Took a different
route on our morning walk...went down to the big tire, turned left then
meandered over to the frontage road. We may or may not have been where we
didn’t belong but nobody challenged us.
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My photographic
focus this morning was flora...with a bird coming out of nest hole in a saguaro
thrown in for good measure. Marilyn and
I found plants that feature balls with blue flowers along the frontage road that bear
watching. She initially thought it was
in its dying stage...I’m hoping it’s the blooming stage because it could be
quite an interesting flower or weed.
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Also came across an interesting grass plant
used for soil stabilization along the new part of the frontage road. I picked a stalk so I could use it for
comparison on Google. I did all sorts of
searches but couldn’t find a match. I
showed it to Kim and he said, “Oh, that looks like wheat. Google pictures of wheat.” Cha-ching! It’s actually called ‘common wheat’ but I’ve
never seen this kind of head on a stalk of wheat. But then have I really scrutinized the wheat
back home? No.
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One of the
wildflower plants we found today has little yellow balls up to about 3/8” in
diameter each on its own stalk but with several stalks branching out from the main
stem. Definitely a job for Google to
identify this one. I typed in “little
yellow ball flowers” and voila! I found it or at least I think I did. There are a couple of varieties and the
differences are minute and confusing. I do not know the language involved in
the technicality of flowers. Closest I
can tell its proper name is either Craspedia or Pycnosorus but there are
several common names: billy buttons, drumstricks, or billy balls. I thought it should be called the ‘sewing pin’
because that’s what it looks like. 👍 Anyway, identifying it might become easier as
it matures or perhaps it’s already mature....we’ll be watching to see if it
grows. I think it won’t matter though...the
name ‘billy balls’ hits my mom’s funny bone so that’s what she calls them.
I also found out
that ‘Billy balls’ signify good health and wellness. They are popular as an add-in to dried floral
arrangements.
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We decided that a
stroll down the frontage road to keep an eye on the development of the wildflowers should
be a daily occurrence...timing of the stroll is subject to change.
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As we were walking
today looking at the various flowers, grasses, birds flying in and out of nest
holes in a saguaro and trying to get a picture of the occasional butterfly
doing its part in the pollination game, it occurred to me that this isn’t a
horrible way to pass the time while staying out of crowds. I’d rather be strolling at the Pinal County
Fair today but since it was cancelled due to COVID-19, walking in the sunshine
and checking out the local flora and fauna is a good alternative. Now that we’ve discovered the nearby flora more
of the fauna needs to appear when I’m around.
Just sayin’....
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Took a bike ride
this afternoon. Sunny and 73 degrees...needed
extra layers, though, because there was a coolness to the air. Rode to Saguaro National Park West...visitor
center was closed as expected but bathrooms were open. Walked around the trail by the visitor’s
center then headed back to camp. Kept my eyes open for a javelina but all I
saw were birds. Kim
stopped at the Eloy IGA for eggs (the shelves were still empty) while I rode to
the hot dog stand to buy supper. There
was a woman making up the hot dogs today; usually there’s a young man. Anyway, we all agreed that the dogs were a bit
milder on Monday than they were today. Kim thought jalapenos; I thought a different sauce. Whatever the cause my mouth was feeling the
heat for sure.
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Too cloudy for Kim
to image so he and I played a game of Farkle before each of us turned our
attention to other things. Marilyn passed
on playing; she was trying to read but that was called on account of
tiredness. It will be an early night for
all of us...Kim got about 5 hours of sleep last night and I'm fading fast because of all the fresh air today.
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Bike miles today: 94
Total miles: 1467
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