderful nature center where a helpful lady sent me to some back roads - and the cranes were there in huge numbers!  I wish I could have seen them coming in for the day or taking off for the evening, but the timing wasn't right.  I was very happy to view them as I did.

A small group of cranes in a cornfield

One step out of the car, and off they go!



Saw a fun term recently, although it related to people who love Whooping Cranes - "Craniac!"  I think we birdnerds can appropriate it for Sandhill Cranes, too!

I stopped for the night in McCook, NE, at The Chief Motel.  It was clean, quiet and cheap - my kind of place!  I was on the road again by 5 a.m. yesterday.  Highway 83 was scenic and had little traffic.  It took me down into Kansas, where I saw this monumental sculpture of Willam Cody.  He earned his title of "Buffalo Bill" near here, after winning a buffalo-killing competition against some other guy named Bill.

Huge, bronze sculpture of Buffalo  Bill



My next venture was 7 miles down a gravel road to Monument Rocks (one of the 8 wonders of Kansas, you know).  It was quite strange to come upon these formations in the middle of the plains.  Nothing around for miles.  It was fun to explore around the rocks (altho chilly and quite windy).  And birds everywhere!  I have never seen (and heard) so many Meadowlarks!  They did not cooperate for photos, but entertained me with their beautiful song.  There were also Horned Larks, male and female Ring-Necked Pheasants, Song Sparrow,  Turkey Vultures, Red-Tailed Hawks and several Northern Harriers.

The "Chalk Pyramids"

My Jeep provides a sense of scale

80 million years ago, this area was an ocean.  These formations were carved by the Smoky Hill River and apparently contain many fossils.

Propping the camera on the hood of the Jeep does not make for the best composition...

Cliff Swallow nests - reminded me of my little buddy "Rocky" from last year's visit to Tonto Bridge

Male ring-necked pheasant

I had fun out there, but had many miles to yet to go.  I considered stopping for the night in Gallup, NM, but had good weather, lots of daylight, and did not want to wake up Friday and still be on the road.  Finally got into Sedona around 9 pm local time - that means I got on the road in NE at 5 a.m. (central time) and arrived at the condo at 11 pm (central time).  Wow!

It's very overcast here this morning - what's up with that?  Heading over to the house to unload the Jeep...anxious to set up the birdbath/feeders and see who comes to visit!