How Green is My Valley

It has been an adequate monsoon season here in the desert areas surrounding Tucson Arizona. Temperatures have been running in the high 90's and low hundreds for what seems like forever. With the monsoon rains comes the humidity which most desert dwellers welcome except we humans who have gotten used to 8 or 9 percent humidity and have little tolerance for anything above 15 percent.

With the rains comes an amazing display of blossoms and greenery that is almost unbelievable considering that the transformation happens within weeks of the first rains.
This post isn't about what the plants are but instead is to show how a dry desert becomes a lush garden under the right conditions.
These photographs were taken at the Arivaca Cienega and Madera Canyon over the weekend. Where ever we went it was green and lush vegetation with lots and lots of flowers for added color.















Hardly makes one think Desert. This remarkable transformation is one of the reasons I love this place even though I'm not fond of heat and humidity!

Great Egret

This photograph of a Great Egret was taken at Silverbell Lake in Tucson Arizona. You can read more about the Great Egret at www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/id

90 Miles for Peaches and Corn

We traveled the 90 miles to Willcox Arizona to get out of the house on Saturday with the hope that we would be able to get some good produce including peaches and corn on the cob.
We headed directly to Apple Annie's Orchard to get the peaches which can be purchased by the pound in the U-Pick orchard or from the bins under the tent. I was surprised by the number of people who had come out to pick there own peaches but it was a nice, cloudy morning in the low 70's, perfect for picking just about anything.

The kids really seem to enjoy picking their own fruit off the trees and there were lots of young ones on hand.
Willcox is known for it's agricultural base including its orchards, produce, wine, and cattle and it's also known for the annual migration of Sandhill Cranes which are a huge attraction from October until March each year. Last year we traveled to Willcox to photograph the Sandhills and saw over two thousand birds in a single day. The Sandhill photos can be found in the archives here at Sonoran Connection.

We checked out the gift shop and the bakery but avoided the Burger Barn which had a long line before heading to Apple Annie's produce and pumpkin farm a few miles away.

There was not as much activity at the produce barn but there were still quite a few people in the fields picking veggies.


The fields were lush and well groomed and seemed to go on for miles with corn of varying heights all around. We couldn't resist trying the roasted corn on the cob which was very tasty.


I never would have guessed that Okra had such a beautiful flower but as you can see it's quite amazing.


For some reason these scenes reminded me of the great depression and the hardship that so many Americans are experiencing now due to the lousy economy and the lack of jobs.

On the other side of town there are many farms including this one with freshly baled hay ready to be gathered.

There are also many nut groves like this one we spotted on the way back to the highway to head home. Not a bad way to spend a day.

Future Plans

It has been several weeks since my last post during which time I have been contemplating both my future and the future of Sonoran Connection. As anyone who blogs knows it can take a huge amount of time and energy to keep people interested and returning to your site especially if that site depends on field work. While the original purpose of Sonoran Connection was to share my experiences and photography while living here in Tucson Arizona I have found it impossible to limit myself to the confines of this wonderful area.

I have decided to place a time limit on Sonoran Connection and begin to morph this blog into what hopefully will become the next generation of adventures for me and my readers.

On a recent trip to the Grand Canyon I stood on the South Rim at sunset with my camera watching intently for a chance to photograph one or more of the resident California Condors. As luck would have it I saw more than a dozen of the giant birds but only far below me in the canyon where getting a really great photo was impossible. I was ecstatic to see these wonderful creatures but due to my limited time at the canyon I knew my chances of taking a memorable photograph were very slim.

It was at this moment as I stood there enjoying the enormous beauty that is the Grand Canyon that I began to wonder about places like Yosemite and Big Sur, Redwoods National Park and the Columbia River Gorge as well as Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, and so many other places that I have wanted to visit. It occurred to me that if I had allot more time and was in better physical shape that I might be able to get that picture that I so wanted to be able to share with everyone.

The long and the short of it is that I have begun the planning for just such an adventure in the not too distant future. At this time the details are sketchy and just the planning seems daunting but being able to stay in a place until you get the shot that defines your visit will make it all worthwhile. Due to issues like how to finance such an adventure and health insurance and what to do with our Tucson property it will take quite some time before we are ready to head out on the road. In the mean time I will continue to photograph here in the desert and share those with you as often as I can. I have included a few of the pics that I took on Mt Lemmon where it was a rainy 57 degrees, 42 degrees cooler than at the base of the mountain.

Approaching Windy Point-Depending on which way you look when it's raining here in Tucson you can see huge shafts of water falling from the sky or blue sky and puffy white clouds or dark dreary ones. It almost never rains everywhere at one time like in other parts of the country.

Windy Point from the road.
View of the San Pedro River Valley.
Near Loma Linda picnic area.Views from Inspiration Rock.



View from Inspiration Rock.
Life and death.
Ponderosa Pine Cones
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Lupine