Sunday, November 28, 2021
In the park
Used to be we spent a fair number of volunteer hours in Saguaro National Park. Life before Covid. My main gig was working with 3rd and 4th graders on field trips. In the G.O.D. (good old days) we had at least 2 field trips per week and up to 10 volunteers. Now we are down to 2 volunteers and only one field trip (total) was scheduled for this season though we hope there may be more before spring. I also devoted Saturdays to guided walks, then patio talks. Now there are no adult programs (allowed by the park). So I am spending Saturdays and whenever doing what I call Ranger by the Road; spending two hours at one of the interpretive pullouts talking to people, answering questions, ...
I quite love to do this, get to meet people from all over the US. It never fails that the person with the most questions shows up just as I am getting ready to leave. Counted 56 contacts on this last Saturday. Kit is still doing bike patrol around the loop road.
Wednesday before Thanksgiving we "hiked" the Mica View trail (1 1/2 mile easy walk). We were fortunate to see a rattlesnake which I guess means it is still the warm season. People always ask (worriedly) about rattlesnakes but this is only the second I have seen in over 10 years on park trails. I know this trail pretty well having done weekly guided walks here for a number of years (my cholla walks). I am tracking the demise of the granddaddy saguaro which was one of the stops on my walk--until one day it was down across the trail. No event that we can tell--just old age. Now it is just a skeleton.
I also noted that the cholla (cactus) that held a good example of a cactus wren nest has recently fallen--the nest is still amazingly intact. And my favorite Christmas cholla has died. Luckily there are new ones near by.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
I quite love to do this, get to meet people from all over the US. It never fails that the person with the most questions shows up just as I am getting ready to leave. Counted 56 contacts on this last Saturday. Kit is still doing bike patrol around the loop road.
Wednesday before Thanksgiving we "hiked" the Mica View trail (1 1/2 mile easy walk). We were fortunate to see a rattlesnake which I guess means it is still the warm season. People always ask (worriedly) about rattlesnakes but this is only the second I have seen in over 10 years on park trails. I know this trail pretty well having done weekly guided walks here for a number of years (my cholla walks). I am tracking the demise of the granddaddy saguaro which was one of the stops on my walk--until one day it was down across the trail. No event that we can tell--just old age. Now it is just a skeleton.
I also noted that the cholla (cactus) that held a good example of a cactus wren nest has recently fallen--the nest is still amazingly intact. And my favorite Christmas cholla has died. Luckily there are new ones near by.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
# posted by Carol Harma @ 10:54 AM 
