Storm on the Rim ~ Sunday Best~ 082811

This area of the Mogollon Rim, which is near Black Canyon Lake, has always been creepy to me.  First, it's in a burned out area of the forest because of the Rodeo-Chediski fire of 2002.  Second, it is very isolated.  There is only a forest road through this area.  Hubby and I took that road a few days after we drove by on this afternoon and we only saw two other cars the whole afternoon.  NOT a place to get a flat tire!  I like the darkness of this photo and the one I used as my header.  Yes, it really was that dark!  The rim gets some incredible thunderstorms up there during August afternoons.  I miss being up on the rim and I look forward to our next visit.  "Sunday Best" for August 28, 2011. Please visit this link for "Sunday Best"  http://www.aruraljournal.com/

Lookout tower, Mogollon Rim

We don't have fire watch towers in Southern California. At least I've never seen any.  But, up on the rim, at Gentry Lookout, we found this one.  Nobody was in it (I imagine nowadays they "watch" electronically?)  It had a wonderful view of the rim, from the edge to the coming thunderstorm to the north and east.  Those dead trees are from the 2002 Rodeo-Chediski fire.  There's a small campground up here at the lookout and we might camp there someday.  There were a lot of woodpeckers around, too, and it was soothing to listen to them, although they were NOISY!

The gathering storm~SkyWatch Friday ~082611

Thunderheads gathered up on the rim once again on our last afternoon there.  We were out by Black Canyon Lake and we could hear the thunder of the approaching storm.  The booms became closer and closer until the storm was upon us.  Skywatch Friday for August 26, 2011. To visit SkyWatch Friday, please go to:  http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Predator and Prey~Nature Notes~082511

So, the story of the hawks and the squirrel continues (see previous posts).  One afternoon, I took a nap, only to wake up to hubby stating, "If you want to save that squirrel, you BETTER get out here NOW!"  I stumbled out of the bedroom and looked outside.  That CRAZY squirrel was out in the open, on top of a stump, eating some "critter food" which I had very foolishly left there.  And, guess who was perched right up in the tree across from the stump?  TWO of the hawks! (I only got a photo of one of them...).  I mean, they both had that squirrel in their line of flight and sight.  She was completely oblivious of them...or was she?  Does nature provide IDIOT squirrels with some kind of defense?  She had used her nose to find the critter food...would her nose alert her to the hawks?  Would she hear them fly over her as they swooped down?  I really didn't wish to find out, so I ran outside screaming and waving my arms.  The two hawks took off and so did Madam Squirrel.  Only, she stuck her foolish head out and came back to scavenge for more food.  I was beside myself...Here was this beautiful, young squirrel, certainly easy prey for the hawks and I could do nothing to save her.  But, did she have some kind of internal defense?  Was her hearing acute enough to hear the hawks leave the tree and swoop down?  I don't know.  I do know that one morning I took my reading book outside to read on the back porch.  A crow flew right overhead and, for the first time ever, I hear the "flap, flap, flap , flap" of its wings.  I mean, I HEARD it.  Then, two of them flew right by the end of the porch and I heard both of them...I HAVE heard an owl fly by and my hearing is no way near that of a prey animal.  Also, it is a well known fact that predators don't always get a meal...lions don't.  Leopards don't.  Cheetahs don't.  I'm hoping that Cooper's hawks don't always get a meal, too, and that Madam Squirrel lives to put peanuts into the ground for the coming winter.  I don't know how this tale ends as we left the next morning...Nature Notes for August 25, 2011. To see other Nature Notes, please go to:  http://ramblingwoods.com/

Cooper's hawks~Outdoor Wednesday~082411

When I awoke that first morning, I heard a screeching call over and over and over.  It was very high pitched and was coming from right across the wash behind the cabin.  It wasn't completely light yet (that's why the photos are so dark).  I followed the noise and found two hawks in a nearby pine tree.  A third was below them.  It was a mother and her two "youngsters".  As an animal observer and photographer, I stood and studied them.  It was very interesting over the next 4 days for me to watch their interactions and their actions with their prey.  Later that morning, the three of them took off across the street (I presume to find their breakfast...).  Mom came back and so did one of the youngsters, but the other one didn't.  She called and called all morning and was silent for a couple of hours.  When she started up again in the afternoon, I had to go out and see what was going on because her cries were quite pitched.  The "missing" young one had returned and had "lunch"...some kind of rodent!  And, he wouldn't share it!  They were up and she was calling every morning as soon as it started to get light, which was 5:30 a.m.  They all took off in the morning to find breakfast and returned soon thereafter.  They were out there in the afternoons, too.  I'm glad I got to observe and watch them.  It was sad to leave them.  One afternoon, two of them were up in "their" tree (they did claim one tree as their own...) and the beautiful squirrel that lived around the cabin area was out hunting for food.  I had fallen asleep and hubby called to me, "You better get out here.  That squirrel you've been watching is about to become supper for the hawks!"  I ran out and yup...two of them were up in a nearby tree and were triangulating on the squirrel.  It was completely oblivious.  Fortunately, she managed to survive.  The hawks flew off to find an easier meal. Outdoor Wednesday for August 24, 2011. Please go to http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ to see other participants in Outdoor Wednesday.

First night's sunset

I couldn't wait for the first night's sunset up on the rim.  I remember, from when we were there in 2000, how beautiful the sunsets and sunrises were up there.  So, at dusk, I walked down to the highway.  Across the road from the cabins is a western town, full of shops.  These were some of the views that evening.  The whole time we were there, we saw beautiful sunrises and sunsets, like this one.  Each one was different, but unique in its own way.

The cabin (Part 2)

Hubby and I rented a cabin up on the Mogollon Rim, in Overgaard, for 3 nights (4th night "free").  We had discovered these cabins back in 2000, on our first trip to the rim.  At that time, we were staying at another cabin in Forest Lakes.  These are across the highway (Highway 260) from the Bison Ranch, with stores and western fascades.  We stopped by these cabins over the Memorial Day weekend and rented one of them, the "Coffee Plantation".  This was a 2 bedroom cabin with beautiful aspen wood on the inside.  It had a big back porch and a BBQ (all the cabins have a BBQ).  Some even have outdoor spas, but we opted to rent one without a spa.  Some also have lofts, but since it was just the two of us, we chose this one at the back.  We tried to get out daughter and SIL to come with us, or our son and his girlfriend, but none of them could get the time off work. So,  we had the cabin all to ourselves (except for the rabbits, squirrels, woodpeckers and hawks!)  I immediately discovered a family of Cooper's hawks that lived right out back of the cabin and I'll be telling their story later. Since it came with a full kitchen, we had stopped at Whole Foods and AJ's down in Scottsdale and purchased steak, baking potatoes, coffee, and other items for the week.