Tucson By Choice!

There's a magical combination of light and texture in the clouds at sunset during Tucson's monsoon season.

The rains have been spotty this summer, leading some to call this our Nonsoon Season.  But all good things come to he who waits, and last night as I drove over Gates Pass on my way home, I could see that I needed to find a place to pull over and pick up the camera.

I took this photo at about 7:20 p.m. on Kinney Road, just north of the intersection with Gates Pass Road. That's the location of Old Tucson Studios, for you movie buffs.  I pass it most nights on my way home.

The westerly sky was already fading as I parked the old Ford Explorer at one of the pull-outs on this scenic road.  (No cash-for-clunkers for me.  Mine's paid for.)  Looking south, though, this was my view. 

That flat horizon could almost be an ocean, couldn't it?  It's deceiving.  There are rolling hills and mountains to the right and to the left of my vantage point.

Okay.  It's almost 4:45 a.m., and I want to get this on the blog before I go walk.  I promised Bill Archambault in Houston that I would.  Morning, Bill!

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

 photo copyright Mike in Tucson

In the cartoons on Saturday morning, it's the Coyote who chases the Roadrunner, but ends up hungry.  "Meep! Meep!"  In the desert southwest that's my back yard, I often see both the coyote and the roadrunner within yards of each other, both intent on a meal, but neither hunting the other.

The roadrunner, in its hunt for prey, will often "put up" a rabbit in which it has no interest.  The coyote has learned this, and uses that knowledge to his benefit. 

Aren't you glad you don't subsist on snakes, lizards, scorpions and spiders?  No matter what "lizard" you're hunting for this weekend, I wish you success!

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage.
(520) 349-9090

 photo copyright Mike in Tucson

Tucson Mountain Park's entrance is only a mile or so from the community of Tucson Mountain Sanctuary. 

I'm up and out at five thirty in the morning, and dawn's breaking in the east.  In the western sky, the full moon is setting over this canyon wall.  The coolness of the desert night is still with us, especially down on the canyon floor, and the sandy wash where I'm walking is easy on the feet. 

By noon, the summer temperature will have soared to 103 degrees, but at 5:30 a.m. this might as well be another world -- a magical world for Tucsonans who, like me, are early risers.

Tucson Mountain Park is one of those very special places on the planet.  Make plans to come visit.  Who knows?  You just might make Tucson Mountain Sanctuary your second home.

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

 photo copyright Mike in Tucson

Where do you turn for pest control in Tucson, AZ?  Truly Nolen (that's actually the man's name; truly it is) has one of the best known brands in town.  The company has nothing on this fellow, though.

The Great Horned Owl frequents both urban and rural properties in Arizona, snoozing by day, and hunting from a high perch at night.  You'll see them atop telephone poles, sitting on rooftops or perched in Eucalyptus trees in town. 

Rodents - pack rats here in the desert - make up most of the menu for these magnificent night predators in Arizona. 

One owl regularly sits on the finial that tops the flagpole in my front yard, twenty feet off the ground.  He (or she--they look alike) calls "Whoo! Whoo Whoo!"  Out of the night sky comes the return call of another owl, perhaps its mate.

The Great Horned Owl has the distinction of being the only animal that regularly eats skunks.  They also kill and eat other owls, such as this barn owl on the right.

If you're looking for pest control in Tucson, AZ, you might just want to sit outside on a summer night and listen. 

Somewhere on your street, the Great Horned Owl is doing the job for free!

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

 photos copyright Mike in Tucson

EDIT: 

We went to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum last night and watched a live presentation on raptors of the Arizona Desert.  The owl was sitting on the Docent's leather-gloved hand, and (as always) I happened to have my camera.

Saguaro National Park (west) is one of my favorite haunts, especially during the monsoon season at the end of the day.  Kinney Road cuts through the southern end of park from east to west.  Where it passes through Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park (west,) there are many parking areas along the roadside.  Tourist and native alike can stop and admire the spectacular landscape. 

Bring a camera! 

The saguaro forest is very dense in places, and the park has miles of trails.  King Canyon Trail is one of my favorites.  Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's, it climbs from the trailhead on Kinney Road to connect with the Hugh Norris Trail, topping out on the summit of Wasson Peak, the highest point in the Tucson Mountains.

Petroglyphs, rock carvings by the ancient Hohokam Indians, line the canyon walls in places along the King Canyon Trail. 

Put a visit to Saguaro National Park (west) on your "must do" list!

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

2,000 of those tiny seeds, when dried out, will easily fit into the cap of your canteen.  Oh.  You're not from the desert southwest, and you don't have a canteen.  Okay.  They'll fit into the plastic cap of your G-2 sport drink bottle.

Either way, what you're looking at there in my grand-daughter's gloved hand is the ripe fruit of the Giant Saguaro Cactus. 

It's food to every desert-dwelling creature creative (or lucky) enough to get some.

White winged doves perch on the top of the cacti, gorging themselves on the seeds.  In the process, some get dislodged, and fall to the desert floor, where everything from the smallest mouse to coyotes consider it a delicacy.

Ancestral Indians considered the fruit a delicacy too, and harvested it using long poles created from the dead ribs of fallen Giant Saguaros.

Now you know.

If you haven't been to Tucson yet, come visit soon.

If you have, we look forward to seeing you again!

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

Tucson, Arizona.  The Old Pueblo.  The volcanic basin that contains the city itself is 30 miles square.  That's a lot of territory.  There aren't too many cities in North America that take up 900 square miles.

I took this monsoon photo this evening at 6:30 p.m., on my way home from work at Sunstreet Mortgage.  Thousands of homes lie between the foreground of the photo above, and the mountains in the background. 

Thousands of homes.  You'd never know it.  The rolling desert with its meandering arroyos seems to swallow them up, leaving the beauty of the landscape to capture your imagination.  It's why the views of the desert and the mountains are spectacular from almost every vantage point.

Doesn't it seem tranquil?  The desert in the foreground, the mountains in the background, and above it all a majestic thunderhead is gathering strength in preparation for this evening's lightning show.

My route home put me on the Interstate, I-10, and that very same thunderhead became the dramatic background for downtown Tucson.  We don't have a vertical skyline like Dallas, San Francisco or Calgary in Alberta, Canada.  The skyline doesn't compete with the surrounding mountains.

Driving southeast on I-10 at 55 mph in light traffic, I rolled down the window and took several "blind" shots to the east as I made my way past the city.  This one turned out pretty well.

The two photos together illustrate the allure of this beautiful Old Pueblo of the desert southwest. 

Come visit soon.

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE
Call me if I can help you or someone you know with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

I was just leaving for church this morning when I looked out into the back yard, and was surprised to see this coyote walk up out of the arroyo to get a drink from my drip irrigation system.

She wasn't looking my way, so I grabbed the camera, softly slid the sliding glass door open just enough to clear the lens, and whistled softly.

Her head came up and around toward the sound, and her ears followed.  You can see the least little blur on the ears as they tracked toward me.

Unconcerned, she finished drinking, walked into the neighbors yard and back into the arroyo.

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

Call me if I can help you with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

Photo copyright Mike in Tucson

The granite promontory (above) is the identifying feature of Pusch Ridge, an upthrust of rock that runs north from Tucson to Catalina, AZ, and overlooks Arizona's Catalina State Park. This photo was taken from the community of Honeybee Ridge in Oro Valley, AZ.

Pusch Ridge is home to the last surviving herd of wild Desert Bighorn Sheep in the greater Tucson area, and perhaps in all of southern Arizona.

The ram on the right lives at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum (one of the ten best zoos in the world.) 

If you're thinking of making Tucson or one of the surrounding towns your retirement home, subscribe to my blog and give me a call.

7/4/09  EDIT:  I received an email from John Peters, Jr. with the following info about Desert Bighorns on Pusch Ridge:

"...there have not been any bighorn sheep on Pusch Ridge for years. Despite numerous flyover and foot searches, no sheep have been spotted. Speculation is that the mountain lions took them out."

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

Call me if I can help you with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

Photos copyright Mike in Tucson

Donte' Ormsby and I played 18 holes of golf yesterday at the Santa Rita Golf Course south of Tucson, AZ.  We had intended to play only nine holes, but you know how that goes.

These two young hawks were roosting in a pine tree on the 18th hole.  I have a few birding books, but try as I might, I haven't been able to identify them. 

I got a view of the back of the hawk when one flew into a sycamore tree.  The tail is barred, and it's underside has the same creamy yellow that you see on the breast.

Active Rain has become my favorite resource for stuff I can't figure out.  Can one of you identify them? 

EDIT:  Here's an email from one of our local Audubon Society gurus, Darlene Smyth, with the answer.  Darlene has birded extensively in North, Central and South America.

EDIT 2:  Here are a couple of other shots of the juvenile hawks.  The box above the bird is the nest.

 ___________________

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, AZ Mortgage lender.

Call me if I can help you with a purchase or refi mortgage;
(520) 349-9090

Photos copyright Mike in Tucson, (except photo of Darlene Smyth is courtesy of the Tucson Audubon Society.)