Spotted at the Arboretum

Boyce thompson arboretum
Boyce thompson arboretum - cardinal

Today at the Arboretum we saw

4 cardinals

1 woodpecker

a couple hummingbirds

several nests

a really neat feather

a possible owl pellet that Phillip poked at with a stick

some beautiful black butterflies

2 very determined ants and 1 that could care less

2 trees full of bees

a handful of squirrels

a turtle

a snake

and 75 lizards (before we stopped counting).

Boyce thompson arboretum - Snake

I also spotted a fuzzy tail of an animal going into a thicket. I jumped out of the car while it was still running to see what it was. All I found was a fat, lumbering squirrel.

Boyce thompson arboretum

Also, if you go on a hot, humid Tuesday, you’ll practically have the place to yourself. With the exception of those mentioned above, of course.

Boyce thompson arboretum

P.S. For those of you interested in chronology, by “today,” I mean last Tuesday, when I wrote down what we’d seen earlier that day.

September 12, 2016January 11, 2017

August Photo: Goat

For August’s photo, of course, I couldn’t resist this goat from our visit to the Ranch at Fossil Creek.

Always gotta go with your goat, right?

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September 1, 2016

Payson Pie and Strawberry Llamas

Ever since a park ranger at Phoenix Comicon told us about Arizona’s National Park Centennial Celebration (which you may have seen on recent Happenings Lists), we had planned to make a day trip to Flagstaff to join.

After a late start the morning of the event, we were finally en route when we learned there had been a freeway-closing collision between us and Flagstaff and that the resulting traffic jam would likely last several hours.

So. We considered our options, ditched the plan, and headed to Payson instead.

While Phillip drove, I found a list of 35 things to do around Payson and read it to him. #33 was “Fossil Creek Llama Ranch.” Obviously, that went on the afternoon’s itinerary.

First, though, we stopped at the Beeline Cafe for lunch and pie. They have crazy good pie.

The clouds were moving in as we stepped out of the cafe and drove towards the Ranch at Fossil Creek in the town of Strawberry.

The Ranch is home to llamas, goats, Fossil Creek Creamery – where they make fudge, cheese, and soap from goat’s milk – and a little log-cabin-style store with their products.

It was sprinkling by the time we pulled up and went into the Creamery store. We checked it all out, sampled some cheese, made some purchases.

We went out to watch the animals. The llamas didn’t seem to mind the rain and just hung out around their field, chewing cud.

The goats, on the other hand, had taken cover and stood huddled together.

Eventually, one black goat decided the rain had let up enough to venture out. The rest tentatively followed, one by one realizing the drizzle wasn’t so bad, and it was safe to get back to eating, climbing on stuff, butting heads, and doing all their regular goaty things.

– More info –

The ADOT (Arizona Department of Transportation) Twitter account is a great resource for updates on road/traffic conditions throughout the state. When my Maps app was showing unexpected traffic near Flagstaff, I went to Twitter to find out what was going on and how long it might last.
The World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo was going on in Payson the day we were there. It’s held annually the third week of August.
The Ranch at Fossil Creek offers $10 guided tours with a reservation. You can also go in and pet goats for $5 or hike with llamas for $30 an hour.

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Photo of Phillip by someone at the National Park Service booth.

June 27, 2016June 26, 2016

Ocean Month

When I realized it was Cephalopod Week (Science Friday’s “celebration of all things tentacled”), I thought I’d have some fitting photos to share with you.

I couldn’t find the one I thought I’d taken of the octopus up against the glass at the Seattle Aquarium or the cuttlefish we raced across the aquarium at Monterey Bay to see, moments before they closed for the day. (Because cuttlefish are so rad, we couldn’t leave without seeing them!)

While I didn’t spot any cephalopods in my photos, June is National Ocean Month. So here are a few the other ocean creatures we visited at the Seattle Aquarium.

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We received media passes for the Seattle Aquarium as part of a CityPass courtesy of Visit Seattle.

November 20, 2015

5 Arizona Things that People Don’t Believe Exist

“Wait…that’s a real thing?!”

People from outside of Arizona have been surprised or skeptical when these 5 things have come up, but they’re all for real.

How many of these have you seen?

1. Tumbleweeds – Not just the stuff of western movie lore, they’re actually Russian thistle plants. When they’re alive, they’re green and grow like weeds. The dead, dry ones break off and roll around in the wind. It’s not like I have to stop my car for tumbleweeds rolling across the road every day. But it has happened.

Also, the city of Chandler builds a big tumbleweed tree for the holidays every year.

2. Gila monsters – They’re more fat lizards than monsters. Yes, they have a poisonous bite. However, that’s not a big concern, since they’re not particularly quick or aggressive or likely to chase you down (or meet you at the airport). In fact, it’s rare to even see one out and about.

We felt lucky when we spotted a Gila monster sauntering through the shadows at Boyce-Thompson Arboretum.

bta-gila-text

3. Desert monsoons – A friend from Taiwan laughed when I mentioned monsoons in Phoenix. While what we call “monsoon season” isn’t what you’d see in South Asia, it comes with bigger storms and more rainfall than we get other times of the year. Sonoran desert storms are dramatic – and beautiful – in their own way with downpours, thunder, lightning, wind, and dust storms (see #4).

4. Dust storms – If you saw Mad Max Fury Road, that’s not what a dust storm is like inside. Think fog made of sand, and you’ve got the picture. When it’s dry and very windy, blowing dust forms a cloud you can see approaching from miles away. sometimes an eerie orange color in the afternoon light.