Category: Still Life

Dragoon Spires

Lucky enough

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Understanding location lighting is a matter of experience and luck.

Cochise Stronghold campsites are on the eastern slope of the Dragoons, sheltering them from the late afternoon sun.

One this day in April I explored the trails until sunset and was lucky enough to be setup for the 14 minutes of that day when the light was absolutely perfect.

“Dragoon Spires in Afternoon Light”

These photographs are from two days spent at Cochise Stronghold, a part of the U.S. Forest Service Coronado Forest managed by Arizona State Parks located off the Interstate 10 East of Tucson between Benson and Wilcox.

This rugged natural fortress was, for some 15 years, the home and base of operations for the famed Chiricahua Apache Chief, Cochise.  Cochise and about 1,000 of his followers, of whom some 250 were warriors, located here.

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Born in present-day Arizona, Cochise led the Chiricahua band of the Apache tribe during a period of violent social upheaval. In 1850, the United States took control over the territory that today comprises Arizona and New Mexico.  Not hostile to the whites at first, he kept peace with the Anglo-Americans until 1861, when he became their implacable foe because of the blunder of a young U.S. Army officer, Lt. George Bascom.   In that year, Cochise and several of his relatives had gone to an encampment of soldiers in order to deny the accusation that they had abducted a child from a ranch. The boy was later proved to have been kidnapped by another band of Apaches.

During the parley, Cochise and his followers were ordered held as hostages by Bascom, but Cochise managed to escape almost immediately by cutting a hole in a tent. Bascom later ordered the other Apache hostages hanged, and the embittered Cochise joined forces with Mangas Coloradas, his father-in-law, in a guerrilla struggle against the American army and settlers. The capture and murder of Mangas Coloradas in 1863 left Cochise as the Apache war chief.   The U.S. Army captured him in 1871 and prepared to transfer the Chiricahua to a reservation hundreds of miles away, but he escaped again and renewed the resistance campaign. The following year after negotiating a new treaty with the help of Thomas Jeffords, the band was allowed  to stay in their homeland.

Cochise is reputed to have been a master strategist and leader who was never conquered in battle.  He died peacefully on the newly formed Chiricahua  reservation in 1874.  His son, Taza succeeded him as chief.   Upon his death, he was secretly buried somewhere in or near his impregnable fortress.  The exact location has never been revealed or determined.

The town of Cochise, Cochise County, the renowned geological feature known as Cochise’s Head in the Chiricahua Mountains, and the Stronghold are all named in tribute to him.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Cochise Stronghold Introduction

Campground is closed in June, July, and August due to the often-extreme heat

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These photographs are from two days spent at Cochise Stronghold, a part of the U.S. Forest Service Coronado Forest managed by Arizona State Parks located off the Interstate 10 East of Tucson between Benson and Wilcox.

“Idyllic Desert Landscape with Boulders”

 

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“Generations”

 

Here is the Cochise Stronghold information sign from the Douglas Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest.

The Dragoon Mountains are a low range that barely rises above the surrounding desert floor. Nevertheless, the granite boulders are spectacular and well worth visiting for the scenery alone. This mountain range is remote from cities or even any large towns, so visitation is light. Late fall, winter, and early spring are the best times to visit. Temperatures exceeding 100 degrees are common even in spring and fall. Cochise Stronghold Campground is closed in June, July, and August due to the often-extreme heat.

Safety First: Heat and low humidity are real hazards for people unfamiliar with desert climates. A person can loose up to 5 quarts of fluid a day and it is easy to become seriously dehydrated without realizing it, so drink plenty of fluids even if you do not feel very thirsty. Always carry extra water in your car. When going on a hike, even if a short one, take a day pack with water, snack foods, protective clothing, flashlight, first aid kit, compass, and map. To avoid sun in

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Mesquite Flowers and Seeds

desert survival

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Mesquite is the Sonoran Desert smell carried by distant rain, omnipresent and humble, a survivor with tap root extending 190 feet down to draw on the water table.

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Prosopis is the scientific name for about 40 species of leguminous trees. Present in North America since the Pliocene era, mesquite wood has been dated to 1300 BC.

I found this flowering mesquite bush in Finger Rock Canyon of the Catalina Mountains outside Tucson, Arizona.

They are thought to have evolved with megafauna in the New World. The loss of North American megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene era gave way to one theory of how the Prosopis spp. were able to survive.

One theory is that the loss of the megafauna allowed Prosopis spp. to use their fruit pods to attract other organisms to spread their seeds; then, with the introduction of livestock, they were able to spread into grasslands.

The plentiful legumes that develop from these flowers are edible when cooked. The shape and color of the seeds can be understood from this empty seed pod that happens to lie near a tarantula burrow.

Click me to read more about the uses of mesquite.

References:
“Mesquite,” Wikipedia

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Disappeared

Very Rare

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I was lucky enough to live near the site of these wild orchids back in the early 2000’s, close enough to enjoy serial visits, enough to find this perfect moment titled “After the Rain.” In recent visits there were no specimens to be found. The reasons for the disappearance are not clear.

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Showy lady’s slipper, scientific name Cypripedium reginae, is also known as pink-and-white lady’s-slipper, and queen’s lady’s-slipper, is a rare lady’s-slipper orchid native to northern North America. Although never common, this plant has vanished from much of its historical range due to habitat loss. It is the state flower of Minnesota.

Cypripedium reginae grows in wetlands such as fens, wooded swamps, and riverbanks.  Cypripedium reginae thrives in neutral to basic soils but can be found in slightly acidic conditions. The plants often form in clumps by branching of the underground rhizomes. Its roots are typically within a few inches of the top of the soil. It prefers very loose soil and when growing in fens it will most often be found in mossy hummocks.

It can tolerate full sun but prefers partial shade for some part of the day. When exposed to full sun, the flower lip is somewhat bleached and less deeply colored. It is occasionally eaten by white-tailed deer.

Cypripedium reginae can be found in Canada from Saskatchewan east to Atlantic Canada, and the United States from North Dakota east to the Atlantic and south to Arkansas and Tennessee.

Cypripedium reginae is quite rare. Its increasing rarity is attributable to destruction of a suitable alkaline habitat; it is sensitive to hydrologic disturbances, and is threatened by wetland draining, water contamination, habitat destruction and horticultural collectors. Browsing by an exploding deer population stunts or eliminates the plant’s growth.

Cypripedium reginae contains an irritant, cypripedin, a phenanthrenequinone. The plant is known to cause dermatitis on the hands and face. The first report of the allergy reaction was in 1875 by H. H. Babcock in the United States, 35 years before the term “allergy” was coined. The allergen was later isolated in West Germany by Bjorn M. Hausen and associates.

Reference: “Cypripedium reginae” wikipedia

Images and captions Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Common and Beautiful

Happy June First!!

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False Solomon’s Seal, scientific name Maianthemum racemosum, is common in the Finger Lakes Region. I found this specimen during a walk with the grandchildren in a local fen among the post-glacial terrain of the Finger Lakes Region.

False Solomon’s Seal is a common, widespread plant with numerous common names and synonyms, known from every US state except Hawaii, and from every Canadian province and territory (except Nunavut and the Yukon), as well as from Mexico. What name do YOU know it by?

Because it resembles plants of the highly toxic Veratrum genus, this species should not be consumed unless identification is positive. The plant becomes fibrous and bitter after it completes flowering and seed-setting, but the tender young shoots can be stripped of their leaves, simmered in water and eaten. Their delicate flavor is somewhat reminiscent of asparagus. The ripe fruits are edible raw or cooked but may be poor in taste. They can be laxative if consumed in large quantities.

Ojibwa harvested the roots of this plant and cooked them in lye water overnight to remove the bitterness and neutralize their strong laxative qualities. Native Americans boiled the roots to make tea for medicinal purposes, including to treat rheumatism, kidney issues, and wounds and back injuries.

Reference: “Maianthemum racemosum” wikipedia

Images and captions Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

For Tiny Feet

Happy June First!!

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Yellow Lady’s Slipper, scientific name Cypripedium parviflorum, is also known as “Moccasin Flower.” I found these on a walk with the grandchildren in a local fen among post-glacial terrain. “All this swamp cabbage, phew!!,” said the youngest.

This is a wild orchid that grows all over, though picky as to habitat.

–Newfoundland to British-Columbia, south to Georgia, Arizona, and Washington; Europe.
–Newfoundland to Alaska and south to Oregon in the West.
–In the East along the Atlantic Coast, it is in every state except Florida and extends across to Louisiana and eastern Texas.
–New Mexico state: Catron, Colfax, Grant, Los Alamos, Otero, San Miguel, San Juan and Santa Fe Counties.
–Arizona state: Apache, Graham, and Greenlee Counties.

Habitats and requirements: A more upland plant preferring subacidic to neutral soils. Primarily in mesic to dry-mesic upland forests, woodlands with deep humus or layers of leaf litter, shaded boggy habitats, but also in hill prairies and occasionally in wetlands with organic, well-drained, sandy soils. Moderate shade to nearly full sun in fir, pine, and aspen forest between 6000 and 9500 feet (1830 and 2900 meters). Mountain meadows and on timbered slopes. Dripping seeps on steep to moderately sloped canyon walls.

Reference: “Cypripedium parviflorum” wikipedia

Images and captions Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Malloryville Apple Blossoms

A Memory from 2010

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Our home at Malloryville, New York has an orchard of three apple trees, seen here on early one spring morning in the year 2010. The varieties are Delicious, Cortland and McIntosh. Freeville, Tompkins County, New York State

The original wild ancestor of Malus domestica was Malus sieversii, found growing wild in the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and northwestern China. Cultivation of the species, most likely beginning on the forested flanks of the Tian Shan mountains, progressed over a long period of time and permitted secondary introgression of genes from other species into the open-pollinated seeds.

Chinese soft apples, such as M. asiatica and M. prunifolia, have been cultivated as dessert apples for more than 2000 years in China. These are thought to be hybrids between M. baccata and M. sieversii in Kazakhstan.

Among the traits selected for by human growers are size, fruit acidity, color, firmness, and soluble sugar. Unusually for domesticated fruits, the wild M. sieversii origin is only slightly smaller than the modern domesticated apple.

At the Sammardenchia-Cueis site near Udine in Northeastern Italy, seeds from some form of apples have been found in material carbon dated to around 4000 BCE.[20] Genetic analysis has not yet been successfully used to determine whether such ancient apples were wild Malus sylvestris or Malus domesticus containing Malus sieversii ancestry. It is generally also hard to distinguish in the archeological record between foraged wild apples and apple plantations.

There is indirect evidence of apple cultivation in the third millennium BCE in the Middle East. There was substantial apple production in the European classical antiquity, and grafting was certainly known then. Grafting is an essential part of modern domesticated apple production, to be able to propagate the best cultivars; it is unclear when apple tree grafting was invented.

The proverb, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, addressing the supposed health benefits of the fruit, has been traced to 19th-century Wales, where the original phrase was “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread”. In the 19th century and early 20th, the phrase evolved to “an apple a day, no doctor to pay” and “an apple a day sends the doctor away”; the phrasing now commonly used was first recorded in 1922.

Reference: Wikipedia “Apple”

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

About to Open

wildflower among mosses

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Unidentified wildflower growing on limestone ledge with mosses on aporil afternoon. Fillmore Glen New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York

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Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Cottonwood Shade in Pima Canyon

The cottonwood’s deep roots draw water from a mountain stream.

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Looking back down Pima Canyon on a spring morning plenty of green under the unrelenting sun.

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A large Fremont’s Cottonwood Offers shade and protection along the Pima Canyon Trail.

In the shade, a grapevine, offers a vain promise of grapes.

The cottonwood’s deep roots draw water from a mountain stream.

Native Americans in the Western United States and Mexico used parts of Frémont’s cottonwood variously for a medicine, in basket weaving, for tool making, and for musical instruments. The inner bark of Frémont’s cottonwood contains vitamin C and was chewed as an antiscorbutic – treatment for vitamin C deficiency. The bark and leaves could be used to make poultices to reduce inflammation or to treat wounds.

The Pima people of southern Arizona and northern Mexico lived along Sonoran Desert watercourses and used twigs from the tree in the fine and intricate baskets they wove. The Cahuilla people of southern California used the tree’s wood for tool making, the Pueblo peoples for drums, and the Lower Colorado River Quechan people in ritual cremations. The Hopi of Northeastern Arizona carve the root of the cottonwood to create kachina dolls.

Reference: Wikipedia “Fremont’s Cottonwood.”

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills

Cactus Blossoms in Pima Canyon

Delicate buds develop into a flower, and then, into a cactus tuna

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A set of photographs of buds and blossoms of the Prickly Pear Cactus taken in Pima Canyon of the Pusch Ridge Wilderness of the Catalina Mountains.

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Eight New  Blossoms

Here are 8 flower bud growing from one cladode (pad).  There is a 9th bud on a second cladode.  What is interesting about these pads are the needle shadows.  Although thin, each provides some protection from the sun.

Cactus Closeup

This delicate bud will develop into a flower and, then, into a cactus fruit (in spanish, tuna).  The fruit retains those tiny spines, called glochids, which detach on the smallest contact.  The pads are also covered with them.

Prickly pears are known for growing into thickets.  The Cuban government created a “cactus curtain” of prickly pears around the Guantanamo naval base in the 1960’s, to prevent Cubans from escaping to refuge in the United States.

Cactus Flowers

Look closely at the anthers of these flowers.  Each curls over when touched, depositing its pollen.  The habit of prickly pears to grow together in thickets mean there are clusters of blossoms in springtime.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills