More Reptiles to Identify: Arizona Style

I am still struggling with my disgust of reptiles. Lizards are becoming a bit more palatable but as far as snakes go, I'm still struggling.

Good thing for me that we saw mostly lizards on our trip to Arizona.

On pages 210 to 213 of the Handbook of Nature Study there are many lizards and their descriptions listed. I think on page 213 that number 7 looks surprisingly like the lizards we saw in the photo below.


I did recognize this reptile but only was able to capture his hind end as he scurried under a rock. He was definitely some kind of iguana.


These two photos were taken while we were at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum. They had an enclosure where they used to have a bear but the bear has since been retired to a more comfortable place on the grounds. The enclosure did have these interesting, if not rather large, reptiles inhabiting it.


Climbing up the rocks


This guy was also at the museum and was making his way across the riparian habitat.


Now for something pretty to look at. I can only take reptiles for so long and then I need something colorful and beautiful to enjoy.


Close up of the spines


Are you proud of me? We are still working on identifying the reptiles for their nature journals but we are learning a lot along the way.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Sonoran Desert: Turkey Vulture Video

Handbook of Nature Study, page 45
"There are even garbage gatherers among the birds; vultures, gulls, and crows serve in this capacity. The vultures are commonly found in the warmer parts of the country and serve a most useful purpose by their habit of devouring the unburied bodies of dead animals."

We saw so many turkey vultures on our trip to Saguaro National Park that they became common place. This video was taken when we saw the turkey vulture land right next to our van and we stopped to see what it was going to do. He treated us to a little "air show" with a couple of his friends. I have more encounters with birds to share in the days to come.

The Sonoran Desert is full of bird life and if you ever get a chance to visit this part of the world, you must spend some time birdwatching.

Enjoy,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 12

This was an outstanding find on our desert walk, a blue flower! I identified it as chia and it has some interesting background.

Here is another interesting find....desert marigold.

So pretty and colorful in this desert landscape.

We are home from our trip now but I have so many interesting things to share with you from our trip in the weeks to come. I will continue to post a photo a day for the April Showers of Photos challenge but I will also dig into the Handbook of Nature Study to see how we can supplement our study of this awesome habitat.

Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Desert Study: Outdoor Hour Challenge #8

We just returned from our week long adventure in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. It was so surprising to find so much life and color and activity in this part of our world. If anyone says there is nothing to do for nature study in the desert, I can now whole-heartedly disagree. We spent every waking minute in the great outdoors exploring the fascinating world of the desert, even in a sudden desert rainstorm and at sunrise. We were hiking in Saguaro National Park just about everyday and found that we grew to love this place.

If you have been reading my nature blog this week, you will have seen some of the more interesting plants and birds that we have encountered. I will be posting more over there in the weeks to come.

Before we left for our adventure, the boys and I read several books to prepare us for what we would be seeing up close and personal. The most interesting and recognizable plant in the Sonoran Desert is the saguaro cactus. (pronounced sa wah ro) This cactus is a whole ecosystem in itself and we were able to observe the many phases of its growth while on our trip.

Here is a landscape with the saguaro sticking up prominently.
The saguaro grows very tall and provides shade for itself with its spines and grooves.

It also provides homes for birds like the cactus wren and the gila woodpecker. They make their nests inside the saguaro. Here is a photo where you can see the nest holes.

Here is a gila woodpecker sitting on the saguaro and if you look closely, you will see a sparrow in a nest hole near the top of the saguaro.

Here is a close up of the cactus itself.

We enjoyed a sunrise walk in the desert and the colors and sounds are not soon to be forgotten.

There are so many things to tell you about from this trip but I will narrow this entry down to the saguaro cactus. Maybe later this week I will share all the many other birds that we encountered. I have some awesome hummingbird photos to share and some others that will surprise you that we found in our desert wanderings.

We did some close up work last week at home for this challenge with our hand lens. The most interesting thing we found was looking at the bark of our cedar tree.....there is so many interesting things in there like spider webs and egg sacs. If you didn't get a chance to use your hand lens last week, I encourage you to take a few minutes this week to give it a try.

I will post challenge our square challenge later in the week.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 11

Today's photo is of a very red insect that we saw on our hike. It was really big...probably about three inches long. It was a flying insect and when it flew its back legs dangled down. The body is a bluish black. I have not been able to identify it yet. We were so entertained by how it flew around it us so we could really get a good look at it.

Edit: Tamara helped me out with the ID on this insect. Tarantula hawk wasp. I had read about this insect in a book but didn't make the connection. This is a prime example of how in the desert, life is a delicate balance. Thanks Tamara.

Now for those that asked me about the barrel cactus fruit. I have no idea if you can eat it like the prickly pear. Here is a photo of what the insides look like. The birds were having a feast with the fruits and seeds.

There were many, many black seeds inside the fruit on the barrel cactus.

Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 10

Paper flower

We will just make this "yellow" day. :)


Barrel cactus fruit


Unidentified yellow wildflower...still working on this one.


Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 8

Just three photos from the ones I took today.....look at those spines. But even with all that ferocious looking exterior, this cactus actually has a beautiful bloom. The buds will open up to look like this.

And I can't resist my favorite photo of the day....this little hummingbird posing so nicely while I took his photo. Thanks little guy. (You just have to click this one to enlarge it to see this precious creature.)

Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

April Showers of Photos: April 7

This photo is from yesterday's hike. I took over a hundred photos yesterday put this one is one of my favorites. Love the pink and it is surprising to find in the desert that there are so many colors this time of year.


Thanks to Jennifer for hosting an April Showers of Photos challenge on her blog S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen. I am trying to keep to my theme of "colors".

Barb-Harmony Art Mom