Tucson, AZ | Saguaro NP, Desert Museum & Mt. Lemmon (May 7 & 8th) | Back Home in Flagstaff

Today, I came home from my two-day trip to Tucson and received a warm (according to my interpretation) welcome from a new hummingbird friend. I had set out my hummingbird feeder in early April in anticipation of the tiny birds' arrival and they had started making morning visits (announced by loud chirping) about a week ago. They had not had face to face interaction with me until today, however, so when a little one flew up to my face while I was taking a short rest on my patio, ate from my feeder and rested on the feeder's little perch for a few seconds before flying away and then returning a few minutes later to feed again, I was thrilled!

Making a tiny new bird friend was an additional treat after returning home from a wonderful trip where I was fortunate enough to have two "just learned about this and now I see it" experiences. My Creosote Gall Midge lesson came from stevejones here on iNaturalist and after learning about black bears at the Sonoran Desert Museum, I was fortunate enough to see my first wild bear scurry across the street and up a hill when I pulled off the road for a few minutes while driving down Mt. Lemmon at dusk (I cannot remember why I stopped, but it was most likely because I was considering the spot as a location for washing my eyes, which cannot tolerate any sunscreen or sweat near them for too long before they start to burn).

I was not fortunate enough, however, to capture the moment on camera. As I sat in my car in amazement and gratitude that I had not gotten out of the car as the bear hurried by, I savored the moment because "my dash cam will get it..." I thought. My dash cam did not get it. Hours and hours of driving footage was caught on camera, but as if it was stolen by devious aliens, about 30 minutes was non-existent from my replayed footage. Just my luck! It had to be the one minute that my bear friend decided to make its appearance! I did manage to capture some footage of a part of my hand while trying to replay and save my bear sighing after it happened though...

The Museum (where I spent over 5 hours on May 8th) was an incredibly useful resource for learning about the flora and fauna of the Sonoran desert. Although I generally find zoos and other places where animals are held in captivity to be incredibly depressing, I found it very useful to be able to see some desert-dwelling creatures that I had not yet seen in the flesh. Seeing the animals and some plants with labels put things into perspective. Having a live example of the size of a fox, a bear, some insects, reptiles other creatures (as well as kneeling on the ground with my arms halfway in salt water to pet the stingrays for fun) provided knowledge that was worth way more than the 19 dollars or so that I paid in admissions. I must donate more money to this cause!

Being a new resident of Arizona, seeing saguaros thrive on the hills in Tucson and feeling the heat of a 107-degree day and the city lit up at night from atop Mt. Lemmon was a delightful experience. As my picture of Arizona becomes clearer and clearer with every new city that I visit in this state, my appreciation of the beauty and diversity of the desert deepens. I am falling in love with Arizona and the story of the seed that germinates to a full plant that flowers beautifully and fragrantly and then bears fruits that ripen sweetly in incredibly harsh conditions. I am amazed by the animals that survive in these environments (including the humans who ride their bicycles up hills in weather that I could barely function in).

I am grateful that I chose Arizona to be my home (sorry Kauai and Washington State--I'll just visit) and I am even more grateful that I chose Flagstaff specifically...because although it does not boast the amazing cacti and reptiles that southern Arizona rightlfully feels proud of, I can function effectively in this climate and the Coconino Forest and the surrounding area is full of immense beauty (like the rest of this state), and even a simple stop to enjoy a magnificent sunset can lead to even more amazing things, like an observation of a Western Blue Flag and an amazing moth (that I only got a fuzzy picture of) trying to extract nectar from that iris at the very same moment that I am taking a picture of it.

Posted on May 10, 2018 03:48 AM by lunamothkd