Raptor Free-flight at the AZ-Sonora Desert Museum

Fun news on a Monday: 

this photo/highlight ("Up close at the Raptor-Free-Flight") was just chosen as one of the week's finalists in the AFAR/Vayama "Catch the World" Contest!

(Thanks, AFAR!)

...which got me thinking about some other scenes from the Raptor Free-flight, which only has a couple of weeks left for this year's season...Check it out NOW, or you'll have to wait another six months.

It really is one of the coolest things to see/do in Tucson--no, in all of Arizona. 

Six years ago, (already?!), when my wife and I visited, before deciding to move here, we spent a day at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum--this shot of an owl is from that day:

It may be 'just' a barn owl, but still...way cool...

Over the years, we've been several times--almost every out-of-town visitor who stays with us agrees that it's one of the highlights of a stay in Tucson. So--a few more 'postcards' below...

Harris Hawks--one of only two raptor species that hunt as a 'pack'...

(I can't remember exactly what species this one is...such a great face...)

Not so pretty, perhaps, but Chihuahua ravens are BIG...and smart...

Ahh, kestrels...check out those big brown eyes...and the blue 'eye-shadow'...

Docents frequently have some of the raptors, such as this owl, out-and-about; up close and personal: 

Go.

(Do NOT watch Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS before going.

This last caveat's for you, L., dear amiga up in Seattle...

Alas, ornithophobia...)

books, tortoise, wildflowers: beginning of spring in Tucson

This past weekend started with snow on the mountains and a literary tent-city at the University, and ended with my first in-the-wild sighting of a desert tortoise.

...beginning with the Tucson Festival of Books, one of the largest book festivals in the country:

The Festival of Books--so much more than just books--more of a vast fair (on the campus of the University of Arizona--hundreds of organizations and vendors spread out on The Mall) that distills the literary tastes and cultural possibilities of an entire region. Authors from all over the country, cooking demonstrations, national park docents, a food-court-restaurant-village, readings, signings, science-for-children, SW Native American arts...

 Some Tohono O'odham basketry--by artist Della Cruz...

...and Apache flute-playing, in one of the Western National Park tents:

I had a Sonoran hot-dog for lunch, under a palm, 

while face-painted children, holding their parents' hands, paraded by...

Tents and tents of books. Find your author.

I got to meet an author I've admired for years: Chang-rae Lee, incidentally!

His most recent novel, "The Surrendered" won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

and was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize--it's haunting and harrowing,

dealing with the Korean War and its aftermath...

 (Here's the New York Times review.)

Bookish factoid:

only Miami, The Library of Congress in Washington DC, 

and Los Angeles have bigger book festivals than Tucson.

And of course, what would a public event on a university campus be,

without some provocative (offensive?) 'free-speech:'

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Sunday afternoon, perfect for a long run on the loop-road in Saguaro National Park East

Hard to believe the place was snow-covered just a couple of weeks ago, now that the first spring wildflowers are coming up--some fairy-duster among the prickly-pear, and desert bladderpod (member of the mustard family) on the ground--lots of edibles for desert tortoises...

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Last week, in Sabino Canyon, was when I noted the first wildflowers of the season--a few Mexican gold poppies beginning to appear in the lower canyon...

Spring.

And...
...ending with a shameless request.
Check out http://whyilovearizona.com/flowers-cactus.htm
It's a locally-sponsored photography contest with a substantial cash prize.
I'd appreciate your vote!

(Vote for "on the path to spring in the Sonoran Desert;" it's cropped weird on this page, but I hope you'll think the photo is worthy...)

Whimsical or Voyeuristic? An Afternoon in Palm Springs...

This past Monday, as my wife and I were driving back to Tucson after a quick trip to Southern California, we decided to get off I-10 and spend a few hours in Palm Springs. We'd driven by it many times but had never stopped. So--a ride up the Swiss-built aerial tram to Mt. San Jacinto, then lunch and downtown-pedestrian-browsing before driving the remaining hours across the desert...

This stopped us in our tracks:

More about Marilyn in a moment...

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Not far off the freeway, you drive up into Chino Canyon, where you can take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up to the snowy and forested Mt. San Jacinto wilderness...

From the lodge at the top, a view over the Desert Cities 

across the San Andreas Fault 

to the low mountains of Joshua Tree National Park...

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So, back to downtown,
at the corner of Palm Canyon Drive and Tahquitz Canyon Way:

Twenty-six feet tall, seventeen tons of steel, aluminum and paint--"Forever Marilyn" by artist Seward Johnson, inspired by this famous photo from the film "The Seven Year Itch."

Monumental? Kitschy? 

A celebration or an indictment of celebrity-worship? 

Sympathetic or exploitative? 

(And no, we did not pose for our photo under 'her' legs...)

...and I couldn't resist this shot--the triangle of the toddler, reclining guy positioned just so, and the statue's (whimsical? voyeuristic?) backside: the toddler (whose face I've respectfully blurred) seemed to be staring at the guy lying on the lawn, accusing him: "really, dude? You're napping right there, staring at the statue? Kinda creepy..."

Incidentally, the new issue of The Atlantic has an insightful essay on Marilyn Monroe's celebrity-hood... 

(For the rest of the iphone-photos from Palm Springs, click here...)

What's your verdict on this statue?

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...and back home in Tucson, after last week's snow, it's already back into the 80's...
--looking over Bear Canyon, on a trail run the other evening: 

Snow! in Tucson!

Years can go by without snowfall in Tucson.

So when the rain turned to snow late yesterday morning, I just had to let the kids go outside for a bit; the school where I teach has a significant number of students from Africa--this girl from Ethiopia had never seen it snow before yesterday:

The mountains all around get dumped on several times each winter, but to have the snow level drop down to 2500' or 2000' (600m-760m)--the last time that happened was six years ago, before my wife and I moved here...SNOW IS ALWAYS A BIG DEAL IN TUCSON!

So--as it began to accumulate, the only sane and humane thing to do was to let the class go outside for a quick snowball fight:

(I got one in, too; the students weren't quite quick enough to get me back...and then the bell rang...)

Such a change--just the day before, the high temperature here was 70 degrees.

After school, I went home to change into hiking boots, then went up to Sabino Canyon. The sun had come out and was already melting the lower-elevation snow--that happens so fast in the desert:

...but then the clouds began to roll back in... 

Before I could hike back to the car, a sleety mix began falling.

...and back home, by dinnertime, it had begun to snow--AND stick!--again... 

...unusual to see oleander, cactus, mesquite and yucca frosted with the white stuff...

There was no guarantee, though, that it would stick around until the morning...
...but I set the alarm early just in case (today and tomorrow are school-holidays in Tucson--the Rodeo/Fiesta de los Vaqueras is in town)...

When I woke up this morning, there was still a bit of snow on the patio, so I put my coffee in a travel mug and got in the car, betting that the higher elevation Rincon foothills might still be covered in snow. For years I've wanted to see the rare spectacle of a saguaro forest covered in snow, and Saguaro National Park East is only about a 15-20 minute drive from where we live, so I hoped that last night's snow hadn't melted yet...

...and when I got there, I got my wish:

I got there right before the sun rose over the Rincon Mountains.

Looking back over the NE part of the Tucson basin, 

toward the Santa Catalina Mountains, still covered in clouds:

The ocotillos had just begun to leaf out last week--now blanketed...

 ...but not for long; as soon as the sun rose over the ridge, 

I could hear the drip drip of the snow melting all around me...

  
For me, a teacher, having today off from work--the timing couldn't have been more perfect...it might have been overpoweringly tempting to call in sick had today been a school-day...

...like a giant pitchfork, the saguaro's shadow...

By the time I got back to the trailhead parking lot, the melting was well under way...

So ephemeral...

Snow in Tucson.

(How many years before the next time?)

[For iphoneograpic-scenes of yesterday's and today's 

Tucson snow, click here.]

Bulgogi-Torta?! ...and every February: the African Art Village

My wife and I went to a new spot to eat a few days ago--"Umi Star:"

Call it what you will--KoMex, Mexicorean, Korexican, Asian Fusion--it's gaining a foothold in the Desert Southwest. In addition to the Tucson food-truck scene, you can now get sit-down fare at Umi Star, just five minutes north of the University of Arizona. And it's more than just tacos. 

"Tortas" are the logical next step in marrying NE-Asian and South-of-the-border tastes, now that galbi (Korean beef short-rib) tacos and kimchi-quesadillas are becoming mainstream tastes in several cities around the country. Here at Umi Star, "bulgogi" (tender marinated beef) topped with a fried egg are at the translated heart of this Mexican sandwich standard. 

"Tater Todd's" (rice wrapped with red snapper, garlic aioli, then baked and served with a soy chili plum sauce) are a tasty tapa...

...and the Sushi-burrito (wrapped in almost fluorescent soy-paper) is another winning invention.

The small-but-airy space has a hipster-maritime feel--appropriate, since "umi" means "sea" in Japanese...and while my wife and I were enjoying our food, tastes from another island--Cuban pork--were roasting away...(Plus, sake is half-off on Thursdays!)

And remember, you heard it here first: kimchi is the new salsa...

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Last Friday, after work, I went to the the African Art Village:

Every February, for about two decades now,Tucson becomes a gathering place for artists and vendors from all over Africa: for a couple of weeks, a tent city pops up and about a hundred vendors set up shop. 

 Associated with the six-decade-old tradition of the international Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, this is one of the largest gatherings of its kind in North America.

A small outdoor kitchen serves up Lamb stew, rice and plantains so you can get a taste of West Africa before or after browsing. 

I love the abstract faces on the right. This particular tent was run by a guy from Burkina Faso;

he really opened up when I spoke to him in French. We chatted for a few minutes; he explained that these statues are from Sudan and that he's just not finding any more of their kind any more...

...and some crocodiles from Côte d'Ivoire:

There's something for almost everyone--from strands of beads for jewelry-makers to monumentally-sized sculptures, and of course, tie-dye clothing. Furniture from Mali, textiles from Burkina Faso, totems from Sudan, sculpture from Côte d'Ivoire, Zulu baskets, reproductions of Bénin bronzes and masks from across the continent--all in one place.

The rest of the year, 

it's a nondescript desert lot behind a Waffle House 

adjacent to the Interstate highway--

but every February, it's a polyglot bazaar.

This year it's running through February 17th.

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