Snow

It snowed in Tucson yesterday, which is pretty rare.  By this morning the snow on the ground had melted but there was still some snow on rooftops and shrubs.

At Sabino Canyon at 7:00am the place looked so different with a dusting of snow on the cacti. It seemed everyone was taking pictures! The sun was playing peek-a-boo and the snow was slipping off of cacti left and right, but these pictures should give an idea of what the desert looked like.

Enjoy your weekend!

Saguaro Hearts

Saguaros keep on giving. After the cactus is done blooming, the fruit starts to look like tiny watermelons. Then the fruit splits open into flower or heart shapes depending on how you look at them.

Sometimes the entrance to a bird nest in a saguaro appears heart shaped.

Here's a random heart on a decaying saguaro boot.  A saguaro boot is the woody plant tissue of the saguaro nest cavity which remains long after the cactus dies.

It's hard to see, but after I uploaded the picture, I saw a tiny heart above the heart shaped cutout on the edge of the boot.

It's fun to discover random hearts!  See more hearts at Clytie's Random Hearts.

Curve-billed Thrashers

To the right of the trail, in the cholla cactus--

a young curve-billed thrasher,

and parent!

Further on up the trail, another curve-billed thrasher enjoying a saguaro blossom

and singing a surprisingly sweet song.

circles of orange

circles of orange

desert's last invitation

to savor summer

My World - Viewing Nature

Most mornings around sunrise I look at the sky from my window.

When it's light enough, I like to go for a little walk in my corner of the world, which happens to be the desert.

I marvel at yellow sunlight gracing various surfaces, and see what the plants look like on this particular day.

plump heart-shaped prickly pear pad

last year's cholla fruit still hanging on

ripe desert mistletoe berries

Birds are usually the first wildlife to catch my attention:

rock wren

bluebird on cactus skeleton

Many of these birds are common, but it's still exciting to view and listen to them.

cactus wren

grackles atop telephone pole

Sometimes I encounter a species that I've never seen before, like these cedar waxwings, and that's a special thrill.

cedar waxwings

I've walked this path countless times before, yet I never grow bored of it. This month I will get to see some wildflowers, butterflies, ground squirrels and reptiles!

To see what's happening in other parts of the world or to share yours, visit My World Tuesday at:

Desert Shadows

Today for Shadow Shot Sunday I'm sharing some common sights from the Sonoran Desert. The first two are of prickly pear cactus. In the third shot, the spindly cholla cactus is "overshadowed" by a mighty ocotillo. And lastly, a female Gambel's quail as she posed for me.

Check out more shadows by clicking the Shadow Shot Sunday badge above.

Spiny Metal