Wordless Wednesday…Mr. Magoo

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Camouflage

No official One Word Sunday this week but I’m in the habit so why stop now? The obvious would be “It’s (not) easy being green” but that’s more than one word. But…so is this. 🙂 A happy, blessed Sunday.

Jo’s Monday walk…diversity

It’s cooled down a bit, making an early morning walk in the Preserve much more enjoyable. Of course, “cool” is a relative term in Arizona. Let’s just say it’s been below 80F at 6 am in the morning. But where there are trees and water, even if the latter is reclaimed, there’s more coolness in the air and people and animals are out and about.

“Diversity” is the “in” term now and the Preserve’s got it as this photo of a great blue heron (GBH to Sylvia) and a great egret, both preening away, getting primped for the photographers, shows. The GBH nickname amuses me because in many of the British police procedurals I read, that stands for “Grievous Bodily Harm.” I imagine the fish in the area might go for that meaning.

Look in the background, there at the bottom of the reeds. Sneaking around behind the larger, flashier birds is a juvenile night heron.

Gamboling about looking for food is a Gambel quail. There are lots of these ground dwellers around but you’ll also see them in trees and bushes. The babies are adorable, but even when small, they can all run like crazy.

For many, birds are the main attraction here, although this guy (?) night beg to differ. I did look up how to figure out what sex a turtle is, but it’s not easy even if you can get up close and handle the turtle, which certainly isn’t happening here! Too bad it’s not a snapping turtle or I could use one of my husband’s favorite turtle lines: “Turtle soup, waiter, and make it snappy!”

Monday walk…Sweetwater Wetlands

Saturday we took another exploratory drive to Tucson, this time to the Sweetwater Wetlands, a 60-acre water treatment facility, urban wildlife habitat, and outdoor classroom. It’s similar to the Riparian Preserve, although smaller and with different flora. One feature that I quickly learned to appreciate in the desert is that it has trees.

There must have been thousands of dragonflies of all colors and sizes.

One of the most prominent features was the overwhelming number of cattails, most of which were 10′ or more in height. Much of the water area was home to these giants which, as you can imagine, provide perfect privacy for ducks and other creatures.

Wordless Wednesday…doppelganger