Pyrrhuloxia at Saguaro National Park West. This little guy was singing his heart out at a distance on top of cactus, then he flew into a tree right next to us and gave us an up close show.
(1/2) I bought a teeny tiny watercolor palette & filled it with 6 colors (CMYK + one extra color) from which I can create millions of colors! Here’s my palette in hand. You can read more on my latest blog post
A couple of years ago I created an art series in which I painted 1 color/day of something from nature I saw in/from my yard including trees, wildflowers, cacti, animals, birds, insects, reptiles, skies & clouds. April is especially colorful in Tucson!
"If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide and so we are found." Terry Tempest Williams
Signs of Spring in our Tucson, AZ yard: over 20 species of wildflowers have bloomed in the last month + trees like Desert Willows have been leafing out with new green leaves. Here’s my Perpetual Journal page with my art of willow leaves + a Sowthistle in bloom.
#ThrowbackThursday to September 2014 and a peaceful wander in the sand dunes, when monsoon clouds helped to keep the temperatures tolerable. A strong wind blew fine sand over the ridges. I love the subtle tones and colors of this moment.
Sitting here on the porch, enjoying this lovely evening (it's balmy here and southern Arizona), reading all the interesting things people post on mastodon and I hear a noise… I look over and a medium sized javelina squeezed itself through a 5 inch opening at the edge of the gate.
I said "what's up, buddy? Get the fuck out of here." And it squished itself back through the narrow opening.
My shoe scuffs the sides if I put it through that opening. I have no idea how that large animal did that. After it left, it went and joined the other ones wandering up the street looking for people's gardens to eat and trash cans to tip over.
They are weird as fuck, generally not particularly aggressive and a regular sight here.
I recently did some plein air sketching at Tucson Botanical Gardens & this cactus menorah was my favorite holiday decoration I saw there! I loved their use of yellow & red grafted cacti for the candle flames!
I'm out for a walk tonight at the edge of town. Off in the mesquite bushes I'm hearing a loud snorting and snuffling. If I weren't from here, it could be pretty scary!
But I know it's javelinas! And while they can potentially be aggressive and dangerous, I also know that they respond well to raising an arm and pretending to throw a rock at them.