Category: Nature
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Have you seen this plant?
Matthiola parviflora is a Mediterranean annual in the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) that has recently been documented for Tucson, Arizona. To determine the U.S. distribution of this exotic new arrival, sightings and related information are being compiled by University of Arizona researchers. I found one of these plants yesterday at Saguaro National Park East. Today I…
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EclectiCelt – Bisbee Radio
Celtic music fans can celebrate the return of EclectiCelt to KBRP Radio Free Bisbee. This two-hour music program is hosted by our friend Jim Mahoney. The show currently runs from 8:00-10:00 (Arizona time) on Monday nights. If you’re on the East coast and don’t want to stay up that late, you can listen to the rebroadcast…
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Egg Tempera Paintings for Sale
As the moon wanes, I’m selling the last copies of the Ironwing Tarot Major Arcana (two copies left as of this morning), and putting several egg tempera paintings up for sale on my website HERE. None of them are new (I haven’t done any painting in nearly two years, due to other drawing projects, more…
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Chiltepins
Well, I didn’t expect to take such a long break from the blog, but self-promotion hasn’t been a priority lately, and life has been alternately chaotic and lethargic, so I have several projects in the works but have not finished much. We have a magical plant growing wild in our backyard. This is the Chiltepin,…
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A Rare Orchid
Today we hiked in Madera Canyon, the famous birdwatcher’s paradise in the Santa Rita Mountains not far from our house. It’s a popular hiking area in beautiful Madrean evergreen oak/pine woodland. Today there were very few birds (though we did spot a sulphur-bellied flycatcher in a sycamore tree). We followed a creek that flowed through…
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Summer Solstice
We celebrated the Summer Solstice with a day in the Catalinas, the big mountain range just north of Tucson. I wanted to look for Golden-flowered Agaves, whose blazing flower spikes are the very essence of Midsummer. Unfortunately, the 2003 Aspen Fire decimated the agave population (and a lot of other things) but we did see…
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Desert Incense
The desert is a fragrant place, since many of its shrubs contain aromatic oils. Some of these plants have medicinal properties and are usable for incense. Here are a couple of my favorites: BRITTLEBUSH or INCIENSO – Encelia farinosa A very common small shrub among the saguaros, with triangular leaves that are covered in dense white fuzz. The…
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