Sedona

Arizona, Nature, Sedona

 

There are many spectacular places in Arizona.Sedona is certainly one of them. Chris and I have been here many  times. This year we actually did not go there. These photos are from previous years.

One of the most photographed places in Arizona is Cathedral Rock. It is spectacular.

 

 

This is a panorama taken from above the city by the airport where there are great views.Every where you look there is spectacular scenery.

 

It does not matter how often I go to Sedona. I never get enough of it.

 

This is called Bell Rock.

 

Another view of Cathedral Rock

 

Argentine Giants

exotic flowers, religion

We saw the Argentine Giant cactus (Echinopsis candicans) for the first time at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden by accident last year. It bloomed the day we were there. Usually it blooms for only a day. Now that is a dreadful pity. Imagine flinging such beauty out there for one day! It is a cactus that is not native to the Sonoran Desert but many people plant and nurture it. It is a lot of work for a flower that blooms for about a day. Echinopsis Candicans is a large columnar cactus with huge fragrant flowers that typically open only at night. When the cactus is not blooming it looks sort of ugly with its large columns that droop to the ground.

When it blooms it does so to stunning effect. The first time we saw one blooming we were shocked.

 

One of our neighbors had one that bloomed a brilliant orange.

 

Another had one with lovely pastel shades. It is little wonder that I love cactuses about as much as orchids. I was in heaven. I believe these were also Argentine Giants but I am not sure. If anyone spots me making an error in flower identification please let me know.

Wild, Wild Horses

2017 Trip to Southwest USA, History, Nature

 

On a exploration of the Tonto National Forest by car, we stopped at Butcher Jones Road where we were surprised by a herd of wild horses walking through the picnic area and beach. Many, including us, ambled up to them trying to take photographs. I counted 13 horses in the herd. It is amazing to see wild horses. One onlooker explained to me that this was the only place the horses could access water so they came almost every day for a drink. We watched carefully to make sure we were not trampled. Apparently no one has ever got hurt by them though he recommended standing close to a tree since they never ran into trees.

Another photographer explained to me that he was part of a conservation group that successfully pleaded with the governor to halt efforts to send them to a glue factory. For now at least their tenure is secure. I applauded him for his efforts. We took many photographs of them today. How could we not?

The  volunteer group called the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (‘SRWHMG”) has made the protection of these wild horses their mandate. They believe that the horses and their ancestors have been roaming free along the lower Salt River in Arizona, for centuries. Arizona’s State Archives hold historic evidence of their existence in the Salt River Valley, dating all the way back to the 1800’s when they were already referred to as “native stock”.  But in 2015 they were threatened with total removal.

SRWHMG monitors daily the horses and keeps records of them. Sometimes they rescue and rehabilitate suffering and injured Salt River wild horses. Part of the problem is that the horses wander onto highways. As a result this group maintains and repairs miles of fencing along Bush Highway and recreation areas. They want to keep a small piece of “wild” for future generations to come.

The mustangs may be descendants of Spanish or Iberian horses that were brought to the Americas by the Spaniards in the 16th century. The name “mustang” was derived from the Spanish word mustengo, which means “ownerless beast.” Today the word “mustang” and “wild horse” are used interchangeably.

In 1687 one of the first European explorers of the region, Missionary Father Eusebio Keno journeyed to Southern Arizona (then part of the Mexican Sonora). Due to his efforts, missions and stockyards were developed. He reportedly left hundreds of horses and cattle at each mission. His many expeditions on horseback covered over 50,000 square miles. He had 6 successful missions in Arizona including in Phoenix and Tubac.

By the 1800s wild horse herds were found all over the western plains and were noticed by many settlers and explorers. For example, Meriweather Lewis and William Clark saw them on their historic exploratory expedition from 1804-1806. Sadly, the horses were treated like the bison. Mass extermination started around 1850 because wild horses were considered competition for cattle. Many were shot or poisoned. The United States Forest Services (“USFS “) and ranchers organized roundups to shoot them. Even as late as 1908 the Forest Service put out a standing order to kill every wild horse on sight in Lander County. The wonderful animals were considered “worthless.” In the Phoenix area they were slaughtered in the thousands. The Bureau of Land Management now believes that there are about 500 left in Arizona.

The USFS  believes that they are not wild, but are escaped “livestock.” They did not want to be responsible for their management. They were not able to find any wild horses when they went looking, but  SRWHMG today believes they did not look very hard. SRWHMG suggests that they based their analysis on only one faulty outing. Yet as a result the USFS said they intended to sell the horses unless someone claimed them. In 2015 they issued a “notice to impound” to the public, but no one came to claim ownership. Even the Native American tribes did not claim them. The SRWHMG therefore takes the position that they are not truly feral or stray livestock. What is clear is that the horses are indeed wild and unowned. The SRWHMG believes that they are part of Arizona history and ought to be preserved. As a result they are doing their best to protect them from possible destruction by the USFS. For the time being it appears that they are safe, but this protected status is fragile. Ironically, the wild horses now rely on the advocacy efforts of humans, their long time foes. In the world of wild life conservation this is a frequent anomaly. Life is strange.

 

Birds of Arizona

Arizona, Birds, Nature

This has not been a great year for wild flowers. In fact it has been a rotten year for wild flowers.  However, the birds have come and presented themselves. I captured a few images. If anyone notices that I have misidentified any birds please tell. I know I am an incompetent birder.

Pyrrhuloxia

Black-crowned Night Heron

 

 

Western Tanager

 

American Avocet

 

Black-Necked Stilt

 

Great Egret

 

Northern Cardinal

 

The cardinal broke a cardinal rule. That rule is that birds will only come close to me when I am a long way from my camera.  This time, we were sitting down for lunch and this guy showed up very close by.  Very obliging.  The stilt and the avocet were photographed last year.

The Desert in Bloom

Nature, Wild Flowers, Wild Flowers of Southwest USA,

Through the wonders of irrigation, even in a year of drought, like this one, the desert can bloom. At the Desert Museum in Tucson, one of my favourite places, , that has been shown.

 

 

Flowers can bloom in the desert if they are given a boost of water.

 

The Museum is different from most. Almost everything in it is found outdoors. It is located right next to Saguaro National Park, dedicated to the Saguaro cactus found only in the Sonoran Desert.

The Century Plant is highly unusual, but beautiful in its own way.

In fact with care the desert can even bloom Hoepners. Of course it can’t make Don smile. That would be asking for too much.

 

 

Cactuses: the glory of the Sonoran Desert

Arizona, Wild Flowers of Southwest USA,

This has been a strange year in the Sonoran Desert, mainly on account of the absence of rain. It was the 4th driest year in about 130 years. Most wild flowers could not manage a bloom at all. Al of the energy of the plants went to survival.

Cactuses usually manage to survive and flower even in a  year of severe drought. The Hedgehog below is one of my favourites.

 

This year however the cactuses bloomed later than normal. Perhaps that was their reaction to drought.

These are called Claret Cup. The blooming cactuses are the glory of the Sonoran desert. unfortunately, this year I just had a chance to capture a few images late in March.

These were not wild. I found them on my neighbour’s yard. Desperate years call for desperate measures. I am afraid it is next year country again.

 

There is no justice

Nature, Wild Flowers

Fairy Duster

There is no justice. One of the things that I loved about the Sonoran desert is wild flowers. Usually the sprinkle the desert in the spring. But not this year.This is the worst year for wild flowers in a long time. That is because it was the 4th driest year in Arizona more than a century. In particular the critical time for wild flowers here is Oct to December. If there is little rain then the plants will not produce flowers as they have to expend all of their energy on survival and have little left over for reproduction. Reproduction is of course the job of flowers.

Desert Globe Mallow

As a result I have been depressed at the startling lack of wild flowers. There have been some flowers, but very few. The worst wild flower season I have experienced in the desert.

 

Thank goodness there is one exception–cactuses. They are tough enough and resilient enough to survive and produce flowers even in a bad drought like this year. The only problem is that they have been slow in producing flowers. At least we have some. You just have to dance with the girl you brung. Of course in a bad year like this one, we must learn to cheat. Go to a place that waters their wild flowers. Are they still wild?

 

Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus

Hedgehog cactus is one of my favourites.  They have just recently started to bloom in the Sonoran Desert. Just as we were getting ready to leave.  Sometimes life sucks.  William Faulkner was right, “You can never catch up with injustice.”

 

Why waste time talking about Trump?

Philosophy/Ideas, Social democracy, , ,

 

Some have raised many important issues in messages to me as a result of my blogs. I could bore you with a long diatribe. I tend to that to people. So I will bore you with a shorter diatribe. Some will say not short enough. So be it.

To begin with, as has been suggested by others, I don’t think it is useful to waste a lot of time haranguing Donald Trump. Frankly, he is not worth it. Yet he is the American President and as we know, every time the US coughs Canada gets a cold. As well, it scares me just to think he has his finger on the nuclear button. And it is a big one you know. And it works.

More importantly, about 50 million people voted for him and many of those still like him.  This really scares me. Many people just want to see Trump go away. I do. But that will not end much. Who will those 50 million support the next time? Someone even worse? Trump is just a symptom of a disease.

I think Trump is a demagogue with authoritarian tendencies. Similar potential leaders have had significant support all over Europe. This is an international phenomenon.

If you have time, I urge you to read a marvelous (and short!) book by Timothy Snyder called On Tyranny. Snyder is an expert historian who is familiar with how tyrannies have arisen in the last century. Remember that Hitler was elected before he became a dictator. He did that by preying on the fears of people and finding scapegoats.

Part of the reason so many people voted for him, I believe, is that people, particularly in the US, have for more than a hundred years been accustomed to making important decisions without the benefit of reason. They have made decisions on the basis of faith, rather than reason. They are used to doing that.

Kurt Anderson has written a book on the subject called Fantasyland. So far I have just read a brief summary in Atlantic magazine. I am waiting for the paperback. Sometimes it hurts to be a cheap Menno. His thesis is that Americans have spent 500 years making important decisions on the basis of fantasies rather than reason. They believe on the basis of what they want to be true, rather than on the basis of what the evidence supports. Trump is just part of that process. Many people, particularly people who are unemployed or underemployed, believe Trump can help them, even though the evidence does not support that conviction. Yet they believe it. They have abdicated their reason.

A lot of people are in despair. Around the world. That is understandable given how the lot of most people has seriously deteriorated in the last 40 years, while the lot of the elites has risen sharply. Inequality has risen by astonishing amounts. Rich people have done amazingly well while ordinary people have seen their incomes decline.

The people who have not done well and daily see how well others have done, because the modern media makes sure that everyone knows, are filled with resentment. Resentment is an explosively dangerous force. It is blind to reason. Near home a few years ago a dairy farmer was mad at his wife who wanted a divorce and got so angry that he burned his barn down with all of the cows inside. And he did that  after cancelling his fire insurance. If he could not have it all no one else would have any of it. It was totally irrational. People consumed with resentment can do that.

About a year ago, a man in Alberta who was facing a divorce from his wife, murdered her and their children. If he could not have his family no one could. So he killed them all and then killed himself. Again it made no difference how irrational this was. People blinded by resentment can do that.

People in the modern world are not only resentful of their loss of money, and status, they are deeply insecure. Capitalists, as we all know, have been forced in recent recessions to lay off workers. That is hard and it is profoundly unnerving to those laid off. This has happened over and over again. As a result many people, particularly after the most recent recession feel a deep sense of insecurity. Even though capitalism has produced amazing wonders, it is deeply flawed if it needs to create such misery. Such a system is broken.

This has happened all over the world, but particularly in places like Appalachia, in the US. Many there are resentful and desperate. They justifiably gave up on both Obama and Hillary Clinton. Who can blame them? But they turned to an unlikely source for help. Donald Trump. A billionaire that had no empathy for them. As I have said before, “Trump has the empathy of a turnip.” But at least he heard them. Clinton was deaf. No wonder people turned to Trump over Clinton.

I have little doubt that his supporters will be disappointed in Trump. He is no savior. Voting for him was also deeply irrational. Many people in the United States wanted a personal wrecking ball who would destroy the system. I have met such people on my current trip to the United States. There are surprisingly many of such people. It did not matter who would be hurt by Trump’s actions. It did not matter that he would not help them. As we know he has done nothing for them. He has drastically reduced taxes on the wealthy and unsurprisingly very few people still believe that the way to help poor people is to give money to rich people. That is what Trump and many Republicans believe.

I am not trying to create class divisions as one person suggested to me. As Warren Buffet, hardly a leftwing radical, said, ‘for the past few decades we have been in a class war and my class has won. The rich people.’ The class war, if there is one, or was one, is over. Donald Trump is just the culmination of that process.

I fear that rich people in the US in particular have seized the government to their own advantage and are blind to the damage they have done. They have got temporary benefits as a result, but do not see how the resentment is building up and how dangerous that can be. How will the resentful people explode next time? Who will be the next wrecking ball? This is one of the reasons I say that capitalists are the greatest danger for capitalism.

I really think, the rich people have done a massive disservice to everyone–not the least to themselves! And not least to the system that brought them such prosperity. I am not a revolutionary. They are.