Weekend Getaway

Egads. 1 week+ since posting. Things have been a little busy round here - and look like they might be staying that way for just a little longer. Fear not, a long awaited shop update will be in the works soon (I finally took the photos of the "new" bits that are due to go up) - and TNNA is just around the corner. If you've any particular requests, let me know, and I'll keep my eyes open :)

This weekend was spent doing very little in the way of work - I actually had a chance to get out and explore! While the northern and higher elevations of Arizona actually received snow (!), we got some much needed rain in the lower elevations. After the front cleared out, with backpacks packed, we headed out for an exploration of the Blue River in the eastern edges of the state.

Saw some evidence of really cool wildlife (that would be a 5-6" diameter paw print - relatively fresh, seeing as it didn't appear to have rain speckles on itand the sand was still damp from the prior rains...yes, I do think it's a bear print). The season seemed to be still too early (or perhaps a smidge cool) for snakes - and surprisingly, the few lizards I saw were fairly large. The Blue River area also happens to be the location of Mexican Wolf reintroduction (didn't see any, I'm afraid). The area, like many riparian regions, has lots and lots of birds of all sorts of varieties - unfortunately for me, I don't know my birds anywhere near as well as my plants - and I also don't carry a telephoto lens, so getting photos to aid me in my learning quest can be quite the trick! While out hiking, we also saw plenty of bunnies, hares, a couple squirrels, and some deer in addition to the already mentioned lizards. The most amazing animal we saw on the trip was seen from our car - a mature mountain lion. It was calmly walking down the road, looking for dinner (rabbits or perhaps deer) no doubt. I've lived and hiked in the area for about 11 years now, and this was the first time I've ever seen one of these elusive big cats - it was magnificent.

After finishing with the backpacking trip, we checked out a small canyon on our way home - the slot was a pleasant surprise, especially as it carved from conglomerate rock.

On the way home, I managed to finish off the first of my balls of Koigu on my saddle shoulder sweater...luckily I had brought a spare skein to carry on :) Stay tuned, perhaps we'll have a Sweater In Progress photo soon!