8/17/20

Monsoon Beetle

Palo Verde Root Borer (Derobrachus hovorei)
From my Little Things of Nature Portfolio -- Sketches Afield.
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Know nature. Learn to be still.

It looks scary, but the sight of this beetle is a welcome sight to many of us Arizona natives because it usually means that the summer monsoon and the chance for a thunderstorm or two has finally arrived.  When summer moisture makes its way to the desert, this clumsy flier — usually about 3 to 3.5 inches long — takes wing after spending three or more years in its larval or grub stage to find a mate. 
 
They are harmless to people and pets in spite of their frightening appearance. 
 


8/1/20

Scrappy Desert Rabbit

Scrappy Desert Rabbit

Taking a break in the shade of a brittlebush.
From my Little Things of Nature Portfolio -- Sketches Afield.
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Know nature. Learn to be still.

Meet Scrappy, a frequent visitor to our desert backyard and mother of a couple of recent additions to the neighborhood. The rumpled and pierced ear make her easily identifiable.
 
Update: 1/24/23, I created a coloring page and wrote a short piece about how Scrappy became sort of a mascot for my late wife while she was undergoing cancer treatment.