Black Witch Moth

Black Witch Moth (Ascalapha odorata), aka "mariposa de la muerte," enjoying the cool, shady walls and wet sand of a watery canyon outside of Tucson. This is a female, as indicated by the white stripe along her wings, which are easily five inches across.

Pretty Bird

Petie, is that you? Nope - looks like a female MacGillivray's Warbler (Oporornis tolmiei).

Surf's Up

Dung Beetles

A pair of dung beetles taking care of business. These are Canthon indigaceous, characterized by their iridescent green carapace and lack of a horn. The dung is cow.

Esoterizona Stones 24

Fluorescent Minerals

 A striking multi-color specimen with red calcite, green agate/opal, pink smithsonite, and blue that is likely another variety of calcite. 5"x4"x3" (Pima County)

This piece shows substantial blue calcite streaked with yellow-orange caliche deposits. Glimmers of green agate and red calcite are also visible. 5"x3"x2" (Pima County)

Sierrita Gas Pipeline Project

Here are two photos of the Sierrita Gas Pipeline Project currently under construction. First saw pipes laid out along AZ 86 while driving west towards Three Points, then they made a turn south along AZ 286. Photos were taken at the intersection of a dirt ranch road with the pipeline corridor east of AZ 286. These guys banged a road through the desert that 18-wheelers can navigate, headed all the way for Mexico. No small feat, considering the ruggedness of the terrain. This pipeline is projected to transport 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. See below for links to more detail.

Looking north.

Looking south.

Official Kinder Morgan Energy Partners page about the project:
http://www.kindermorgan.com/business/gas_pipelines/projects/sasabelateral/

Article from the Arizona Daily Independent:
http://www.arizonadailyindependent.com/2014/04/19/sierrita-pipeline-project-just-the-basics/

And lastly, for those masochistic weirdos who want the legalese, here is a link to a .pdf of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's permit issuance:
http://www.ferc.gov/CalendarFiles/20140606174500-CP13-73-000.pdf

Esoterizona Stones 23

Fluorescent Minerals

Two sides of the same rock under SWUV - orange caliche and red calcite, along with green and two unidentified shades of blue. The green is likely opal.

Second view again under white light. 5"x3"x1.5" (Pima County)

A red and blue piece - the red is calcite, and the crystalline blue may be calcite as well. Or hydrozincite. Or fluorite. Color is not always a reliable diagnostic indicator in the fluorescent world. 3"x3"x2" (Pima County)

Two-toned piece with one face of orange caliche and another of red calcite with substantial crystalline blue, as well as a few pink streaks. 6"x7"x3" (Pima County)

Desert Tortoises

Encountered two different species of desert tortoise on the same day, on the same road, within a couple miles of one another in a mountain range west of Tucson.  Recent rains and the stormy sky made it a good day for desert tortoise travel. 

First a large, male Agassiz's Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). His shell was over a foot across, and roughly fifteen inches long. A big boy, many years old.

His snout was stained purplish-red, probably from munching prickly pear fruit.

This smaller Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) was a little further up the road. Its shell looked more like six or seven inches across, and it was much more inquisitive than its stoic counterpart.

It was also more lively, and moved rather quickly to avoid being photographed. After posting a guardian to keep the tortoise out of the road, we moved on as well.

Picacho Petroglyphs 6 - Outlined Crosses

Outlined cross beneath a decorative or symbolic scroll design.

As with most petroglyphs, their significance is purely speculative.

Outlined crosses do not appear often; even rarer is to find two together.

Picacho Petroglyphs 5 - Solar Signs

A simple, solitary sun image. [12 rays]

Similar sun glyph, with an extra ring inside. [12 rays]

Two suns. Possibly a centipede glyph at the bottom as well. [7 rays]

Sun image alongside a geometric design. The sun glyph has been repecked. [7 rays]*

*A faint 8th ray is visible, but could have been moved during the repecking.

Sun image encased in a circle overlooking an array of strange designs. [7 rays]

Another sun design to the lower right of the panel - again mostly encased by a circle but with the addition of a central circle and extended beams. [12 rays]

All of the sun petroglyphs pictured have either seven or twelve distinct rays.  These are of course significant calendrical numbers to modern humans, but even if these numbers were important to prehistoric cultures I doubt it would be for the same reasons.  A more exhaustive study of sun designs would be needed to make any claim of significance to this, but I think it's worth pointing out all the same.

Picacho Petroglyphs 4 - Geometrics

 

Geometric glyphs are often (but not always) attributed to the Archaic Period that predates the Hohokam. Here is a dot pattern and lattice, along with an ambiguous squiggle.

A geometric/abstract panel with squiggles and rough circles. Note the possible figure just up and left of center; it has a circle head with a single dot in the center, a body, and legs.

Petroglyphs that must be older than most of the others, based on the level of repatination.

Picacho Petroglyphs 3 - Quadrupeds

Isolated glyph of a four-legged, horned beast with a tail, perhaps a deer. Also pictured are two possible anthropomorphs amidst a geometric scribble.

Similar depiction on an isolated rock face.

A more basic rendering of a four-legged animal.

Quadruped pecked into the steep face of a large boulder above an overhang.

Picacho Petroglyphs 2 - Lizard Men

Lizard Man.

This Lizard Man has an extra set of back legs for some reason. Note the possible human-like figure to the lower left.

Round belly, long tail - Lizard Man. With associated small human figure to the left.

This Lizard Man has three-toed feet associated with salamanders and frogs. Small human figures are present bottom left and right along with a serpent glyph.

Picacho Petroglyphs 1 - Anthropomorphs

While a rounded belly is diagnostic of reptilian glyphs, this figure appears rather simian.

This one looks to have a bit of a penis, and happy about it.

Possibly a birth scene, even if metaphorical; a large, head dressed figure with a round belly appears to give life to the smaller figure below. The serpent design, often associated with water, lends credence to this interpretation. 

Esoterizona Stones 22

Fluorescent Minerals

All three of these specimens were found during a daylight visit to a secluded little mine near Picacho. It was a pleasant surprise to find that under shortwave UV their fluorescence ranges from bright yellow to starlight white. Probably powellite. Will have to revisit this location at night for more of this and whatever else might be out there.

6"x4"x3"

3"x3"x2"

5"x3"x2"

Along with the bright yellow, this piece also exhibits streaks of green. 4"x3"x2"