My morning ditties are not nearly as amazing as the song of a curved bill thrasher, but they help me begin the day. If I start thinking about the groundwater pumping in the the Sulphur Springs Valley of Cochise County, Arizona, I’ll want to sing dirges, so singing to the flora and fauna around our little homestead is a good thing.
In the foothills and mountains around you and me, white flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera albiflora) can be found from 3,500 ft to 6,000 ft. I find it along streams or very nearby. The plant in our yard, where I sometimes wander by singing, is a large shrub (6’ X 6”), but on occasion in the wild I’ve seen it as a vine and twining up into oaks. Make up your mind Lonicera albiflora!
The photos are mine. The flowers and the fruit are beautiful!
The scientific name for Mearns quail is Cyrtonyx montezumae. The genus refers to its big claws for scratching around in desert soils. It has...
I have a bunch of javelina stories, most happier than this one, but listen, I suspect you have stories too. I’ve noticed that if...
Surely I’m not the only person who sits around reading field guides by a warm wood stove. And our field guides do end up...