Kit and Carol on the Road

On Saturday mornings I do my cholla walk at the National Park. This morning I was worried about the weather but it turned out quite nice. Alas, our dear legislature has not seen any way to compromise and the government is shut down so the park is shut down. So I didn't get to go. Our field trip (4th grade) on Thursday most likely be cancelled and our trip to Tumacacori with the Hendersons will have to be amended. No idea how long I will be out of work. We are getting some rain this afternoon but whatever it amounts to won't be enough to help our very dry desert.

Carol Harma--from my iPad

I have been volunteering in the desert for many years now but still have so much to learn. Last Saturday I was leading my cholla walk. One woman in the group kept asking about birds--a subject about which I know next to nothing. She pointed out an unusual bird and thought it looked like a mockingbird. I didn't even know we had mockingbirds. Then she also spotted the most unusual thing --a grasshopper (bright green) skewered on a cholla thorn. Stupid me for not taking a photo. I found out too late to tell her--that the bird was likely a loggerhead shrike and they will stick prey on a thorn or a barbed wire fence to either save it for later or hold it while they eat it .

Carol Harma--from my iPad

Nope. We found this oasis here in Tucson: in the middle of Reid Park. Because I'm not up to long hikes, we opted for a short walkabout in a place we hadn't previously explored. Then we had lunch at Rubios.