Yesterday, being Christmas, I decided to treat myself to a trip to get a few pictures of these animals plus hoard some more Cholla.
In particular, this guy. You can't see it because it's right foot is in a hole, but that right hoof is what I believe is called a "Club foot". The poor guy walks on the leading edge of the hoof. When I first saw these animals on the 5th of December, this guy walked perfectly without a limp, so it's probably not a big deal to it. Anyway, I developed a liking for it and went out to visit. All the other animals came to me, but this guy looks to be shy. I couldn't get it to move towards me at all. So, this is the only picture of my favorite of the bunch. Didn't mention it before, but all these animals are rescue animals that were in abusive environments previously..
When I got there, 1 horse, 1 mule, and 5 cows had gotten through the fence. I don't know why,but I only have one picture and it's only one cow. that one stayed around with the horse and mule the whole time I was there. The other 4 cows decided to leave and headed north, disappearing into the desert.
I met the owner back on the 5th, but can't remember his name. He told me I was welcomed there anytime, but I didn't get any contact info. I now wish I had as his animals are escaping and that's not good. One thing, his property is at least 5 miles from any highway. There's enough grass for the cows to graze on, so they might not go far.
Now, on to the Cholla logging expedition. Being an old man with sudden urges, I stopped to do the thing and Lookie here. The bottom one is CylindroPuntia Fulgida with a trunk at the base of 5+". The one at the top is CylindroPuntia Versecolor. It's trunk is also over 5" near the base. This variety is a much more solid wood the the Fulgida. I got about 6 of them on this trip as I fell into a forest of them. Notice the 3 Fulgidas behind the downed Versecolor. Two are alive, and the one near the fence is dead. The trunk of the closet is over 7" diameter. The one at the fence was supposed to have been poached, but I forgot about it. My truck was full anyway, and there is always tomorrow.
Another picture of Kitt Peak. From where I took this picture is exactly 19.38 miles to the Sun Scope, the building built at an angle. The dome on the right is the Mayhall scope built by the U of A. I love that mountain range. The bottom picture was taken with my phone camera while driving. Bad, Bad! There are windows of when to get a good picture because the scopes look like they disappear during the day during full sun. Cloudy days are best, especially when there are broken clouds.
After getting enough Cholla off private property, I decided to do some exploring instead of heading back home. Home is east, but I had never taken any of the dirt roads west. When I say dirt roads, they are usually a dirt track with bare spore where tires wore down the vegetation. Anyway, I made my way out, but as heading west, I found a treasure for @Mr. Peet . Ocotillo stump about a foot long with one stalk that was about 2" OD. There is another, but it got buried and I didn't want to dig it out. You can see the root almost touching the one pictured. Hopefully, this will add to your collection, Mark.
Somewhere near the drive through the desert, I saw this white vehicle just above the trees. Wow, I'm closer to the highway than I thought, I said to myself. As I kept driving for another 2 miles, I discovered it was Border Patrol helecopter searching the desert. I guess I was on the fringe of their search area because they didn't pay any attention to me at all. I even stopped and got another Cholla I couldn't resist. I saw the chopper at least 3 times before I got to the road. When I got there, I certainly figured I would be searched, asked what I was doing, asked about weapons and any other questions LE would ask someone that would be in the area of their search. Here's the chopper after I got to the highway.
When I got to the highway, there was one BP facing south toward Mexico, and another with a horse trailer facing north. They were also at the gate/cattle guard at the entrance to the King Anvil Ranch, which I have permission to collect off of. I waved as I went by, and saw another BP vehicle hiding behind a tree less than a 1/4 mile from the other two. As I was driving home, I remembered that I hadn't gotten the Chollas that are in the picture after the cow picture.
No problem, I'll just take Diamond Bell Road east across to Sierrita Mountain Road, turn south and drive to my stash. While on this trip, I had onXhunt on and was using the tracker. The road up ahead just barely crossed into a corner of BLM land. So, when the tracker noted I entered BLM, I stopped and started searching for more wood. Now, does anyone else see a problem here?? My truck is already loaded, and I'm looking for more.
Anyway, where I stopped and crossed the road to explore north side of the land. I found what in my opinion is rarer than than Hens Teeth. A Palo Verde with burls on it, plus several limb galls. Two galls had fallen off the tree and were easy to get. I looked around for more burled trees and found about 4 more. The only problem was I was on a paved road out by Diamond Bell, a residential area out in the middle of Nowhere, Arizona. Population there is just about 100 houses, so maybe 200 people.
About the time I figured I would poach one large burl/gall, I headed back to the truck parked on the road. A car went by. I had the two galls in my hand. They looked closely and drove on. When I got my saw out, and was walking across the road, another car went by and the driver saw my saw. He was also on the phone. Paranoia set in, but I persevered. I figured if anyone was going to turn around and come back to see what I was doing, I would use that dead cow I just found there as an excuse for the saw. There were bones everywhere.
I waited about 5 minutes, and then cut one large gall/burl off one tree. Got it into the truck, and explored the south side of the road. Found about 4-5 more trees with burl and galls. There were also several long dead Palo Verdes with burls. I got out my saw again and cut one. After that, I figured I was pushing my luck and took off to collect my stash alongside the road. Retrieved it and headed home. Picture of my Booty next post. ........... Jerry (in Tucson)
In particular, this guy. You can't see it because it's right foot is in a hole, but that right hoof is what I believe is called a "Club foot". The poor guy walks on the leading edge of the hoof. When I first saw these animals on the 5th of December, this guy walked perfectly without a limp, so it's probably not a big deal to it. Anyway, I developed a liking for it and went out to visit. All the other animals came to me, but this guy looks to be shy. I couldn't get it to move towards me at all. So, this is the only picture of my favorite of the bunch. Didn't mention it before, but all these animals are rescue animals that were in abusive environments previously..
When I got there, 1 horse, 1 mule, and 5 cows had gotten through the fence. I don't know why,but I only have one picture and it's only one cow. that one stayed around with the horse and mule the whole time I was there. The other 4 cows decided to leave and headed north, disappearing into the desert.
I met the owner back on the 5th, but can't remember his name. He told me I was welcomed there anytime, but I didn't get any contact info. I now wish I had as his animals are escaping and that's not good. One thing, his property is at least 5 miles from any highway. There's enough grass for the cows to graze on, so they might not go far.
Now, on to the Cholla logging expedition. Being an old man with sudden urges, I stopped to do the thing and Lookie here. The bottom one is CylindroPuntia Fulgida with a trunk at the base of 5+". The one at the top is CylindroPuntia Versecolor. It's trunk is also over 5" near the base. This variety is a much more solid wood the the Fulgida. I got about 6 of them on this trip as I fell into a forest of them. Notice the 3 Fulgidas behind the downed Versecolor. Two are alive, and the one near the fence is dead. The trunk of the closet is over 7" diameter. The one at the fence was supposed to have been poached, but I forgot about it. My truck was full anyway, and there is always tomorrow.
Another picture of Kitt Peak. From where I took this picture is exactly 19.38 miles to the Sun Scope, the building built at an angle. The dome on the right is the Mayhall scope built by the U of A. I love that mountain range. The bottom picture was taken with my phone camera while driving. Bad, Bad! There are windows of when to get a good picture because the scopes look like they disappear during the day during full sun. Cloudy days are best, especially when there are broken clouds.
After getting enough Cholla off private property, I decided to do some exploring instead of heading back home. Home is east, but I had never taken any of the dirt roads west. When I say dirt roads, they are usually a dirt track with bare spore where tires wore down the vegetation. Anyway, I made my way out, but as heading west, I found a treasure for @Mr. Peet . Ocotillo stump about a foot long with one stalk that was about 2" OD. There is another, but it got buried and I didn't want to dig it out. You can see the root almost touching the one pictured. Hopefully, this will add to your collection, Mark.
Somewhere near the drive through the desert, I saw this white vehicle just above the trees. Wow, I'm closer to the highway than I thought, I said to myself. As I kept driving for another 2 miles, I discovered it was Border Patrol helecopter searching the desert. I guess I was on the fringe of their search area because they didn't pay any attention to me at all. I even stopped and got another Cholla I couldn't resist. I saw the chopper at least 3 times before I got to the road. When I got there, I certainly figured I would be searched, asked what I was doing, asked about weapons and any other questions LE would ask someone that would be in the area of their search. Here's the chopper after I got to the highway.
When I got to the highway, there was one BP facing south toward Mexico, and another with a horse trailer facing north. They were also at the gate/cattle guard at the entrance to the King Anvil Ranch, which I have permission to collect off of. I waved as I went by, and saw another BP vehicle hiding behind a tree less than a 1/4 mile from the other two. As I was driving home, I remembered that I hadn't gotten the Chollas that are in the picture after the cow picture.
No problem, I'll just take Diamond Bell Road east across to Sierrita Mountain Road, turn south and drive to my stash. While on this trip, I had onXhunt on and was using the tracker. The road up ahead just barely crossed into a corner of BLM land. So, when the tracker noted I entered BLM, I stopped and started searching for more wood. Now, does anyone else see a problem here?? My truck is already loaded, and I'm looking for more.
Anyway, where I stopped and crossed the road to explore north side of the land. I found what in my opinion is rarer than than Hens Teeth. A Palo Verde with burls on it, plus several limb galls. Two galls had fallen off the tree and were easy to get. I looked around for more burled trees and found about 4 more. The only problem was I was on a paved road out by Diamond Bell, a residential area out in the middle of Nowhere, Arizona. Population there is just about 100 houses, so maybe 200 people.
About the time I figured I would poach one large burl/gall, I headed back to the truck parked on the road. A car went by. I had the two galls in my hand. They looked closely and drove on. When I got my saw out, and was walking across the road, another car went by and the driver saw my saw. He was also on the phone. Paranoia set in, but I persevered. I figured if anyone was going to turn around and come back to see what I was doing, I would use that dead cow I just found there as an excuse for the saw. There were bones everywhere.
I waited about 5 minutes, and then cut one large gall/burl off one tree. Got it into the truck, and explored the south side of the road. Found about 4-5 more trees with burl and galls. There were also several long dead Palo Verdes with burls. I got out my saw again and cut one. After that, I figured I was pushing my luck and took off to collect my stash alongside the road. Retrieved it and headed home. Picture of my Booty next post. ........... Jerry (in Tucson)
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