What's New!

Minions on the Farm - Judith Sparhawk

Imagine my surprise when I was driving down Portal Road, out of Portal AZ, and saw these little yellow fellows out in the fields doing various farming chores! They were using a grader, a weed wacker, a mower, and all kinds of other equipment. I recognized them as Minions from the movie "Despicable Me", but certainly didn't expect them out in the middle of nowhere in rural Arizona! This is to provide a smile after a hard day of sad memories. I will be away from my computer for awhile, so will not be posting or commenting for now. I will miss all your great photos, and hope to catch up later. 9/12/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Good Morning Glory! - Judith Sparhawk

One of the wildflowers I saw most in the mountain forests in SE Arizona, was this wild morning glory. The flower is small compared to the cultivated species, perhaps one inch across. A few of the flowers were more lavender than this blue, and a few were even red, but they had similar vine-like stems and leaves. I chose this lone flower in memory of 9/11, on the 20th anniversary. The plant seemed to grow with resilience and determination, up, around and through everything, sporting its pretty blooms. 9/11/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Twin Mushrooms - Judith Sparhawk

The summer rains seem to have brought out all different mushrooms in the forests in the southeast Arizona mountain canyons. These twin beauties were in Barfoot Park, in the Chiricahua Mountains above Portal, AZ. 9/10/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Really Wild Wildflower - Judith Sparhawk

There were so many wildflowers blooming in Arizona when I was there last month, due to the extra monsoon rains. (I just heard that they have had 26 inches of rain in Madera Canyon where I stayed, since July!) This very pretty flower was one--I don't know the name of it, but I saw it a few places. It is a sphere of very small flowers, all with the long stamen extending well beyond the flowers, creating this very interesting bloom. 9/9/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Windmill at Brown Canyon Ranch - Judith Sparhawk

At the base of Ramsay Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, is the old Brown Canyon Ranch. The ranch is now a recreational area, with hiking and biking trails, as well as some of the old ranch buildings. This shot shows the old windmill against a great monsoon afternoon sky. 9/8/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Javelina in the Grass - Judith Sparhawk

This is one of the small herd of Javelinas I spotted in a residential area of Portal, AZ. It was one of the younger ones, other than the little baby I posted a few days ago. Here he was in the garden that the owners chased them out of, just before they got yelled at. I liked the way he was slightly obscured by the tall grasses. I wanted to mention, for anyone who did not hear, that fellow Smugmugger Paul Coco passed away recently, after a brief fight with cancer. His wife, Joyce, emailed this information. She said his passing was peaceful and that she was with him. Paul was a talented photographer, who always had something good to say. He will be missed. He was couple of months from his 80th birthday. 9/7/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Painted Redstart - Judith Sparhawk

After seeing the Elegant Trogans (no pics worth showing), I was hiking back on the South Fork trail of Cave Creek Canyon, and spotted this very pretty Painted Redstart. The forest was pretty quiet, with few birds about, so I was very happy to have this warbler hop around and pose for me. He has white undertail feathers that he likes to fan and show off. In this shot he just perched out in the open, ready for his portrait. 9/6/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Apache Plume - Judith Sparhawk

While in Arizona I saw lots of wildflowers--more than usual, thanks to the extra monsoon rainfall. One plant was this Apache Plume, showing both the white flowers and the "plumes" which are the seedheads. In this case the honey bee and the butterfly photo bombed the image. 9/5/21 wwwsparhawkphotography.com

Yellow-eyed Junco - Judith Sparhawk

One of the special birds I always hope to see when I visit Arizona, is this Yellow-eyed Junco. This species only shows up in the US in a small part of the southeast corner of the state. This little cutie actually showed up on the back porch of the cabin in which I stayed in Madera Canyon. He hopped around just a few feet from me, where the raccoons showed up later in the evening. This was certainly one of the easiest bird sightings of the trip.! 9/4/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Surprise in the Forest - Judith Sparhawk

Ten miles above Portal in Arizona, over a steep, narrow, curvy and very rough road, is Rustler Park and campground in the Chiricahua Mountains. When birding there I discovered this very pretty and interesting mushroom growing out of the forest floor. It was the only one in sight, in among the pine trees. I don't know anything about mushrooms, other than the fact that I only "harvest" them with my camera. I think the extra rain in this monsoon season had increased the mushroom growth, as I saw other, different ones, in other places. 9/3/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Bad Hair Day? - Judith Sparhawk

When hiking near Florida Canyon in SE Arizona, I saw two of these very fuzzy caterpillars, climbing in the grasses beside the path. I'd never seen any like it, but I believe it is the larval form of Virginia Tiger Moth. I've never seen the moth either. One of the things I love about travel is all the new things you find, and this very monsoon season was no exception! 9/2/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Royal Court - Judith Sparhawk

A smaller version of Arizona wildlife, was the many butterflies I saw flying everywhere. The most impressive was at Canoa Historic Ranch natural area, where some of the plants had attracted many butterflies. This shot was of a cluster of Queen Butterflies in a garden area near the lake. 9/1/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Where's My Treat? - Judith Sparhawk

More wildlife in Arizona. On the back porch of the cabin I stayed in in Madera Canyon, 4 raccoons came to visit in the early evening. It appeared to be two adults and two mostly-grown youngsters. I suspected that they were expecting a snack, and this one looks like he's waiting not-too-patiently. 8/31/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Javelina Mom & Baby - Judith Sparhawk

When walking in a residential street in Portal, AZ, I ran across a family group of Javelinas (pronounced Have-a-leena). the type of wild pigs that are found in SE Arizona. There were about 8 of them in the group, different ages and sizes.. I liked seeing the little baby hanging close to his mother. At this moment someone had yelled at them to get out of their yard, and they were scooting right along. They are considered pests, as they are pretty destructive in gardens, but I like seeing them when I can. 8/30/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Black-tailed Rattlesnake - Judith Sparhawk

On my Arizona trip, in addition to birds, which were my official goal, I ran across quite a lot of other wildlife, and got pics when I could. This Black-tailed Rattlesnake gave me plenty of photo ops, as he was quite sure he didn't want me on "his" trail. I was hiking in South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon out of Portal, looking for nesting Elegant Trogons, and this snake rattled at me, crossed my trail, and curled up beside the trail and continued to rattle and stick out his tongue. Some of the pics show the rattles in motion, but I preferred this one in which we could see the rattles more clearly, as well as that forked tongue. I finally had to climb up over some rocks to get past this guy, and to get on to my birds. Most of my other wildlife sightings were more quiet and tame. 8/29/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Sunset at Willow Tank **Selected as Photo of the Day by Imaging Resources, 9/10/21**

One night we went out at dusk looking for Lesser Nighthawks flying over the water at this area outside of Portal, Arizona. When we arrived, I saw the beginnings of this beautiful sunset over the mountains. I stood on the bank above the pond, saw nighthawks and bats flying around us, and was awed by the colors in the monsoon skies. Every direction I looked was flooded with pink--it was a magical moment! 8/28/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Road to Paradise - Judith Sparhawk

I'm baaaccckk! Had a great 10 days of birding in southeast Arizona. Added 58 new species to my year list. This view was from the road between Portal and Paradise, Arizona, both very small "towns" in the Chiricahua Mountains near the New Mexico border. It was monsoon season, with more rain than usual, creating green hillsides and great cloudy skies. 8/27/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Hoop Dancers - Judith Sparhawk

This shot shows Tyrese and Kailaye performing a fairly complicated maneuver with 7 hoops each, in this Hoop Dance. All this done while balanced on rocks in the creek! Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Arizona. I will be away from my computer for awhile, so won't be posting or commenting. Stay safe and well, and I'll be back..... 8/14/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Kailayne With Her Hoops - Judith Sparhawk

Yesterday's post was of Tyrese, hoop dancer. This is of Kailayne, his younger sister, who was also very talented in the hoop dance. Both of these were meant to act as informal portraits, rather than showing the dancing itself. Tomorrow I will show the pair dancing together. They were dancing down by Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Arizona. 8/13/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

The Hoop Dancer - Judith Sparhawk

A few years ago when I visited in Sedona, Arizona, we had a group of Native American dancers come to Oak Creek Canyon and perform for us by the creek. This was Tyrese, one of the dancers, who was young and very skilled in the Hoop Dance. 8/12/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

My Morning Place - Judith Sparhawk

Unlike some of our Smug friends, I don't have a big beautiful garden, but rather just a small patio. A few weeks ago I spent several days chopping back the ivy and other plants that had so overgrown my space. Since I've gotten it cleared out, I have been SO enjoying sitting out there in the morning, writing in my journal, sipping coffee, and listening to the birds chirping. I've even had a few butterflies come for a visit. This morning I was photographing a couple of flowers, and noticed my chair, journal and coffee, and grabbed a quick shot of it. So this is my morning place, while it's still in shade, and before it gets too hot to be outside. It's nothing special, not a lot of great flowers, no stream like Donna has, but it feels special when I'm sitting there. 7/15/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Lake Fulmor - Judith Sparhawk

While driving in the San Jacinto Mountains, I stopped at Lake Fulmor, a small fishing lake. It was a weekday, and there were only a couple of other people there, so it was peaceful, with Violet-Green Swallows swooping over the lake, jays calling from the trees, and hummingbirds and butterflies were buzzing the wildflowers. Nature at its best! Note about yesterday's post, the Snow Plant: So many of you mentioned you had not seen or heard of the plant, so I checked my book, and it is in mountains, of course, but only from southern Oregon to southern California. So unless you happened to be in the right place, right time, it's no wonder! 6/1/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com

Bedrock Mortar Stone - Judith Sparhawk

One of the interesting things along the nature trail at Idyllwild County Park, was this mortar stone, an artifact of early native peoples for grinding acorns. This site had clearly been used for some time, as the holes were about 6 inches deep--that's a lot of acorns ground up! On top of that, this was the place I managed to spot a White-headed Woodpecker, one of my target birds for the hike! And no, you can't see any of the very poor pics I got of that wily bird! ;-) 5/30/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com