Sunday, July 06, 2014
32 degrees. That was the difference from the Tucson Basin to the top of Mount Lemmon.
A little motion caught my eye and I realized a hummingbird was getting its lunch.
Tucson is a big small town and sure enough along came Erica and her husband and dog, returning from a 10 mile hike. We said hello.
Some sort of locust.
The forest is recovering well from the enormous fires of 2003.
Other than a squirrel and a cute redhead, I did not see much wildlife.
I picked up Robert at noon and we drove up the side of the mountain. You pass through many ecosystems in such a short drive. The saguaros disappear, scrubby oak trees appear, then they disappear and eventually you are in a pine forest at over 9000 feet.
On the road going up.
Yesterday I got sick of my hair and its messy look and the general nuisance and buzzed it off. I look different with my new glasses.
Buzzed.
A type of agave that I had never seen flowering was blooming.
Agaves.
The flowers were bright yellow. Stormy monsoon clouds were everywhere, but we did not get rained on.
Flowers.
A little motion caught my eye and I realized a hummingbird was getting its lunch.
Hummingbird.
I pulled over near the observatory and Robert and I used a tree stump as a table. Cheese sandwiches, potato chips, chocolate. I brought along watermelon but it was mealy and gross. I hope the animals like it.
Robert and Homer.
Observatory trees.
A little further up the road I pulled over to admire the view and the lush green foliage.
The forest is recovering well from the enormous fires of 2003.
These trees did not burn.
Many wildflowers were blooming in the burned-over areas.
Other than a squirrel and a cute redhead, I did not see much wildlife.
Bear crossing.
I didn't see any cute bears though!
