Social Distancing
Recently, we headed to northeastern Arizona in our new truck camper and spent a couple nights to escape the Phoenix oven and engage in a little “social distancing.” More than seeking cooler temperatures and reveling in nature, this was a shakedown cruise to test our…
Renewing After Fire
Fire season seems to be arriving early this year as crews battle several in the area. Just a few weeks ago, a fire started at White Tanks Mountain Regional Park and charred over 100 acres across one of our favorite trails in the Park. Collecting…
Somethin’ From Nothin’
This week’s unrest across the country reminds me of my own biases instilled in me as a child in the 1950s and how a young black boy in the 1980s helped me overcome this prejudicial upbringing. I wrote this article over 20 years ago, and…
Gardening in the Desert
“How do you feel about gardening?” The question hung in the air unanswered for several seconds as we pondered. After remaining housebound for several weeks to conform to government mandates that addressed the Covid-19 pandemic, we felt the need to get back to “work.” We…
Suspended Snake Feeding
“Crazy times when snakes don’t get fed,” remarked an acquaintance of ours when we mentioned that the snake feeding program at White Tank Mountain Regional Park was suspended for the duration of the Coronavirus threat. “Don’t worry about the snakes,” I told him. “They’ll be…
The Universal Language
“You will have an interpreter for the hard-of-hearing,” read the email sent by the White Tank Library where we were to present our reptile program in a couple weeks. Strange, Chuck and I thought, we’ve never had that before. We pretty much forgot about the…
Take a Hike Day
“Snakes don’t make good pets for kids,” Chuck advised a couple as their young son ran a finger across our Rosy Boa’s silky body. “They’re not cuddly. They can be difficult to feed. They don’t like to be handled and you can’t play with them….