A Desert Early Morning

To beat the heat of the day, hiking is first thing in the morning. When I arrive at the trailhead, the sun is rising over the Rincon Mountains in the east.

When I last hiked these trails in mid June the saguaros were nearing the end of their blossoming. There are always a few exceptions at the end of August as I noted a very few with buds and blossoms. While I was away at Prescott, the saguaro fruit had ripened and was harvested by birds and man.

With the recent monsoon rains, the desert is green. The ocotillo sticks are fully leafed out. Even the cactus looks greener. The moisture also provided an environment for bothersome insects. They would be gone by the middle of the day as it warmed up. Of course, I would also be gone.

A hazard with walking the trails at dawn is the over night migrations of spiders on their threads across the path. Threads at knee level are okay. Ptui is my reaction when they are at the level of my face. Then there was the very ambitious web built right across the trail. Not sure what that spider expected to catch, but I was too strong to be stopped.

This is the time of year for the barrel cactus bloom. The red halo of blossoms atop the barrel provides a striking contrast to the desert green.

The prickly pear fruit is ripe and ready to harvest. The few spines on the fruit keeps me from attempting a taste test. No doubt there is a way to deal with those spines since prickly pear jam is available for purchase.

After an early morning hike I found myself on my way home in the midst of commuter traffic.

Oy! The memories.