This year we set out to cut our own Christmas tree, something we have never done before. In earlier years, we purchased from local Christmas tree lots. A few years later, we gave in to the convenience of an artificial tree, and then (gasp) we permanently wired the lights. But this year we did our […]
Last Goodby to the Little Sea Cow
Who couldn’t love a tiny, shy marine mammal nicknamed “the little sea cow,” that wears mascara and lipstick, and has an eternal smile? Us humans, apparently. The five-foot long, 150-pound Vaquita porpoise, with calf The most endangered marine mammal in the world lives only about a four-hour drive south of metro Phoenix, in the Sea […]
A Thin Thread of Blue-Green Waters
Before western “civilization” industrialized the transportation of water to our normally-arid region, indigenous peoples in these dry lands lived where nature chose to hydrate the landscape. In one very special case, the terrain was shaped by ocean sedimentation, upheaval, and erosion to form an almost inaccessible canyon-channel with sufficient elevation change to form magical waterfalls […]