Tag Archives: Arizona

Arizona

Wildflower Season Soon

It’s been a wet year so far. Today we received a light rain. On top of the rains of January & February and the upcoming rain on Friday, we are looking at what may be a rather good wildflower season.

In a perfect year, we would receive a decent soaking at least every two weeks from September to March. In most years, this just doesn’t happen, and this year was no exception.

We did get some decent rains in October, but November and most of December were devoid of any rain. There’s still hope though, and the relatively moist run that we’ve so far this season will really help this year. (At least one can dream.)

In 2005, we had a particularly wet year. The groundwater was so abundant that water ran across Alamo Rd. in spots for months. There were “seasonal” streams that had been dry for years that suddenly became babbling brooks. It was a verdant green time, and the desert was simply splendid.

Will 2019 be another stunner? Time will tell

 

 

Arizona

Are We Losing the Grand Canyon?

“IF YOU BREAK loose here, you can’t stop. You’re going into the abyss,” barks Rich Rudow. Normally he is unflappable, but as he knows too well, this is no place to let down one’s guard. We’re on a cliff roughly 3,500 feet above the Colorado River at the tip of the Great Thumb Mesa, a spectacular formation that thrusts out from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon like the bow of an immense ship. It is one of the canyon’s most remote spots, rarely seen even by the most hard-core backpackers. If you come this far out on the Thumb, there is no way to get down to the river without climbing gear, and the dwindling food in your pack won’t allow you to make the eight-day trek back the way you came. You have to move forward.

Click the link to read the whole article, including pictures.

Source: Are We Losing the Grand Canyon? Via National Geographic

Arizona

Frequent Visitors

Javelina are frequent visitors here on the ranch. We used to store birdseed on the front porch in a closed 5 gallon container. One night I heard a sound on the porch, and when I went out I discovered the overturned container and heard a shuffling noise in the darkness.

I cleaned up the seed as much as possible, but our porch is made of flagstone, and there were still quite a few left in the cracks and crevices.

I waited for a short while, and sure enough, the javelina returned to finish his snack. By morning there wasn’t a seed remaining.

Here’s some daytime shots:

Arizona

More Snow Pics

Well, at the risk of being too much like the family member who has to show all of those endless vacation slides, here goes more snow pics.

We spent all day Friday, running around trying to capture the snowy scenery on our land listings before it all disappeared. Yesterday, I drove up Hualapai Mountain Rd to catch some views of Kingman from above. Here’s a few:

Deer spotted at Lazy YU Ranch above Kingman, AZ

Continue reading More Snow Pics →

Arizona

More Wintry Weather in Mohave County

It’s a rare snow day here today. We awoke to a light drizzle which quickly morphed into a rapidly accumulating snow. US 93 & I-40 have been closed due to a large amount of snow & freezing conditions which make the hills a very dangerous place.

We’re snug at home sipping Peruvian coffee & hot cocoa.

Although we had an inch or so, it quickly melted
Clouds slowly lifted in the afternoon
Snowy Hualapai Mountain Day 2 21 19
Arizona

Launch of a new blog?

Every once in a while, I visit my own website (this one,) and am somewhat dismayed. My problem is that being somewhat of a dinosaurish techie, I’m loathe to relinquish control to someone unproven.

I have another website for our coffee business, and did quite well playing all the tricks to gain new subscribers, and in the end it really did work, and we have many faithful customers that combined with our “local” customers, makes for a nice little extra every month.

I had let a “flashy” website guy take over, and it was fine for several months. Soon though, there were issues with the theme (which is the overall internal workings of the page.) The young dynamic go getter web designer suddenly became the milk carton tech. One is then left to figure it out alone.

So when I came back to this site which had been rather neglected, it was with dismay. Sure, I have a website, but it sucks.

The good news is that I’ve finally decided to jump on it. The world probably doesn’t need another website to stare at daily, but there are some thoughts, and certainly pictures that can be shared, so here goes. Wish me luck!

Ben

 

Wildflowers

Spring Comes Early to the Desert

Here’s something that we think you’ll love. Enjoy!

Spring Comes Early to the Desert

Joshua tree bud up close

Via alittlefurthersouth.com: 2015 (reposted today) While this blog focuses on Peru and we spend a great deal of time there every year, we’re lucky to be home for Spring. Though the groundhog may have predicted 6 more weeks of winter for our northern friends, we are seeing unusually warm temps here in northwest Arizona. Already the Joshua trees are forming buds, and we’re hoping that we’ll at least get a little more rain this month which would herald a good wildflower season this year. Below are some pics that we’ve taken over the years:

Several years ago (2013,) we had a spectacular display of Joshua Tree flowers. Some years, they don’t do anything (especially if it’s dry,) but we received a treat that year. Check these out:

Joshua tree bud

Joshua tree flower

White Joshua tree flower

Joshua Tree Blooming

Joshua Tree Blooming

In the same family, but with distinctive flowers is this Yucca:

Yucca in bloom

Yucca

I’ll have to check with our neighbor & resident botanist to see what this is, but here’s another flower that we enjoy:

Desert Beauty

We love the flowers & hiking around on gorgeous spring days in the desert, but soon we’ll also have to watch out for these guys:

Western Diamondback

If we have a flowerful season, I’ll post more of these natural pictures. For our friends up north – hang in there, it won’t be long until Spring!

© 2015 Ben Gangloff