Arizona Wildflower Update – 2011

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

What may not show well in this small photo is the nice field of yellow ground wildflowers.

This is definitely been a very poor year for wildflowers, but a stretch of warm weather followed by some a pretty heavy rain last Monday has seemed to produce a mini bloom of wildflowers.

In the two placers I have been spending time, Tonto National Forest, and McDowell Regional Park, I’m beginning to see a few poppies, lupine and brittlebush in bloom.  It isn’t the dramtic colorful hills and fields of wildflowers I have seen in past springs in this area, but at least it is a little something, something.  And, I would think it could get a bit better over the next week or so.

I’ll be making my way to the west side of the state in a few days, it will be interesting to see how that area is doing after the recent rains – I’ll follow up with a report if I find anything worth reporting on!

Saguaro Forest

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Saguaro cactus, Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

Saguaro cactus, Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

With clouds in the sky, and a gap above the horizon to the East – I though sunrise this morning could be epic!  But, it was nothing.  So, I used the nice light to play with these guys instead.

Scottsdale Waterfront Photo

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

Scottsdale Waterfront, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Scottsdale Waterfront, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Any water feature seems to really add to a community whether it is a river, lake or ocean.  Towns like Scottsdale and San Antonio, where such things don’t occur naturally have had to get creative in creating a “waterfront”.

This area of Scottsdale has changed a lot since we first visited this region 4 years ago.  Back then, this area was completely under construction.  Last year it was finished, but not much of the landscaping had grown in.  Now, it really is a nice little waterfront with outdoor restaurants, galleries and residential towers.  It is a big change from the sprawling, low density development that has typically taken place in this region.

Downtown Phoenix has changed even more.  Four years ago everything was torn up thanks to the addition of a mass transit rail system, construction of additional convention facilities and office buildings.  Today, all those projects are complete, and it is a nice improvement.

Lesser Goldfinch

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

Lesser Goldfinch, Fort McDowell, Arizona.

Lesser Goldfinch, Fort McDowell, Arizona.

I noticed a few people having good luck with bird feeders at this campground so I decided to put one out.  Well, it only took about an hour before goldfinches began to show up!  These colorful birds are a lot of fun to watch and photograph!

Arizona Sunset

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Sunset, McDowell Moutain Regional Park, Arizona.

Sunset, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Arizona.

We have now moved a bit east into Arizona.  As you can see, there aren’t any wildflowers.  We are here a tad bit earlier then normal, but the lack of wildflowers has much more to do with a dry and unseasonably cold winter that included some freezes.   In some parts of McDowell, many plants appeared dead, hopefully they are just damaged by the freeze.

It is possible that late rains, and now unseasonably warm weather might give us a few flowers – but we definitely won’t be seeing the hills of solid color like we did in 2008.

On The Road Again

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

Sonran Desert wildflowers, near Fountain Hills, Arizona.

Sonoran Desert wildflowers, near Fountain Hills, Arizona.

You may have noticed the photo blog activity has slowed down a bit, partly because this rainy, snow-less winter has had me concentrating on office work, and has not provided me with new material for the blog.  But, mostly because we have been trying to get everything wrapped up before our next trip which we leave for on Monday!

Where are we going?  At first we fly to Palm Springs and then head down to Anza-Borrego where we will stay for about a month, and where I will do my Anza-Borrego photo workshop.

After that, believe it or not, we haven’t decided.  With all the rain the Southwest has received, there is a good chance we will chase some wildflowers possibly to Arizona.  But, we have kicked around a few other ideas and may go a different direction.  For now, we have not booked a flight home – we will pick our departure city and date later which makes it kind of fun.

Tucson Photos

Ron Niebrugge Arizona, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

Sabino Canon, Tucson, Arizona.

Sabino Canon, Tucson, Arizona.

Tucson is another of our newly updated sections from this winter.  Our time in Tucson turned out to be a bit brief, but fun, thanks in part to discovering Sabino Canyon.  So check out some new Tucson photos!