Last month, as I contemplated the rapidly approaching month of June, I made a mental note to remember that it had been a rather placid May in terms of the mercury. I hold no such promise for June. It will be hot, disgustingly and appallingly hot. There’s no way around it. Nor would I have […]
Vince Pinto
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Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
As April comes to an end, so does the lingering luster of winter’s rain. Wildflowers born of this year’s meager cold season inexorably succumb to the desiccating anvil of the sun, as well as relentless drying winds. Spring’s transition into our dry summer can be a painful and austere, yet rewarding metamorphosis to witness. Gone […]
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March Madness—Avian Style
March is truly a month of transition for our Sky Island birds. True, April through May is peak migration time for many species, but March holds it own, special allure. Many early migrants begin to spill into our area from their wintering grounds further south and a keen eye might reveal a few surprises.
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Waiting for a Moon Dog
Here in sunny southern Arizona we generally enjoy winter weather that would easily qualify as summer in some cooler temperate regions of the globe. We proffer sun to legions of cold-weary souls seeking succor from snow, icy winds, and leaden skies. Yet, the increasingly warm, dry, and sunny weather that draws snowbirds and vacationers alike […]
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Sorting Sparrows
As late Autumn seamlessly melds with early Winter here in our Sky Islands, we find ourselves devoid of many of our characteristic warm-weather bird species. Gone are the vast majority of the gaudy neotropical migrants that lent color and flare to our all-too-brief monsoon season. Summer Tanagers no longer sing here, living up to their […]
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Desert Bloom…Pariah or Pollinator Paradise?
It’s late October and I am already reminiscing about the profuse display of diversity that the land proffered during our all-too-brief monsoon season. It will be an entire year until once again I’m witness to the annual summer exuberance that always seems to take me by surprise. Looking in nature’s proverbial rearview mirror can be […]
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Monsoon Madness: A Profusion of Life
Strolling along a small arroyo in a light rain recently, I experienced my yearly monsoonal “fig beetle fakeout.” These comely insects flash iridescent green in their hard outer wing coverings, rendering them a welcome and attractive sight. It was the buzz of their inner flight wings, however, that got my attention. The sound was just […]