Nature Photography: Garden Planting
September 23rd, 2011I'll start this post with yet another lament about Tucson's 2011 monsoon season. It's been a real hit-and-miss sort of thing.
Take, for example, this approaching storm. Looks like it's going to dump buckets of rain at my place, right?
It didn't. But Tucson's South Side got almost three inches of rain.
So much for hoping that the rain will soften the dirt and make my garden digging easier. But with fall's cooler temperatures moving into town, no more excuses. It's time to get that garden planted. Here it is:
You may be wondering why the chopped up agave is in the garden basins. Well, it's there for two reasons:
- It keeps the straw mulch from blowing all over the place.
- It's a feral cat deterrent, just like those dried ocotillo branches on the fence rails. The idea is to encourage those kitties to find some other place to use as their litter box.
The seedlings are already starting to poke through the straw. Here's the radish...
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Nature Photography: Rain, Rain, and More Rain
September 14th, 2011For the past week, Tucson's weather has done a pretty convincing imitation of the Pacific Northwest. We've had nearly 2.5" of rain. As I write this, thunderstorms are moving into the area.
Many of our recent storms have started slowly. Subtly. You don't think that much will come from them. Take, for example, this dampening of my front porch...
Then the weather really gets motivated. And I'd say that it's about time to finish my garden by planting some seeds in it...
All of this moisture has made for joy and feasting in the plant world. My front yard barrel cactii are getting downright plump...
Then there was the Infamous 2nd Saturdays Downtown Storm. This one stomped into Tucson just as things were starting to hop at my favorite monthly gathering. I had plans to visit a couple of art shows and an open house, listen to Latino music, and enjoy some good eats, courtesy of all those local food vendors.
Well, the storm forced me and bike under a cigar store awning. Which leaked. Badly. I was very glad that I'd left the camera at home.
When the rain slowed down, I headed for home. Thanks to continued storminess, heavy street flooding, and numerous detours to high ground, getting here took an hour. Once I arrived, I went onto autopilot: Park the two-wheeler outside so it can dry off, hit the shower, then launder all the soggy clothes and bike gear.
The Morning After? Bright and sunny, but not cloudless the way it was a decade ago. For the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I had to put the flag out...
A quick check of the back yard rain gauge showed that it was half full. What an optimist!
The official tally: 1.8" of rain fell at my place on September 10, 2011. Most of this rain came down while I was trying to make it home from 2nd Saturdays Downtown.
Time to stop procrastinating. I need to clean and lubricate that dirty bike. That is, until the next storm...
Storm update: KXCI Community Radio's emergency alert system is going nuts. And did I mention that I was down at KXCI last night? It's the fall fund-raising drive, and I was answering the pledge phone.
Guess what I rode through on the way home? If you guessed "thunderstorm," you're right! So, the bike got another cleaning and lube job this morning.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Photo Essay: Building Garden Basins
August 12th, 2011Well, the monsoons have been with us for more than a month, and count me as unimpressed. I was hoping for giant storms with lots of rain, loud thunder, and bright lightning.
And I'm still hoping.
So far, our rainfall has been scanty, and the sound and light shows have been lackluster.
In the meantime, fall is creeping ever closer, and that means garden time. I mentioned in an earlier post that my two garden basins were allowing water to pool around the edges, rather than in the center. In the sunken garden game, that's a no-no.
The first part of my garden repair project involved finding materials for lining the edges of the basins.
Fortunately, there's a nearby vacant lot in the path of an upcoming road widening project. This lot has all sorts of busted-up concrete, and it's free for the taking. The official name for this stuff is "urbanite." Here it is, awaiting installation in the basins...
I was planning to dig out both basins in one day, but reality intruded. The big basin turned out to be more than enough work.
Said work was made all the more difficult by my neglecting to soak the basin with water. That would have made the digging a lot easier. Oh, well. I eventually got the job done...
In addition to getting my gardening space ready for fall, I'm also drying mesquite beans so that they can be ground into flour. They should be ready for the Desert Harvesters Mesquite Milling Fiesta in November...
What's this stuff? It looks like big drops of water falling from the sky...
The good news is that the water's pooling where it's supposed to be. The even better news is that Mother Nature is soaking the basin where I had yet to dig.
No sense in procrastinating any further. I dug out the second basin...
In a few weeks, it will be garden seeding time. Looking forward to it!
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Photo Essay: Greenway Envy
July 15th, 2011In my previous post, I offered a tour of Tucson's new Fifth Avenue Greenway. This post is about a nearby neighborhood that's suffering from a severe case of greenway envy.
Let's set the stage by talking about the weather – again.
As noted in recent posts, Tucson is experiencing its summer monsoon season. Which means torrential rains like this one that's flooding East Seneca Street between Fourth and Second Avenues...
Like most summer storms, this one didn't last very long. But it left quite a bit of runoff on Seneca...
As if the Seneca Street flood waters aren't enough, Third Avenue also carries quite a bit of runoff. South of Seneca, Third Avenue becomes an alley for a couple of blocks. And it's not a very inviting place...
The storm water runoff that flows into the alley isn't fit to drink or swim in. But it does serve a valuable purpose – it irrigates plants. Here it's irrigating Bermada Grass, an invasive species...
Unkempt areas in the common space tend to attract negative behaviors. They attract litter and become dumping grounds for stolen property like this City of Tucson warning sign...
They also become magnets for criminal activity...
The Fifth Avenue Greenway starts in an alley south of Mansfield Park. There was a time when respectable people avoided this alley because it was such a hotbed of drug dealing, gang activity, and other nefarious goings-on.
Other than one instance of gang graffiti that's already been reported to the city, I didn't notice anything negative during my recent walk through the Fifth Avenue Greenway.
That's why other neighborhoods what their own greenways. Attractive common space encourages positive behavior. And when positive behavior increases, crime decreases.
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Photo Essay: Greenway Park Ramble
July 13th, 2011Looks like our monsoons have taken a vacation. Other than brief sprinkles, we haven't had rain in almost a week.
So, with thunderstorms not threatening Tucson's Tuesday evening, I decided to ramble around the neighborhood. First point of interest was the new Fifth Avenue Greenway, which has transformed the look of this alley between Waverly and Linden Streets...
Well, that Fifth Avenue Greenway stroll sure was nice. Once I exited onto Linden Street, my way south was stopped cold by the Bronx Wash. If ever there was a landmark that is worthy of a Bronx cheer, this is it...
This channelized wash was built to move heavy volumes of water very quickly. Which just compounds the flooding problem downstream. Furthermore, this water is lost to the surrounding ecosystem, where it could nourish flowers, shrubs, and trees.
More green shade could mitigate Tucson's urban heat island effect, which is caused by all of those paved surfaces. If you suspect that they make our hot summers even hotter, you're right.
At the Sixth Avenue end of the Bronx Wash, a group of neighbors got together to create a different approach to water management. It's the Linden Street Pocket Park, and it uses passive water harvesting to irrigate shade trees and shrubs along this rock-lined path...
After stopping at this little park, it was on to Mansfield Park and the Northwest Neighborhood Center. The center hosted a town hall with Arizona State Senator Linda Lopez, Democrat from District 29...
Senator Lopez shared her thoughts on how Arizona's budget cuts to health care programs will affect our state. In short, the news is not good.
She noted that Arizona has America's highest percentage of uninsured children, and it ranks 12th overall in the percentage of uninsured residents. And, Lopez added, "Denying coverage does not eliminate the need for medical care."
Where do people without health insurance wind up when they need care? In our already overcrowded emergency rooms. Which makes it even harder for those experiencing life-threatening emergencies to be treated in a timely manner.
Lopez said that the state budget cuts are falling disproportionately on our state's most vulnerable people -- the elderly, the poor, people with chronic physical and mental conditions, and children.
Meanwhile, our Republican-controlled legislature just approved more tax breaks for corporations. No word on whether those corporations will actually create good-paying jobs in this state.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Nature Photography: More Monsoon Madness
July 7th, 2011As if a rollicking good Independence Day storm wasn't enough. The weather provided additional fireworks on the 5th of July.
Just like Independence Day, yesterday's tempest was a late afternoon special. It started with a ferocious wind and clouds that turned everything dark and ominous...
The rain came down, and yes, I've said this already, but I really need to fix the garden basin that's nearest to the fence. That compost bucket sitting in water is really embarrassing. It's supposed to be in the highest part of the basin, not the lowest...
I'll conclude this post with a brief lesson in how not to trim a desert tree. The photo below shows a mesquite tree that was blown over during the July 4th storm...
Before its untimely demise, this tree had been trimmed like, well, a tree. It looked like the mesquite equivalent of a lollipop.
Although the tree trimmers were well intentioned, they weakened the tree. Removing the lowest branches from desert trees like the mesquite makes the tree unstable and vulnerable to toppling in high winds. That's what happened on July 4th.
So, if you're sharing your space with a desert tree, let it grow into its natural shape. Yes, it will look like a bush on steroids, but it will be a much stronger tree.
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Nature Photography: Monsoons Rival Fireworks
July 6th, 2011The summer monsoon storms have busted back into southern Arizona. The festivities started late last week with a couple of after-dark storms that were loud and rowdy enough to deprive anyone of a good night's sleep.
Not that our July 4th afternoon storm was quiet and understated. Far from it. When it came to noise and drama, this storm rivaled Tucson's big Downtown fireworks display.
It blew in with a huge wind that threatened to tear my flag right off its pole...
After I spirited the wind-whipped flag into the house, I headed back out for more storm-watching. Didn't get much further than the front yard, what with all the entertainment provided by the mesquite tree. Which stood strong in the high winds...
After all the buildup, it's time for the rain. And it didn't disappoint...
Around Tucson, we've been playing the "wait until it rains" game since, oh, the beginning of time. (We've been in a long drought.)
Well, it's time to end the procrastination. Which means that it's time to move the compost bucket to higher ground, then shore up the east side of the garden basin so that the rainwater pools in the middle...
And it looks like it's time to plant something new in this pot. I had some aloe vera plants in there, but they were killed in February's hard freeze.
As for washing the windows and screens, just did that in May. I'll let Mother Nature handle things until next spring...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Photo Essays: Traffic Calming
May 13th, 2011Do you live on one of those streets where there seems to be no speed limit? So do I.
And, sorry to say, those speed tables further up the street don't seem to help at all. The speeders slow down enough to go over them without wrecking their suspensions, then it's off to the races again.
Fortunately, a solution is at hand, and it's called traffic calming. The goal is to slow or reduce motor vehicle traffic so that pedestrian and bicyclist safety is enhanced. Speaking as someone whose primary means of transportation is a bicycle, I'm very much in favor of traffic calming.
In central Tucson, neighborhoods are adding an artistic touch to the traffic-calming circles that have been installed at street intersections.
Take, for example, this circle at the corner of Edison Street and Vine Avenue in the Jefferson Park Neighborhood. Care for a xeriscape garden in the middle of the street?
An in-street garden would make me slow my car down for a closer look. (That is, if I had a car!)
This traffic circle also displays the talent of Jefferson Park's artists...
According to the neighborhood's website, the circles were designed by Maria Voris, Rosemary Byrd, Matthew Bossler, and Maile Nadlehoffer. Another Jefferson Park neighbor, "Village Blacksmith" Jerry Harris created artwork from the designs. The City of Tucson contributed soil, boulders, and plants.
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Nature Photography: Green at Last
April 8th, 2011Back in early February, a hard freeze hit Tucson and southern Arizona. Daytime highs just made it into the forties, and the nighttime lows were in the teens.
The extreme cold was quite rough on the local plant life. Frozen prickly pear cactus dropped their pads or fell over. And our hardy mesquites made like the trees up north and dropped their leaves.
So, we Tucsonans looked forward to spring with more than the usual amount of anticipation. And we weren't disappointed.
I've been delighted to see my front yard mesquite donning a new coat of finery in just a few days...
The prickly pears? Let's say that even the damaged plants are making a very nice recovery and sprouting new growth...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Event Photography: Cyclovia Sidelines
April 1st, 2011My previous Cyclovia Tucson post focused on notion that streets aren't just for cars. People traveling under their own power also have a place.
This post will cover one of the greatest benefits of self-powered travel: An enhanced ability to see and hear what surrounds you. With this thought in mind, let's look at the Cyclovia sidelines.
An abandoned gas station on South 4th Avenue near 22nd Street is still home to a barrel-ful of Santa Rita prickly pear cactus...
Further south, the Cyclovia riders met up with a musical extravaganza, starting with Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School...
Near the southernmost point of the Cyclovia course, riders got a thumping-loud salsa serenade...
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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