With gas prices lodged in the stratosphere and health issues giving both of us grief, G and I decided not to attempt another trip to the Midwest again this year. Instead, we’re planning a trip in-state, in October. G’s mapping our route to Safford, to old mining towns Clifton and Morenci, and to Mount Graham, all in the same corner of the state
Mt. Graham’s original name is the Pinaleño Mountains. Pinaleño is a Native word meaning “many deer” or “deer mountain”, so I’m guessing there’s wildlife in the area. There are also trees on the mountain which have been around since the 11th century. We’re taking along the metal detector, too, because occasionally people find pieces of armor, weapons, and other remnants from when the Conquistadors rode through in the 1500s. G’s been looking for an excuse to use the detector for a while. His eyes lit up when I mentioned it.
I’m planning to take off two days next week, too, thanks to PTO/vacation time in a use-it-or-lose-it status. It isn’t a lot of hours. It’s enough to say a paid buh-bye to work for a couple of days, though, and I’m running with it.
The photo below is from our last photography excursion, a little over a week ago. I missed snapping this hawk when he was perched atop the cactus, capturing him just as he zoomed off. Incidentally, the image below is largely unedited. I chopped off a bit of empty blue sky on the left, and that’s all. Mr. Raptor was close enough and my lens long enough I was able to fill the photo with him. He posed perfectly for me for the few seconds before I hit the shutter button. Unfortunately by the time my camera was in hand and focused, he decided he was done modeling for me.
I believe this is a Common Black Hawk. I’m going by the dark feathers and distinct white stripe in his tail.
You can tell from this smaller image, he only has ONE stripe on his tail. Most of the others with crisp striping have multiples, at least the varieties here in Arizona.
This specific version is native to Central America, though they do soar into southern Arizona to breed. We were tooling through the northernmost limits of their natural areas. They’re nowhere else in the States and apparently pretty rare even here.
I found an article here on common black hawks.
G has been complaining bitterly over a lack of stamina to do the kinds of things he could even a few years ago. Umm… Join the club, Baby. G turns 69 years old in a couple of months and I reminded him while his mind says he’s 30, his body didn’t get the memo. We’re a bit over 3 years apart, so I’m right there with him.
He did build me this superfantastic monitor stand this week, but overall he’s edging his way away from woodworking. Between the heat and the physical limitations, there’s only so much he can do these days. He says he’s going to refinish all our cabinets to match the monitor stand. I said, “That’ll be beautiful, Sweetie,” and smiled, knowing it ain’t gonna happen.
The monitor stand was my birthday gift.
My birthday is in November.
I’ll let you guess the time it’ll take to refinish a bank of cabinets, even the few cabinets in our teeny place.
Incidentally, the brass critter hanging on the wall, upper left in the photo, is a dragon. And I lovesss himmmm, the Precioussssss.
Our garden is still growing, but if we don’t get some shade over it soon it’ll likely be done for the season. I hate spending $200 for a greenhouse frame and shade fabric, and am kicking myself for not buying patio umbrellas we’ve seen at garage sales over the past couple of years.
The oleander (top left) is happy and blooming its little heart out. (I told you oleanders are nearly indestructible. Throw ’em into 115º and they’ll give you flowers).
The savory plant (bottom left) seems happy enough, but savory is usually fine with Arizona weather. The veggies (top right) are a bit less resiliant against 100ºF temps.
The pot in the shade (bottom right) is doing great. While you can’t see it from that angle, there’s a hollyhock among that greenery and it’s blooming and gorgeous.
In normal climates you’d plant all this stuff in the sun. But here? At least partial shade is a must for most plants to survive.
I’m glad you will have a couple of days off work. Good to rest your mind, if not y our body as well. Good luck with the plants. I haven’t even planted anything so far. We wait until after Mother’s Day as a rule.
Thank you, Terri. I got news tonight that may change things, unfortunately. We’ll see how things go.