1000

Greetings all,
Today's post is "blog-centric" and it's about the blogging experience and some things I'm noticing after 2 and half years of blogging.  And it's an important landmark.

Red Tailed Hawk looking Gray in the sunlight

Today celebrates Las Aventuras' 1000th post.  I can't believe I've hit this mark.  Since its 2010 debut, Las Aventuras has been an incredible journey.  At 1000, I look at old posts and think....really?  My first year was a lot of learning (as it is for everyone). Most of the work was documentation and pics taken from the internet during those first couple months.  Lame! It wasn't an overnight thing but something I was definitely passionate about. And like anything, the more I learn, the better I get with my work.  For me it's chronicling the El Presidio Gardens, wildlife, photography and travel.  But I'll admit it's turned a little "birdy" lately:)  And that's okay.  That's where I'm at right now.  The weather has been cooling and so I'll be out in the garden more getting plants in place etc.  I have hesitated to put anything in on our courtyard yet because we are waiting on the fountain to get set up.  And we're very close!

On this 1000th post, I am feeling exhausted and daily updates will be a thing of the past starting January.  I had planned on doing that this year until I began to journal other works.  This blog attracts a variety of searches.  The top ten ALL TIME posts are:

Cooper's Hawk

1. The Wall-It's about Meth addiction in my neighborhood and problems with the cement borders along the El Presidio Gardens
2. Royal Purple Smoke Tree-A popular plant world wide and it's beautiful in the garden here at El Presidio
3. Yosemite National Park-Not my greatest shots and with a terrible camera at the time.
4. Xochimilco, Mexico City-A date gone wrong during my youth.  Met up with someone in Mexico City at this place. I figured that if the date went wrong, I'd at least learn about a new Mexico City landmark. Turns out I made a good decision:)
5. The Gorilla-One of the places on my bucket list. It's at Virunga National Park and about the last of the wild Western Gorillas.  The pictures are not my own but it is a fascinating look at this park around a volcano that I hope to visit one day.  I have lots of goals:) 
6. Wisteria-beautiful plant but doesn't grow well here in Tucson.  If you live in the Old Pueblo, I wouldn't use it.  I've seen it in the landscape but it doesn't "go to town" like say places in California, etc. 
7. Spider Plants-that house plant is still strong and highly favored by people worldwide.
8. Year of the Solar System-written from my notes at a NASA lecture, this post is SUPER long.
9. What's a Rain Chain?  One of my first posts about the exploration of garden art during my docent training at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
10. Birds Beware-about my ignorance and putting spikes on the wall to keep the meth addicts from jumping into the El Presidio Gardens by putting Pigeon spikes up around the concrete walls.  Although it hasn't left my mind entirely, I hestitate because I don't want to harm the wildlife at our place.  But since that write Meth crossing has gone way down due to a Cacti garden barrier going up and high police patrols.

An unintended affect from my work on this blog has been also good for "business". Or from people wanting to use my photography for business or to have in their homes.  Currently I have work that will be published by a university on UNESCO sites in January regarding Coiba island.  Another photo right now is being reviewed for possible use at a local Tucson business.  All of this has made me research the "photography" business more.  All in all, this blog has been about research on everything. And it's all a work of love.

Cactus Wren

The camera work is getting trickier as I am wanting to do more with my photography. I currently use the Canon Rebel.  I have 3 lens that I primarily use.  The 300 mm is my favorite:)  I'd like to thank Rosemary for the Beautiful Blogger Award.  Check out her blog Tales From My Garden. She's a poetic soul with incredible shots of flowers, wildlife and more! Thank you Rosemary.

Juvenile White Crowned Sparrow

7 things about myself?

1.  Love fantasy and sci fi stuff....the inspiration behind this blog really:)

2.  Travel is exciting and it inspires me whether it's here in Southern Arizona or in far away France.  This year I'd like to go to Mexico City, Florida and Montana with a summer trip to Ecuador or Argentina.

3. I do like cats a lot.  When it gets crazy with those teenager folks, I imagine my cats on the couch with me reading a good book.  In fact, I even made a corner in the classroom full of cats.  It's bizarre, weird and funny all at the same time.  My room is an eclectic mix of Spanish art, culture, wildlife, cats, elves, Walter Mercado, and papers that need grading. It's the most comfortable room on campus and I'm proud of the fact that kids enjoy coming to my classroom and hang out. And a place for UA students to train and learn the way of Spanish teaching:)  Passing the torch on.....

4. I like gardening when it's not hot and when home owners don't throw cig butts or trash on the ground.  I also don't like acorn season.  That's when thousands and thousands of Live Oak acorns fall onto our courtyard every year....like now:)

5. I order taco salad everywhere I go. 

6. Love my kindle.  If I'm not writing, exploring places with my camera, I'm reading....something.  Current read  The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs was recommended by Kathy of FKH Photo Journal. PS THANK YOU!!!  It's a great read.

7.  I would love to have my own personal Mexican Courtyard.

This adventure is just beginning or maybe it has been going on for quite some time now.....but I'm not ready to sit back on my couch and watch TV yet.  There are places that call my name and I'll be there with my camera and notepad to write it all down.  I hope you enjoy the journeys wherever they may be.  You don't have to go far to discover new things.    More tomorrow.....

A Rohrerbot Production 2012

On Top of My World

Inspired by A Garden On Sherlock Street, I decided to go on top of my roof and show you all an "aerial" view from several areas around the El Presidio Gardens.  This post is also for David from The Desert Edge.  You asked me awhile back to take a look at those Palo Verdes on the other side of our parking lot wall.....and today I'll show you what it looks like from high above.  I am scared of heights and climbing onto the hot summer roof needed to be done before monsoon.  There were beer bottles  along with lots and lots of acorns.

El Presidio is two stories high.  When I moved here 4 years ago, there was nothing here.  Look at the other side of that fence and you'll see what I had to work with......empty space!!!  This was actually beneficial for me as I was able to organize and plan out the space.  I didn't think I could have a green garden as it was all rock and ugly clay soil.  It was a battle and I remember that a lot of sweat and tears went into the physical planning.  You are looking down upon the Fern Garden.  The tree on the left is Chitalpa.  The tree on the right with the purple blooms is the Jacaranda.  The bushes behind with the red blooms are the oleander that provide a natural green screen from the ugly school behind.   The purpose of this garden was shade protection for birds.  And also for our energy bills.

Tucson is a desert.  It's one of the "greenest" deserts in the world.  We have some of the highest plant and animal diversity in our Sonoran ecosystem.   It was a hot day and I had to clean acorns off the roof.  It has taken me years of proper pruning etc to get this view.   At the end of the roof(above pic), you will note one of our very healthy Live Oaks.  To the right of that tree is a Mesquite forest and close to the front of the pic is a Euc.   Palo Verdes are yellow in the background creating a wonderful canopy for birds to nest, shade etc.

Every space requires fixing.  When I look at the space below, I see several holes.  There is a cactus that I hope will fill in that spot.  It is growing but after last years freeze, many of our cacti froze to death.  This is a transplant that is slowly moving up and out:)  If you are interested in bird gardening, it is important to provide lots of hiding areas where they can sit in the shade.  The blossoms provide food for our hummingbird and verdin populations.

But this photo best expresses what I've done to our property.   I love the desert but if you notice the adjacent property, there isn't much going on there.  There's a lovely Ocotillo and a lot of open ground with little landscaping. Most of the properties around us look like this, but I refuse to accept that landscaping in the desert HAS to be boring.  It's not.  It's quite exciting.  And our water bills are excellent.....proper planning.  My big issue will be the pruning over the years but luckily we have some great homeowners here who help out with the cuts.  Now the next set of pics are for you David:)

I'm curious.  This property is a group of Ecoconscious condos.  Note the rain barrels and Palo Verdes.  They have grown quite large over the the past 2 years!  They've added a lovely shade to our hottest exposure...the West side of the gardens. As they've grown, the trees have extended their arms onto our parking area.  Their back area is quite small and has also become a nesting ground for hummingbirds. I will say that they have really left their grounds extremely well maintained.  It is all very Sonoran and desert friendly. I'm not complaining about the Palo Verde choices, BUT were they appropriate for that tiny space?

Let's pull back a little.  Our old warm charm and their modern day charm has created a thicket of trees for birds.  The very left of this photo is a Children's Academy that has sparse vegetation. 

I'll leave you with this image here.  I'm happy with the progress of the property but I am concerned about several of these Palo Verdes growing into our parking area.  Suggestions?  Ideas?  I can tell you that once hummingbird nesting is over, I'll be asking the homeowners to do some pruning on the lower branches.  Several hummers have placed nests under the park area.  Very very smart:)  I'm making progress at El Presidio.  It's slow, but the face of our landscape is changing and every year I smile even more:)  More tomorrow.....