A February Visit to the Phoenix Zoo

Last Thursday, I boarded the Dial-a-Ride bus and headed for the Phoenix Zoo. Non-medical outings are few and far between, so I was really looking forward to this visit. When a roadrunner ran across the road just before the turn-off to the zoo, I took it as a good omen-- and it was. This may have been a non-medical outing, but it certainly did my body and soul a world of good.

Let me share a few of the photos I took-- maybe even a video or two-- and for those of you who may be sick of winter, there are some flower photos, too. There's always something in bloom here in the Sonoran Desert. 😀

I always head for the Arizona Trail section of the zoo first. 

You don't often see an egret and a vulture on the same tree.

Burrowing owl. These little guys always look so serious. This one needs some sunglasses.

The male jaguar was a bit restless. The enclosure for the jaguars is wonderful-- places to hide, walkways overhead, a swimming pool, etc.

Kudu

A Common Gallinule on the left, and a Guinea fowl on the right. The Guinea fowl looks like it's flat, doesn't it?

The Amur leopard was restless, too. This was the first time I'd seen this guy, so it was a treat.

Brittlebush

I love watching children become acquainted with animals, but if I may be a curmudgeon for a moment, I do not like the new meerkat enclosure. You can't keep the hordes of children from smearing snot and spit all over the glass. This goes for any enclosure where you can only see the animal through glass, but I love meerkats, so this is especially galling. 

If you didn't think I was weird before, you will now. I think Griffon vultures are rather pretty with their lavender head and neck and white ruff.

The girls were snoozing in the sun.

Lioness

Busy bee

African painted dogs are another personal favorite.

Orange jubilee yellow bells, native to Arizona.

I found this quiet spot and did a little communing with nature and a little reading. One of the pelicans kept coming over to check me out.

Faces only a mother could love.

What a quacker jack hairdo!

Egrets love the Phoenix Zoo. On one particular visit, I saw about three dozen of them.

Head thrust forward. Leg raised. Wings back. Tai chi? Or has he watched too many Bruce Lee movies? And I love his little buddies.

Hibiscus

I hope you enjoyed this virtual visit to the Phoenix Zoo. I know I certainly did!

October 2025 at the Desert Botanical Garden

I took a trip to one of my favorite places, the Desert Botanical Garden, the week before Halloween. The weather was glorious, and for once the place wasn't heaving with people. In many of my favorite spots, I felt as though I had the place all to myself, which was quite nice. 

Here are some of the photos I took. I hope you enjoy your virtual visit.

Purple was the color of choice, with Texas sage, Mexican petunias, asters, lavender, and other beauties blooming like crazy. No place else on earth shows its appreciation for rain faster than the desert.

I love how light often gives the cactus a halo.

It's been years since I've seen these cardon cacti (which have been here at the Garden since 1938) so happy and swollen with water. Those storms we got at the end of September were badly needed.

The honeysuckle was blooming like mad.

Two women standing in front of one of the installations of the latest "draw" to the Garden: Desert Pulse. I wasn't that impressed, but I do think this would be much more impressive at night.

A male and female Gambel's quail.

I had almost three dozen quail surrounding me at the Patio Cafe. I always bring raw sunflower kernels to feed them, but this time I had a new treat: dried mealy worms, and they were quite the hit. I'll be bringing them more in the future.

This lizard was basking in the sun in a spot where it thought no one would see it. It didn't anticipate ole Eagle Eye here with my zoom lens!

Part of the Garden's Halloween display.

The Butterfly Pavilion has become so popular that it now has a nursery.

Monarch butterfly

This feeder was very popular.

The Butterfly Pavilion will be closing in a few days, but it will return in the spring.

It was nice to be outside in glorious weather and at one of my very favorite places, but I have to admit that I did miss Denis. Very much.

Memories of the Rim Country

Over the twenty-three years that Denis and I have been married, we've traveled thousands of miles within the state of Arizona-- many of them off paved roads. I thought this state was beautiful to begin with, but once Denis and I started taking the Jeep off road, I learned that we'd only scratched the surface of beautiful by staying on asphalt and concrete.

One of our favorite places is up in the high country. If you think Arizona is nothing but rocks, sand, and cactus, think again. We have plenty of mountains and-- shock!-- at least three ski resorts. People have gotten lost in snowstorms and died here. Anyway, we've spent many enjoyable days up in the Rim Country, and I cherish these memories, particularly since large swaths of the landscape have been consumed by wildfires. How large? Well over ONE MILLION acres, that's how large. 

I've seen so many of our favorite places up in the cool, pine-scented mountains leveled by fire, and it breaks my heart to know that I'll never see them as beautiful again in my lifetime. Recently, another fire broke out in Greer, Arizona-- a spot especially dear to my heart. (It's the highest town in the state at an elevation of almost 9,000 feet.) About 20,000 acres were consumed before the fire could be contained. This led me to bringing up photos on my computer to relive some memories, and I thought I would share a few with you.

On our way to Greer at the end of May one year, we stopped at Black Canyon Lake to enjoy a snowstorm.

There are all sorts of wildlife up in the Rim Country. Denis and I had to stop to let a family of javalina cross the road on one trip.

The Rim Country has been inhabited for thousands of years, and it's not unusual to find petroglyphs tucked away in the Ponderosa pines.

A curious Abert's squirrel

There are many wildlife areas in the Greer-Springerville area, like the Becker Lake Wildlife Area where Denis and I sat and watched dozens of swallows swoop back and forth over the water.

Also in the Springerville area, you can sit in the parking lot at McDonald's and watch a lively prairie dog town in the field next door.

And so many flowers! This wild iris reminds me of my grandmother.

The Mogollon Rim cuts 200 miles across northeastern Arizona from Flagstaff all the way to the New Mexico border. When you stand on the edge (this is close to Black Canyon Lake), you feel as though you're on top of the world. Nothing but blue sky, mountains, and endless forests in sight.

This golden-mantled ground squirrel lived at Black Canyon Lake. He loved Doritos, and I named him Oliver because he was always coming back for more. Whenever we were in the area, Denis and I would stop (with healthier snacks) to feed Oliver and his buddies. They would take food right from my hand.

So many birds up in the Rim Country, too, but my favorite is the Steller's Jay. Quite the personality!

Denis and I loved renting cabins in Greer. That's our Jeep parked at one of them. On another trip, we rented one with a hot tub on the deck. It was winter, and the two of us sat in the hot tub late at night to watch the Geminids meteor shower. 

The cabin with the hot tub was also right on the banks of the Little Colorado River, and I would sit on the deck and watch a great blue heron fish every morning.

In the Greer area, you can also be up in the pines and look out over the Springerville volcanic field. (That's Denis.)

It's quite an abrupt change from trees to the volcanic field. Almost as though a line had been drawn.

Another shot of the view from the edge of the Mogollon Rim.

Unfortunately, not all are clouds. Fire has been so devastating here in Arizona.

Thanks for coming along with me on my trip down Memory Lane. I hope you enjoyed it.