Struggle for Life in the Painted Desert

The landscape in the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Parks in Arizona is both stark and beautiful. The colors and details were intriguing and would captivate anyone interested in geology, nature and the art of landscape painting or photography.

One of the main attractions of the Painted Desert is the Blue Mesa Trail. If you are going to this area and you are able to hike a bit, this is a must-see. The trail is paved, but there is a steep descent and of course a steep ascent on the return. If you take your time and rest along the way, it is not a difficult trail. This, of course depends upon your physical condition so your mileage may vary.

I am always intrigued by some of nature’s surprises. On the return trip back to the parking area while going uphill, I noticed this bush.


Painted Desert Bush along the Blue Mesa Trail

From this vantage point, this doesn’t look like anything special. There could be hundreds of similar bushes growing in these parks, but let’s take a look from the other side of the plant.


Painted Desert Bush along the Blue Mesa Trail

Do you see those yellow arrows? That is one long root running down the side of the sandstone formation following a crevice and into the ground where one can assume it takes hold and gets whatever moisture and nutrients it can.

This is a beautiful example of the the struggle to survive in some of the harshest environments and how living organisms often find a way to adapt.

Many visitors might pass by this “stoic” plant without ever taking notice of the ongoing fight for survival! I do hope a few stop to pay homage.

NOTE – The Blue Mesa area can be enjoyed from the rim without hiking down into the canyon. There are several lookout areas and quite a few parking spaces. It will be beautiful from those areas too!

Read more about the Blue Mesa Trail at Inspired Imperfection

 

Read more Hiking and Exploration posts HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com



STATUS QUOte Picture Quote – 20190526

 

Today’s STATUS QUOte Picture Quote

So far you've survived 100% of your worst days. You're doing great.

“So far you’ve survived 100% of your worst days. You’re doing great.”

 

Picture Via

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com


A Rascal in My Garden

It all began when I started some seeds indoors in February. I nursed these seedlings as though they were my only charge and when they had sprouted and showed some green, I put them out during the day and took them in at night.

One day, upon inspection, I noticed that three of the four seedlings had been eaten. I have seen birds do this so I simply chalked it up to my feathered “friends.”

Additionally, I take an almost daily inventory of plants growing in our desert garden areas. The tipping point in the desert is very narrow and a plant can go into stress and die within a day under the right conditions. There is little room for error when temperatures rise to near 110 or when the daily low is 92.

It is currently the spring in the desert, but temperatures during the day would be representative of summer temperatures elsewhere. On the day I am writing this, the temperature was 86 degrees at 1:00 PM. Several days ago, while making the rounds in our courtyard, I noticed that the leaves on our hibiscus had been decimated.



To be sure, the plant had been cut back to stimulate new growth after our winter, but all of the branches had leaves on them and now they were almost denuded. This led me to investigate further.

This gazania in the planter below had blooms on it which apparently were a favorite for the critter who had scaled our courtyard walls to gain a free meal. You may also notice that the right side of the plant has leaves that were trampled and eaten (see arrows).



It is even more obvious in the middle of this geranium and alyssum arrangement. The leaves in the middle were matted (see arrows). If you know geraniums, they have a pungent smell and this may have saved it for extensive damage. This was not the work of birds!



We weren’t sure exactly which animal was doing this, but we were determined to stop the devastation. We own a Havahart trap that we put into action. For two days we had no results. We used peanuts and peanut butter. On the third evening, I was going outside to refresh the bait and look what we found…



A bushy-tailed squirrel! I have been told that these are not native to the Sonoran Desert and they are quite large.



He didn’t like being caught and was trying to bite his way out; but not this time!



We have a plastic box with a top that we use to transport our Havahart critters and in he went, trap and all! We put paper on the bottom for hygiene reasons.





Of course this is stressful for the animal as can be seen by all the droppings it left behind. Interestingly enough, there is a piece of corn that he must have had in his pouch as we have no kernels on our premises.



Once the top is secure, into the back of our SUV it goes!



This is a field several miles from our house. We are hopeful that the squirrel will live and we like the idea that we are giving it a chance.



Here he is just before release.



To keep my seedlings safe, I now cover them with our sifting grate.



I know we are not done with the critters in our courtyard. The area is fenced in, but these creatures are fighting for survival while we are just growing plants to look at. Nevertheless, we try to keep our plants safe and healthy.

You can read about how we use our sifting grate HERE.

See another type of critter with which we have to contend in our garden – HERE

 

Read more gardening posts HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com



Photography: My Shot — a Tree with Character

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.

— William Blake —

A Tree with Character - Rocky Mountain National Park

While hiking along the Glacier Gorge Trail to Loch Lake, we came across an evergreen tree nestled off to the side of the trail. The photograph is not technically excellent, but I like the way it shows the character of this tree. It appears to me that this tree has been in this location for a long time and it has had to fight to survive.

Look at how the roots encircle that large rock in the middle and how the other roots are “hugging” smaller rocks at the base. The roots are running shallow along the earth which denotes how hard the ground is in that area. This tree is holding on and fighting for life.

This is survival of the fittest at work!

 

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Metadata

File Name: 000026_DSC_0717_r.tif
Capture time: 5:23 PM
Capture date: Sep 11, 2018
Exposure: 1/3 sec @ f/18
Focal Length: 18mm
ISO: 1600
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 18.0 – 55.02mm f/3.5-5.6
Edited in Lightroom

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See more photography posts HERE and visit Jeff’s Instagram site HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com



Airplane Seating – May Be Key to Crash Survival

Your chances of being killed in an airplane crash are about 1 in 11 million (according to the article linked below), but…

When you travel by air and you select a seat, what are your considerations? I know people who most want a window seat so they can put a “pillow” against the window wall and sleep. Others want an aisle seat to make getting to the bathroom easier. Many want to avoid the middle because they don’t like being sandwiched.

Do you ever consider the safety factors? I am talking about: “Which seat will give me (you) the best chance of surviving an airplane accident?” Honestly I haven’t thought much about that either except I know I don’t like sitting in the back of an airplane because I always felt that was the least safe place to be in an emergency and the location of the bathrooms create too much traffic and noise.

The link below is to an article that will give you a new perspective on selecting airplane seating among other safety factors. According to the author, you only have about “90 seconds to get out” so which seat will maximize your chance of survival?

NOTE – This website is designed for men and their issues so apologies ahead of time for the gender related pop-ups, etc. I still think the issues raised are important for everyone.

Read the article How to Survive a Plane Crash: 10 Tips That Could Save Your Life

Even if you don’t heed all the cautions, I think some will change your outlook about flying!

 
Oh! One last thing:

“If you were born on an airliner in the US in this decade and never got off you would encounter your first fatal accident when you were 2300 years of age and you would still have a 29% chance of being one of the survivors.” — Les Lautman, Boeing Safety Manager