Before and After the Rain

Here are some pictures taken at approximately the same locations a few weeks apart:

dam 12-05-12

dam 12-18-12

* * *

creek 11-05-12

creek 12-18-12

* * *

bridge 11-05-12

bridge 12-18-12

It's so pretty when the creek is flowing, but now the weather has turned cold, at least it feels cold to me.  Enjoy the weekend! :)

November

Snapshots from November nature walks in Tucson:

Cottonwood leaf on a boulder

Backlit little trees and tall grasses

Western-banded Gecko

Glowing mountains reflected - early November 

Button Bush

Grasshopper on Datura blossom

Cactus Longhorn Beetle on Prickly Pear pad

Katydid on Cholla cactus

White-tailed deer and Black-tailed Jackrabbit

Blooming Brittlebush

Mockingbird on Saguaro

Western Bluebird silhouettes at sunset

Reflecting pool - end of November

And, I couldn't resist sharing these pictures of my 2 1/2 year old grandson that my daughter posted on Facebook.  Here is Tyler visiting sheep at a farm in Massachusetts:

Have a good week. :)

Raptors

When I see a bird of prey in this area, it's usually a Cooper's hawk.

 

Cooper's Hawk 11/25/12

But this fall I noticed some others.  One day I saw three hawks on a telephone pole.  These pictures aren't very clear but I'm guessing the birds were Harris Hawks, since Harris's work cooperatively in small groups, while most other hawks hunt alone.

Harris Hawk 11/15/2012

A Red-tailed hawk (maybe) looked interested in something in a busy parking lot.

10/31/12

Peregrine Falcon on a telephone pole 10/25/12:

This was my first sighting of a Peregrine.  It reminded me of the Kestrel I saw two years ago but this falcon was much bigger and not as camera shy.

That's about it. I hope you're having a great week! :)

One Square Mile

Here are a bunch of snapshots taken within the same square mile on eight different days in October:

hover fly on tickseed sunflower

tree lizard on bracket fungus

climbing snapdragon

house finch

barrel cactus fruit

bobcat

ivyleaf morning glory

old saguaro cactus - perhaps suggesting a carousel horse

mockingbird singing

desert cotton - fruit and leaves

One day, around Halloween, part of the creek looked orange...

while upstream the water had its usual tea color.

two hard-to-see katydids on Arizona foldwing

a pair of fence lizards on a boulder

Thurber's desert honeysuckle

walking stick

I hope your week is going happily!  :)