30June 29, 2020, 10:45 am.
Mt Lemmon, including Summerhaven and Willow Canyon continues under evacuation order, from the Pima County Office of Emergency Management and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
There continues to be evacuation orders for areas to the east of the General HItchcock highway toward Redington Pass. See the Bighorn Fire Information page on Facebook, link below.
There is a new Bighorn Fire Dashboard, with now includes the 3D maps and other features that were on the prior Story Map. Here is the link.
Bighorn Fire information can be found here: http://www.pima.gov/Bighorn and also on this Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo
Also, there will be a daily Zoom meeting for the Mt Lemmon and Oracle communities at 8 pm today the 30th, which will also be posted as a video on the Facebook page listed above.
Many thanks to all the firefighters and hot shot crews on the ground in Summerhaven, the Mt Lemmon Fire Department and our local Sheriffs and the Pima and Pinal County Sheriffs Departments who are coordinating the evacuations. Thanks for caring so much about us and the community! Stay safe!
During the pandemic "getting out" in person is hard, but you can go birding in southeast Arizona on my blog pages. Start with my most recent post, May on the Mountain, then look at Spring in Madera Canyon or the Spring Potpourri 2019, or search for your favorite season, birding spot or bird using the search engine.
Stay safe, stay well.
I am giving a 90 minute Zoom talk for Tucson Audubon Society on Birding Photography, on June 29th, 1-2:30 pm, rescheduled from May 18th. To register, click on this link to go to the TAS Website.
Hope you can join us!
If you own property, land or a cabin, including a cabin on forest service property, see the most recent fire-wising recommendations in the time of Covid-19 on the Mt Lemmon Fire Department website HERE.
April 2, 2020, Mt. Lemmon. Pussy Willows in bloom along the creek toward Marshall Gulch.
Recent Blog Posts
June 11, 2020 May on the Mountain, Spring Arrives!
March 24, 2020 Winter Review 2020: Part II of II
March 12, 2020 Winter Review 2020: Part I of II
December 29, 2019 Sandhill Cranes return to White Water Draw
November 10, 2019 October on Mt Lemmon
October 23, 2019 Fall at Sweetwater Wetlands
If you attend my October 3, 2019 presentation at OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at the Central Campus, you can see the bulk of the content by looking at the blog posts below:
White Water Draw
Bosque del Apache
Texas Coast
Nesting in Tucson
Nesting on Mt Lemmon
If you attended my presentation at OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) on January 31, 2019, here are some links to blog posts that reflect content of the talk, by location. Thanks for coming!
Mt. Lemmon AZ Images: Photography from the Catalina Range, and more! |
Northern Cardinal, male
Agua Caliente Park, November 2017 |
This site features photographs from Mt Lemmon and its environs, including Tucson and its surroundings, with occasional forays beyond the Sonoran Desert. To see what is happening today, click on Journal to the right. [Yes, it is really a Blog].
For the Seasons of the Catalinas, click on Seasons. Contact me - I would love to hear from you. Search the site with the Search box to the right at the top. All photographs on this site Copyright Henry Johnson. Use by permission only. |
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Check out the Mt Lemmon audio tour released by the University of Arizona College of Science in late 2015. You can load the tour app on your phone, and listen to it as you drive up the mountain. The text is synchronized to your drive, and encourages stops at Windy Point and Aspen Vista. Truly outstanding!
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Follow Mt Lemmon AZ Images on Facebook
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Selected Reading:
Much has been written about Mount Lemmon, and the surrounding Catalina range, but here are some of my favorites books.
Much has been written about Mount Lemmon, and the surrounding Catalina range, but here are some of my favorites books.
- A Natural History of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, with an Introduction to the Madrean Sky Islands, by Richard C. Brusca & Windy Moore. Foreword by Bill Broyles. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2013. A beautiful book, 8 x 10" spiral bound in full color on great stock, covering geologic history, a section on hiking, and picture guides to common plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, and arthropods. Chapter 6 describes a drive up the Mt. Lemmon highway, with 10 recommended stops. Tip: remember to put the book in the car before you leave! Includes a glossary and selected references.
- Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona, a Field Guide to the Santa Catalina Mountains and Other Nearby Ranges, by Frank S. Rose. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2011. This is a wonderful book, and another "must carry" item when visiting the Catalinas. Visit Frank's website and blog for up to date postings: http://franksrose.com
- Mountain Trees of Southern Arizona, A Field Guide, by Frank S. Rose with Foreword by Matthew B. Johnson. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2012. Unwilling to rest after cataloging all the mountain wildflowers, Frank Rose went on to tackle all the trees. Again, a fabulous volume with vivid color photographs on glossy stock. Available on Amazon, as are the other volumes above.
- Birds of Southeastern Arizona, by Richard Cachor Taylor. R.W. Morse Company, Olympia, Washington, 2010. 430 pages, 4 x 6", full color, easy to put into your pocket on a walk. Excellent color coding for different families of birds, putting related species together. Each entry is two pages, with excellent pictures on the left page, and descriptions including range on the right. Available on Amazon.
- Look to the Mountains, Revised Edition by Suzanne Hensel. Mt. Lemmon Woman's Club, 2006. Includes chronology of the Aspen fire in 2003, with photographs. An excellent history of the mountain with maps and photographs. The first edition (2003) is available on Amazon.
- Forged by Fire: The Devastation and Renewal of a Mountain Community, by Mary Ellen Barnes. The author, daughter of mountain pioneer Tony Zimmerman, interviewed victims of the 2003 Aspen fire, as well as firefighters and those who led the renewal, to create this account. Named one of the ten top Southwest Books of 2005. For more on the author, and her other books, see her website, http://www.marylbarnes.typepad.com/
- The Road to Mount Lemmon: A Father, A Family, And the Making of Summerhaven, by Mary Ellen Barnes. An excellent personal account of the life of Tony Zimmerman and his family, told by his daughter Mary Ellen Barnes. A great view of the mountain, and Tucson before the rapid growth of the second half of the 20th century.