Cactus Flower

I came across this Prickly Pear bloom yesterday, and it asked to have its picture taken... 

West Toward the Estrella Range

Rain stopped for a while. 

Phoenix

Looking down on Phoenix from South Mountain. 

Sunset and palms

Maybe the last shot I'll get from the west side of the lot. They're building a high wall that will block this view, along with the view of the freeway, coming to a neighborhood near me... 

North from Usery Pass

This shows the far view from the pass looking northward. The junction of the Salt River and the Verde is just to the west in the valley below.

By the way, Usery Pass is not named for the term usury. Rather, it's named for a horse thief and stagecoach robber named King Usery. 

Four Peaks in snow

I took the previous picture from a site on the south side of Usery Pass. On the north side of the pass, the view opens up to a huge vista of mountains to the north and east. This is Four Peaks (which shows up on the Arizona license tag). I believe it's about 40 miles to the east from where I took this shot.

A funny thing about this afternoon. It reminded me of taking bear pictures in Yellowstone. There were lines of cars parked along the road with folks taking pictures. I heard lots of comments like "I've been here 11 years and never seen it like this!" and "I'm taking this picture and emailing it to my nephew in Iraq. He won't believe me otherwise!" 

Sunday afternoon snow

The aftermath of the storm left the high country frosted. There was snow in the early morning visible on the McDowell Mountains, but by afternoon that had largely gone, leaving only the higher real estate covered. 

B-17 on final approach

There's a wing of the Commemorative Air Force located at Falcon Field in Mesa. This bird is their pride and joy.

It also has nothing to do with the storm. I took the picture several days ago, but neglected to post it until now...

Snow on Superstitions, Part 2

This is the view from the corner of our lot this morning.

Snow on the McDowells, too. 

Snow on the Superstitions

This is such a shock after the months of warm, dry weather.

This picture really doesn't do the reality justice, but it does show the snow. They say that there will be more by morning. It's been raining in the Valley all night, so maybe it'll be white tomorrow... 

Bedraggled coyote racing across a street in Apache Junction. I was crossing the street to take a picture of the mountains when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I just aimed the camera from belt level and hoped that it was pointed right... 

A co-worker of my wife took this picture (my very great thanks for his permission to post this!). The bobcat was right outside his back door one evening.

Park of the Canals

Mesa has a park protecting a section of Hohokam canals and another section that was expanded by the Morman settlers as they settled in the Mesa area.

We knew about the park, but when we visited today, we were delighted to find that there's a small botanical garden in the park.

The majority of the plants are cactus and succulent varieties, with palo verde and creosote bushes for interest. Many of them were in bloom, too, so it was a very cool surprise. 

Insect and flower

This is another one from the trip to Tucson. I like the insect just poking up in the bowl of the flower.