Fridays have lately been designated as "Emily's Day", which means Barry doesn't ride his bike, and I get to choose the day's activities. Woo-hoo! Last Friday I picked separate morning and afternoon activities since we wanted to get back to the house at lunchtime to watch the UNC Tarheels play in the ACC tournament. (Unfortunately, they lost their game; the only low spot in an otherwise fantastic day.) Less than two miles down a back road from where we're staying in Patagonia, Arizona is the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, a Nature Conservancy "Important Bird Site" as well as an area rich in biodiversity courtesy of the riparian habitats along Sonoita Creek. So, of course we had to check it out. And on a beautiful morning, what better way to get there but on foot. The hummingbirds were active this morning as we walked along the road. This one appears to be a male Anna's. It took us quite awhile to get to the preserve as we saw plenty of birds while walking so made numerous stops. We had never seen Broad-Billed Hummingbirds before coming to southern Arizona. The male is incredibly striking, with his cobalt throat and turquoise/green breast! As is often the case in the bird world, the female is more muted in color. Map in hand, we then headed out on the trails in search of more birds. The centerpiece of the preserve, Sonoita Creek, actually has flowing water here, while it's simply a dry wash in town this time of year. According to the brochure, there is five miles of perennial flow in the creek, two miles of which are in the preserve. Watercress and other greenery grows in the creek, providing a much-needed (and endangered) resource in such a dry part of the country. The host told us we might see javelinas eating watercress, but unfortunately we did not. The cottonwood trees along the creek are massive in size and very impressive. According to the link above: "The preserve protects a magnificent example of the rare Fremont cottonwood-Goodding willow riparian forest. Some of the trees are among the largest (more than 100 feet tall) and oldest (130 years old) Fremont cottonwood trees in this country. " To put the tree's size in context, just look at how big this trunk is compared to me! We saw plenty of birds in the preserve and added two new ones to our life lists: Bridled Titmouse and Bell's Vireo. We could have spent much longer at the preserve, but since we wanted to get home for part of the game, we left. We will definitely get there another time while our pass is valid, though. On the way back, we stopped in at the the Paton House, aka "Hummingbird Haven". This is a residential home in Patagonia with a yard absolutely filled with bird feeders of all types and thus a perfect area to see birds. The former owners, Wally and Marion Paton, loved feeding and watching birds, and invited one and all to come into their yard to watch any time. The Patons have now passed away, but the house was recently purchased jointly by several birding organizations and is maintained as a bird sanctuary. What a wonderful legacy left for us -- and the birds -- to enjoy! We added a couple of new birds to our life lists here, including the Violet-Crowned Hummingbird (below) and Lazuli Bunting. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Funday Friday, where we head up the road to Sonoita to visit a couple of wineries!
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We are spending the month of March in Patagonia, Arizona. This little town is just an hour or so south of Tucson, where we hid from winter in February -- but a world's away. While Tucson has a population of over a million (for the entire Metro area) that swells even higher during the winter "snowbird" months, Patagonia's population is a mere 905. The downtown area is just three blocks long. You can walk or bike anywhere in town, and there's no any interstate highway close by. The temperatures in Patagonia are a little cooler than Tucson since the elevation is higher at 4050'. For a small town, Patagonia offers some surprising "big city" amenities like yoga and Pilates studios, a health-food store overflowing with bright, fresh organic produce, and art galleries. What you won't find here is a chain restaurant, or a chain anything, for that matter. Even the one gas station is a "mom and pop" type of place, very quirky, where we see locals hanging around and chatting during the day. Instead of Starbucks, you can get a cuppa at another popular local spot, Gathering Grounds. And the pizza is excellent at Velvet Elvis, with toppings like sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced potatoes, and fresh herbs. This is definitely not the small-town America I was familiar with from the southeast! Here are an assortment of shots one or the other of us took around town since we arrived here. Although there are a surprising number of trailers and mobile homes on the "back streets" in town, there are also some adorable little abodes, like these. Patagonia is a study in contrasts. The attractive library in a renovated building is right across Duquesne Ave. from a boarded up pool hall. Patagonia is a prime birding destination -- always a plus for us. There are huge cottonwood trees, mesquites, a wash (seasonal creek) running through town, and loads of birds. The Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve operated by the Nature Conservancy is well-known by birders near and far and is less than two miles down the road. We're looking forward to checking it out. In the meantime, there are birds to see all around town, including lots of ravens, for whatever reason! And the views of the surrounding mountains from town are stunning. Barry captured this mountain-view shot on Sunday morning. It had rained all day and night long on Saturday, but the higher elevations got snow instead. It's melted now, so I am pleased he got this photo of what might be the last snow of the season. We'll have lots more from Patagonia and the surrounding area in the coming days, so stay tuned!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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