#125: Happy December, Back at the Homestead

On last Sunday morning, the first of December, I hauled my rig from Willcox back to Cave Creek Canyon. I had arrived back at Tucson airport Saturday night at about 8:30 after my Thanksgiving week Chicago visit, and on coming back to Lifestyle RV Resort in Willcox discovered a very cold Wheelhouse and a very defrosted freezer and refrigerator. My battery-powered 12V system didn’t last long while running the furnace even at a low thermostat setting, and, with no power to control things, I had to re-hook my home-on-wheels up to 120V to get the heat going and then switch fridge back to electric and toss a bunch of food in the trash.

My Thanksgiving journey to Chicagoland was great. I enjoyed hanging with Joel and his Golden Prince, Buddy, and spent an afternoon lunching and bowling with my sister Lisa. On Thanksgiving, Joel, Lisa, and her husband Randy and I went and saw Knives Out in the afternoon (highly recommend!) before going to Wildfire Restaurant for a wonderful turkey day meal for four with delicious all-you-can-eat food.

It was also good to get back to my hometown for a holiday to get away from the RV Park in Willcox. Staying there wasn’t as pleasant as I had hoped it would be. It’s a lovely park with a great staff and a fantastic pool/spa/gym area and other amenities, but the spa was out of service for most of my visit, and the negatives outweighed the positives for me. For example, it is situated near train tracks, and the trains would run all night, every night. I’m both a poor and light sleeper, and I heard every single one. Additionally, it is nearby a stockyard and cattle mooed throughout the night, which I found very disturbing. Add all sorts of dogs barking incessantly in surrounding neighborhoods even in the wee hours of the morning, and feral cats on the grounds that had the place reeking of cat piss, and I certainly wouldn’t return. The one welcome sound was the flocks of thousands of Sandhill Cranes that would pass overhead at dusk as they traveled from their feeding grounds back to roost. The Willcox Playa and nearby Whitewater Draw are famous for congregations of migrating cranes. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and get to Chicago. I needed a break from my routine here and didn’t regret leaving for a month, but I am thrilled to be back at my corral homestead.

I woke up very early that Sunday morning, long before the sun, and hitched up to head back to the mountains. The Portal area had had five days of rain, and I was worried that the corral would be a mud pit like it was when I first arrived this year back on February 23. So, I planned to get to camp as early as possible while the ground was still frozen. It was a race against the sun’s warming rays, and I had my eyes glued to the thermometer in my truck, which of course, changed continuously as I went through elevation changes and warmer areas. Thankfully, the corral wasn’t wet when I finally got back to Cave Creek Canyon at around 8, and I spent the next couple of hours setting everything back up the way it was a month previous.

Although much of my time in Willcox was spent relaxing, and I didn’t end up making some day trips I had hoped to during my stay away from Cave Creek Canyon, I was only one hour away from Ash Creek Canyon in the Galiuro Mountains. That was a range that I needed to search for tarantulas in, and I detailed my success on my second visit there in the previous blog entry. My first attempt to find the area didn’t go well, but on my second visit, I collected one tarantula (see #124), and on my third and final search of the area, I brought back two tarantulas. These specimens were shipped to Brent Hendrixson for analysis and deposition in a scientific collection.

Aphonopelma sp., female, Galiuro Mountains, Graham County, AZ, November 15, 2019

On one of my last evenings at Lifestyle RV Resort, I was sitting on nice canopy-covered patio furniture near the clubhouse working on my laptop and drinking a beer. I saw a large bird fly in my peripheral vision and realized it was an owl. It landed and perched in a tree just at the fenced edge of the property. I rushed back to my camp to get my camera and hurriedly changed to my long lens (150-600mm). The Great Horned Owl was cooperative and watched me as I took a quick hundred images, one of which is shared below.

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), Willcox, Cochise County, Arizona

My first week back in Cave Creek Canyon, I had a couple of days to myself and then hosted at the VIC (Visitor Information Center) on Wednesday and Thursday. On Saturday evening, I operated the merchandise table at the 8th Annual Friends of Cave Creek Canyon meeting/party. It was a chili dinner and fundraiser with live and silent auctions and a few presentations on our organization’s efforts in the area.

Earlier that day, I had a wonderful experience at my homestead. Again, I had an amazing wildlife observation while working on my computer. I was working on the 2020 catalog for Northwest Zoological Supply, the company outside of Seattle, where I used to be General Manager. I saw a Rock Squirrel outside my window and watched it occasionally as it moved about my “yard” and the corral. I also would glance outside as Coues Deer would pass through my homestead. The Rock Squirrel would perch on the corral’s fence posts, and I continued to spend a few moments here and there watching it as I thought about the project. Suddenly I saw a Bobcat just outside my window. As it moved closer to the corral, I noticed a second Bobcat following ten feet or so behind it. The first cat went into the corral as I rushed to grab my iPhone and start videoing them through the window. The second paused just outside my steps near my picnic table, and then I saw the first Bobcat attack the Rock Squirrel that I had forgotten about during the excitement. The video below shows the first cat walking back towards my Wheelhouse with the squirrel wriggling in its jaws, and then its partner following behind it as they casually walked just outside my window and past my truck to devour their lunch. [Apologies for the terrible quality. Hurriedly using a phone, pointed out a window, very excited and forgetting to try to tap screen for focus, does not yield good results].

I don’t celebrate Christmas and haven’t for years. However, this year I decided it would be fun to decorate my Wheelhouse. Part of the enjoyment will be surprising visitors to the canyon who pass after dark and notice the RV with icicle lights, which look nice with the rope lights I always have beneath my rig and the patio lights that surround its perimeter. I even bought a little live island pine as a Christmas tree. It is decorated and sitting outside on my picnic table. A friend gifted me with a little artificial tree that I’ve ordered little lights for and it sits on my dinette table inside. I’ll conclude this entry with a few photos taken yesterday at my homestead.

#124: Randomness and a Galiuro Tarantula

Greetings from Willcox, Arizona. It isn’t my usual paradise in Cave Creek Canyon, but it is a change of pace. Gone are my spectacular views, except on my day trips to places like the Chiricahua National Monument and the Galiuro Mountains. Here the sunsets can still be fantastic, though, and every evening I see and hear thousands and thousands of Sandhill Cranes moving from their feeding grounds back to roost. This area sees vast numbers of these birds during migration.

The peace of my Chiricahua homestead is missed. Here, the trains pass frequently even during the night, and I can hear the moos of cattle from the nearby stockyard. There are also dogs yapping, and the sound of this gravel lot as vehicles and feet move around, usually accompanied by loud voices, and the diesel engines of mammoth motorhomes, which always seem to be coming and going.

The original plan was to be here for one month and then head straight back to the corral in Cave Creek Canyon. However, yesterday, I booked flights to visit my family in Chicagoland for Thanksgiving. Now I must figure out an early departure from Lifestyle RV and where to store my Wheelhouse. When I return to Arizona on the last day of November, I will find my way back to the canyon.

I chose Lifestyle because of the hot tub and indoor pool, plus the fact that it has a large gym. Surprisingly, I’ve used the latter the most. Upon arrival, I was disappointed to learn that the hot tub was down for repairs, and it still is for at least this week. The pool was warm and a welcome alternative on the first day, but the temperature is inconsistent, and I have enjoyed it less since. I’m not much for swimming or pools anyway, and a dip of five minutes is plenty. Hopefully, I’ll get to use the hot tub before I leave early and fly from Tucson to Chicago.

Yesterday, I visited the Galiuro Mountains. My first trip had been a few days earlier and hadn’t worked out so well. This range was one that our team of spider hunters wanted to explore, but we never made it there. Brent was able to secure a donation of a female found there from an Arizona tarantula keeper and hunter. We chose not to visit. However, the other day I decided to try it alone. Unfortunately, I didn’t research the coordinates I was given and instead just turned a scenic morning drive into using GPS to go the absolute wrong way. I had a beautiful trip but, four hours later, when I finally found Ash Creek Canyon, I was not in the best spirits. The road becomes very rugged, and I did some intense four-wheeling and eventually got a bit disoriented and down a path too narrow, too rough and also unknown. With zero cell signal or maps (yeah, I was prepared), I got very frustrated trying to find my way back to the main track. I ended up not searching for wildlife on foot and just leaving. Yesterday I knew where to go. It’s only about an hour from Willcox unless you are ill-prepared and drive up the west side of the range and almost end up in Tuscon as I had before! I found two mature male tarantulas on two different roads in the foothills and then proceeded into Ash Creek Canyon. After searching for two-hours-plus without success, I finally found a hole that looked promising.

During our team’s adventures the last week of October, most of our tarantulas had been found beneath cover, usually in burrows hidden under rocks. I had spent the morning flipping rocks and had seen nothing except the usual scorpions, centipedes, and true spiders. Then, while wandering off the roadside to flip some more rocks, I looked down and saw an exposed hole. It was out in the open and was not covered by silk. There was no silk at all, and the most promising thing about the hole was that it was perfectly round. I had found wolf spiders in other holes, but they usually had some sort of silk near the opening and were a bit rougher inside. I started with step one: simulate a flash flood by pouring water down the tunnel. I had filled a 32-oz Powerade bottle with water, and its entire contents disappeared into the dry earth. Nothing happened, but that was a good sign. A deep burrow has excellent potential to be a tarantula. It was all the water I had, though, so I sat there for a minute, trying to get my weak flashlight beam to illuminate inside the hole. Then I saw the forelegs of a tarantula run up the tunnel to investigate. I grabbed a dry blade of grass and tried method two: tickling. The spider was cooperative only briefly as I tried to simulate prey or pest. Then it raced back down out of sight. My stainless steel drinking water bottle contained the Powerade that had been in the other bottle, so I resorted to pouring some red fluid down the hole. The spider did not reappear. I had no choice but to walk back to my truck for a gallon jug of water.

I left most of my gear at the site and was able to find it without difficulty ten minutes later when I returned. I was fortunate to not be far away from where I had parked. I wasn’t smart enough to grab a different flashlight or replacement batteries, however. So, I started as I had begun – flooding. I poured 3/4 of a gallon of water and never saw the spider. The water just kept going, and I knew the tunnel was deep, and the ground was dry. Method three was my only choice. I would have to dig the spider out of its hole. I don’t have good digging tools like Brent and Chris Hamilton carry. They have heavy picks that can do short work of scraping away the earth around the burrow. I had only a small, aluminum hand trowel designed for backpackers and my SOG lock blade knife. The excavation was difficult and I feared I would be unsuccessful. But I dug and dug and followed the earth that was wet from all the water I had used to scrape deeper with my knife. Forty-five or so minutes later, I finally found the small female.

Aphonopelma sp., female, Ash Creek Canyon, Galiuro Mountains, Graham County, Arizona

Zoropsidae sp., Ash Creek Canyon, Galiuro Mountains

The only other spider I photographed was the above unidentified member of the family Zoropsidae. During my hairy four-wheeling adventure during my first visit to the Galiuros earlier in the week I photographed the Rainbow Grasshopper below.

Dactylotum bicolor, Ash Creek Canyon, Galiuro Mountains

Nothing much else to report. Tomorrow morning I’ll drive to Tucson to do a few things, including picking up a male tarantula that an iNaturalist user had found near the Rincon Mountains. He knew that Brent, Chris, and myself would be interested and reached out to me. I’ll ship it to Brent along with the two males and one female tarantula I collected in the Galiuros yesterday. Tonight I am going to make a drive back to my Cave Creek Canyon home because I screwed up and didn’t change the shipping address on Amazon for an order I placed. Now I have a 150-mile round-trip package collection. But it will be good to see my favorite place!

#123: TEAM Sky Island Tarantulas Autumn 2019 & A November in Willcox

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Greetings from Willcox, Arizona. I’m 72 miles or so northeast of my usual home in the Chiricahua Mountains camped at Lifestyle RV Resort for November. Before I left Cave Creek Canyon, I was joined by Chad Campbell (Minneapolis, MN) and Tom Patterson (Long Island, NY) as Wheelhouse-guests, and Drs. Brent Hendrixson (Millsaps College) and Chris Hamilton (University of Idaho) for some tarantula hunting. Chad & Tom arrived in Tucson on Friday morning, and I met them here in Willcox for grocery shopping before escorting them down to my homestead outside of Portal, Arizona. Saturday, Brent and Chris joined us and camped at Sunny Flat Campground, a little over a mile up canyon from where I live most of the year.

I mentioned in previous blog entries that I had decided to take a break from life at the Visitor Information Center and the Canyon. I would camp here in Willcox for some rest & relaxation during November. I also mentioned that the location coincided with Brent & Chris coming to lead adventures in Arizona’s Sky Islands in search of montane tarantulas and the possibility of new species. Chad and Tom were eager to join us and high in the Chiricahua Mountains we were also joined by Wyatt Mendez, who grew up in Cave Creek Canyon and now attends the University of Arizona.

The little montane tarantula I found on October 14, 2019. Aphonopelma sp. nov.

On Friday, Chad, Tom, and I explored a couple of high desert grassland fields along the Arizona and New Mexico border in search of the dwarf tarantula Aphonopelma parvum, but all we found was wolf spiders and centipedes, etc. That night we had dinner at Portal Cafe and later that night enjoyed watching the nectar-feeding bats come into my hummingbird feeders despite the autumn chill after sunset. On Saturday, we ascended the mountains to look for the new tarantula species Brent and I had found on Halloween last year. I had found another specimen where we found our first in 2018 on October 14, and subsequent visits hadn’t yielded any more. We had initially planned to wait for Brent & Chris, but flight changes and rerouted baggage had delayed Brent’s arrival in Arizona and Brent and Chris’ ability to depart Tucson. So, my Wheelhouse guests and I set out on Saturday without them.

After searching the area for some time, we moved up to an area above 8000 feet in elevation (locations are secret for now). It had been a chilly morning, but the sun had made it more comfortable by 10 a.m., and shortly after that, Chad spotted a mature male wandering across the rock and wood strewn grasses on an exposed mixed conifer forest hillside. Before I had even made it over to see Chad’s find, Tom saw a Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei) moving over the ground. The day was already a great success!

Aphonopelma sp., mature male, found by Chad Campbell on October 26, 2019 at 8154 feet in elevation.

Crotalus pricei #1, spotted by Tom Patterson on Saturday, October 26, 2019. We were over 8000 feet in elevation and the temperature was in the low 50s, but this mountain dweller was enjoying the warmth of the rising sun.

We didn’t find any more spiders high up the mountain on Saturday, and when Brent and Chris finally made it to Cave Creek Canyon Chad, Tom, and I headed back down the mountain to meet up with them. We found them at Sunny Flat Campground to say hello, and then we all decided to search an area above the Southwestern Research Station a couple of miles up the canyon where I had found a female Aphonopelma chiricahua in June 2018. Brent would end up finding a subadult beneath a roadside rock. That night Chad, Tom, and I had dinner at Sky Island Grill and were joined at my homestead by Brent and Chris later that evening for drinks and discussion.

On Sunday morning Brent and Chris headed up the mountain, and Chad, Tom, and I followed a little later. We had no luck again in the vicinity of the site where Brent and I found our four spiders on Halloween 2018 and I found one more on October 14 of this year. However, nearby Chris found a Folding Trapdoor Spider (Antrodiateus apacheus) and Chad found another Twin-spotted Rattlesnake!

Antrodiateus apacheus (Folding Trapdoor Spider)

Twin-spotted Rattlesnake #2 (Crotalus pricei)

Our group of five spider hunters then decided to meet for lunch and then search where Chad had found the male (and Tom had found our first Twin-spotted Rattlesnake) the day before. While we were having our break, Wyatt Mendez arrived to join us. Now, with six people searching the area, we found several more specimens of this new dwarf montane tarantula in burrows beneath cover. The day turned celebratory quickly, and Tom also found our third Twin-spot in two days!

Group photo taken near our success site at about 8150 feet elevation. (L. to R.) Chad Campbell, Dr. Chris Hamilton, Michael Jacobi, Dr. Brent Hendrixson, Tom Patterson, and Wyatt Mendez.

Twin-spotted Rattlesnake #3 (Crotalus pricei)

Later that afternoon, we decided to search a different site at an appropriate elevation for Aphonopelma chiricahua. The six of us worked a hillside near the Southwestern Research Station, and a couple of tarantulas were found. Afterward, we all visited Wyatt’s nearby home to see his vast centipede collection, which is almost exclusively comprised of American species. Then Chad, Tom, and I again had dinner at the Portal Cafe before Brent, Chris, and Wyatt joined us at my camp for another evening celebration.

Aphonopelma chiricahua, Cave Creek Canyon

Monday morning, I began breaking camp. After more than eight months at my corral homestead, it was time to move to Lifestyle in Willcox. Tom said his goodbyes as he was headed to meet a friend in the San Tan Valley for the rest of his week. Chad helped me with the Wheelhouse while Brent and Chris headed toward the Pinaleño Mountains, where we would meet them later. As some of you will recall, I do my grocery shopping in Willcox while living outside of Portal. I can make the 70-plus mile drive in not much more than an hour by using a direct route that uses dirt road primarily as it travels 25 miles from Portal to San Simon, where it meets the interstate. However, with my 32 foot, 8000-pound Wheelhouse in tow, Chad and I took the much longer paved route. After I checked in at Lifestyle and we did a quick setup of my RV, Chad and I headed another hour northeast to find Brent and Chris.

The rig on Cave Creek Canyon road just outside the gate of my corral homestead

Chad and I found Brent and Chris at Upper Twilight Campground in the Pinaleño Mountains on Monday afternoon. Our foursome had no luck finding spiders, but it was nice to show Chad another Sky Island range. For those reading this that don’t understand the “sky islands” concept, below in an excerpt from my most recent article on the Sky Island tarantulas, which was published in the Journal of the British Tarantula Society. As always, my articles may be downloaded from the Publications page of my website.

“The Madrean Sky Islands of southern Arizona and nearby southwestern New Mexico comprise a series of isolated mountain ranges (‘islands’) that provide changing forested habitats with elevation surrounded by and separated from each other by expanses of lowland desert and grasslands (the ‘sea’). Only a handful of organisms that are adapted to these diverse montane habitats have the physiological tools to also survive in the arid lowlands. As a consequence, closely related populations of organisms located on isolated mountaintops are often subject to genetic diversification and speciation (Hendrixson et al., 2015). ”

— JACOBI, M. 2019. American Mountain Endemics Revisited: Field notes on Aphonopelma catalina with an update on A. chiricahua, A. marxi & A. peloncillo. Journal of the British Tarantula Society 34(2): 12-22.

Chad and I left Brent and Chris in the Pinaleños and headed back to Willcox, where we had dinner at a BBQ place in town. Tuesday morning we messaged with Brent and made arrangements to meet he and Chris in the Dragoon Mountains west of Willcox. This range hasn’t been explored much for tarantulas and it was the first visit for all of us. It is the location of Cochise Stronghold where the Apache warrior Chief Cochise was buried by his followers in a secret grave. We met at the campground and hiked the Cochise Indian Trail. The four of us split up, but Chad and I ended up together about one-half mile up the trail. I was flipping rocks when I noticed a the mouth of a burrow beneath one rock. I shined my flashlight beam inside and saw a tarantula! After calling Chad over, I began about thirty minutes of excavation with his assistance. The tiny tarantula’s tunnel ran between two subterranean rocks of some size, and the careful digging took some time. But it was worth it in the end!

Aphonopelma sp., Dragoon Mountains, found by Michael Jacobi, October 29, 2019

We started farther up the trail and ran into Brent who had marched ahead a couple of miles looking for wandering mature males. I showed him our prize and he began to flip every rock in the vicinity, successfully locating two more of these dwarf tarantulas in similar rock-covered burrows, and also an Aphonopelma chalcodes. Then, just before we left, Chris found a small (yet much larger than our three “dwarves”) female beside a large ornamental rock in the campground lot. As I held up the rock and Chris extracted the female, we noticed three spiderlings. As far as all these species go, that will require DNA sequencing and other work by Brent and Chris. I’m just a naturalist.

Aphonopelma sp., Dragoon Mountains, found by Chris Hamilton, October 29, 2019

Chad and I left Brent and Chris in the Dragoons and stopped at the Cochise Cemetery on our way back to Willcox. Why? To hunt for tarantulas, of course. Don’t you do it in a cemetery?!?! Brent’s field biology course had flushed an interesting tarantula out of a burrow there in the past, and it was suggested that we give it a try. Chad and I only found wolf spiders and black widows, though. However, Chad was happy that two Harris Hawks came nearby, and he was able to photograph them. Later that night, Chad and I had our last dinner together of his trip, celebrating the adventures at Double S Steakhouse in Willcox. The next morning I took him back to Tucson to fly home.

Yesterday when I returned to my new camp at Lifestyle in Willcox, I decided to swim. I chose the location because they had an indoor pool, hot tub, and gym. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I learned that the hot tub was out of service and may be for most of my stay. But the pool looked great, and I was told it was heated to 82ºF. When I climbed into it yesterday afternoon, I discovered that it was much warmer! Later, a maintenance guy would tell me it is overheating right now, but I enjoyed the giant hot tub very much and hope he doesn’t fix it. I don’t usually do swimming pools, but it will be a big part of my leisure over this next month. I also hope to use the impressive gym and TV room.

I had hoped to meet Brent & Chris today to explore the Pinal Mountains, but an electrical meltdown of my surge protector and power cable yesterday has forced me to stay here and wait for the delivery of replacements. Tomorrow is their last day in the Sky Islands of Arizona, and they plan to be in the northern Catalina Mountains near Tucson. Hopefully, I will be able to hook up with them there. Saturday, my month of hibernation begins.

#122: Happy October

HAPPY OCTOBER!

Three weeks remain for me at my homestead before a five-week sabbatical. I will return to my camp at the USFS Admin Mule & Horse Corral above the Cave Creek Canyon Visitor Information Center (VIC) in the Chiricahua Mountains on the last day of November. I returned to my little paradise in the canyon this year on February 23, so when I pull out during the last few days of October it will be eight months since my Wheelhouse moved. When I return for the beginning of December, I will begin a seven-month stay that might extend a bit beyond that. However, I have only committed to resuming my caretaker & host duties through June. I may choose to spend the 2020 monsoon season chasing snakes in other ranges and doing something much different. We will see. A pikey/gypsy/tinker needs to move sometimes.

““The World Is Big And I Want To Have A Good Look At It Before It Gets Dark.” - John Muir”

Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans), Cave Creek Canyon

It is October 5. My free time will now switch to hunting for the montane tarantula species Brent & I found at the top of the Chiricahuas last Halloween. I have spread the word among local hikers to be on the lookout for specimens for me, but I will now devote time to searching for it until I am joined by Brent, Chris, Chad, and Tom on October 25-26. Snakes can still be found in October, but I won’t focus on them. Any I encounter will be more by chance. My first rattlesnake of October is the Mohave (Crotalus scutulatus) shown below and observed on the first day of the month. I had made a trip up to Willcox for banking and groceries. It is 72 miles northwest, and where I will be living during my sabbatical from life and responsibilities here in Cave Creek Canyon for November. With cool nighttime temperatures now (ca. the mid-50s), most snakes have become more active during the daytime, and I had hoped I might see something during my return drive in the late morning when the day’s early chill had warmed.

I had seen a disturbing number of road-killed mammals on my drive out of the foothills up to the interstate on my way to Willcox: several skunks, a badger, a gray fox, and javelina; plus a dead-on-road barn owl. I cleared all off the road for the safety of scavengers but saw no reptiles live or dead. On the return drive, I was driving along the dirt Foothills Road and not only was there more traffic than usual, but there was also a road grader at work. I was discouraged and doubting that I might see a live snake. I had increased my speed, anxious to return home. I saw a truck approaching me at reasonably high speed and moved over so we could pass each other. As it got closer, I realized it was Border Patrol, the vehicles I most often encounter on the primitive roads. As he cruised by, I soon noticed a snake in the dust cloud the truck had left, and it was thrashing a bit as if it was hit. I slammed on my brakes, skidding in the red dust as I steered towards the roadside desert. I was happy to discover that it had not been injured at all and quickly grabbed my tongs and a snake bucket from the rear of my truck. As I approached the very dangerous Mohave Rattlesnake, it began to strike at me repeatedly. Only wearing flip flops for what was just an impromptu errand run, I was happy to have five-foot-long tongs. Still, I had to jump back several times as this particular buzztail was the most agitated and defensive I had experienced throughout the entire year. I grasped it safely in my Gentle Giant tongs, and it thrashed about so much I rapidly moved it to the dirt and released it so it wouldn’t be injured. I got another grip mid-body and pushed it into the bucket with much difficulty as it continued to strike.

I wanted to find a decent place to photograph it, but I also wanted to move it to safety away from the road and get us out of sight of passing cars that might stop and gawk. I don’t like worrying about bystanders who want to try to get a quick smartphone shot. So, in improper footwear, I moved into the creosote, mesquite, and cactus off the road, wishing I had my boots on. Before long, I was kneeling in cactus spines trying to pose the ornery snake as its striking did not relent. I tossed my floppy hat over it - that old trick for settling a snake into a coil pose for photographs. It was uncooperative, and several attempts were necessary. The photo below, which unfortunately has a stem across the snake’s body, is the best I could do before I chose to let the snappy bugger alone.

Mohave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus), Chiricahua Foothills

My last day at the VIC will be October 23. The next day I have free to prepare my Wheelhouse for moving, and the day after that, Chad and Tom will join me here at my homestead. The following morning we expect arachnologists Brent Hendrixson and Chris Hamilton. Then the fieldwork will begin and last through November 2. On November 3, I will start four weeks of relaxation. However, I don’t imagine I will sit completely still. In addition to the possibility of continuing to search for Fall/Winter active Sky Island tarantulas, I am pondering trips for landscape photography with destinations like Organ Pipe and the Grand Canyon in mind.

MJ

#121: Happy Autumn

I want to begin by thanking all who expressed condolences on the loss of my dear parrot Jesse, and indeed all who read my tribute here. Twenty-nine years is a long period of attachment. Jesse and I were together for more than twice the amount of time as my precious dog, Taylor. She was with me from age 26 to 55. Yesterday was a day of much grief as I started the morning burying her in the rain before the sun had even risen. Then there was removing her cage and playpen and travel carrier and everything else. I was an emotional mess as I opened the Visitor Center late. Returning home later that afternoon to the quiet emptiness was tough.

I felt guilty as I cleaned my Wheelhouse and put the dinette table where it is supposed to be, where Jesse’s cage had been for these past two and a half years as a full-time RV-er. For the first time, my RV is cleaner and better organized than 200 square feet you share with a seed and fruit scattering bird. I hated that I was thinking about how much more room there is and how I won’t have to sweep twice a day.

In one month I will be preparing to move the Wheelhouse. As I mentioned in yesterday’s tribute, I very much need a break from my routine here in Cave Creek Canyon and my work with the VIC (Visitor Information Center). I returned on February 23 and on October 25 will be free until December 1. Eight months is a long time for the Wheelhouse to sit still, and it has been a long stretch for me. But let me begin this start of autumn post with more about what is happening on October 25.

As most of you know, my friend and arachnologist Dr. Brent Hendrixson has visited the area often, and he and I have had many adventures in search of tarantulas and scorpions. One of his trips was when he and I found two pairs of tarantulas, here in the Chiricahua Mountains above 7000 feet elevation, on Halloween. Another found us chasing tarantulas at the beginning of December. The Sky Island tarantulas are our focus, and these species mature and breed in fall and are active at the end of the year. On October 25, Brent will fly into Arizona and be joined by his colleague, Dr. Chris Hamilton. I haven’t seen Chris in about thirteen years. They will be coming to me in the Chiricahuas the following morning. At the same time, two non-professional tarantula enthusiasts (arachnoculturists), my good friend Chad Campbell from Minnesota and Tom Patterson from New York, will be arriving in Tucson and heading straight to my camp. The five of us will begin our field trip searching for more high elevation specimens here in the Chiricahuas, and then intend to direct our hunt to the Pinaleño and Dragoon Mountains. We may be joined by others there, including Wyatt Mendez.

To be closer to the latter mountain ranges, I began thinking about boondocking (dry camping) somewhere between Willcox and Benson, Arizona. Tom and Chad will stay with me during our weekend adventures, but then Tom will depart for some time in the Phoenix area. I realized that living “off grid” would require some repairs and upgrades to my Wheelhouse that would be more expensive than one month at an RV Park, and began looking for one within striking distance of the Pinaleños and Dragoons. As I shop for groceries in Willcox, 72 miles from my homestead in Cave Creek Canyon, I had become aware of a park there that has some nice amenities. I figured if I am going to pay for a month at an RV Park it should be nice and afford me some relaxation after my spider hunting buddies head home. Lifestyles RV in Willcox fit the bill. It has an indoor pool and hot tub, a gym, and WiFi. It is just down the road from the Safeway where I shop, which has a Starbucks!

On or about October 28, Chad and I will move my rig to Lifestyles. After our field trip ends on Nov 2, I will have four weeks to just chill. I will write (begin my novel?), read, play guitar, (hopefully) work out, and enjoy a daily soak in the hot tub. It will be a much needed therapeutic and meditative time. Then I will be back to my homestead in Cave Creek Canyon from December through June. What adventures lie beyond are yet to be discovered.

Bombus sonorus

The above image of a Sonoran Bumblebee (Bombus sonorus) is how I wished followers of my social media a Happy Autumn. The nights are cool, even crisp, here now, and yesterday the rainfall was heavy. The Southwestern Research Station three miles up canyon recorded two inches in twenty-four hours. Late summer and early fall mean bird migration, especially for the hummingbirds that are the avian wildlife on which I focus. In September, we have recorded thirteen species of “colibris” in the area, including the very uncommon for our area White-eared, Berylline, and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds. About fifteen hummers are swarming my three feeders as I type this, including Blue-throated Mountain Gems, Rivoli’s, Anna’s, Broad-tailed, Rufous, and Calliope. There are many immature birds, the males of which are just starting to form the gorgeous gorgets on their throats.

Although the reptiles will soon head for their winter retreats, and I am beginning to think more about the autumn tarantulas, I will continue to chase snakes through October. Two weeks or so ago, I ventured to the Huachuca Mountains to meet my friend Brandon. We didn’t find the species we sought but did encounter the Banded Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus klauberi) and Mohave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus). The Mohave was a beautiful greenish snake found at the highest elevation I have ever encountered the species. The photo below has, in a short time, become my most liked post on Instagram. The Rock Rattlesnake image that follows it is my favorite yet of the species.

Crotalus scutulatus

Crotalus lepidus klauberi

At the end of August, I had a snake hunting adventure with my friend Tim. He lives in Mesa outside of Phoenix, and I overnighted in a hotel in Mesa to join him in the search for two species I had to observe in nature. The two “lifers” I was after were the Arizona Black Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus) and the Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus pyrrhus). We found both, with a couple of specimens of another favorite buzztail, the Tiger Rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris), and a few other things as well. The Arizona Black or “cerb” was my primary desire. I arrived in Mesa at midday and Tim and I drove northeast into the mountains to search for it. After having no luck on one rocky slope, we moved to higher elevation and hiked along a forested creek. We would find a Regal Ringneck Snake and a Large-blotched Ensantina (a beautiful black and orange salamander from California that is invasive in Arizona). We had no success finding anything else and were headed back to my truck when a perfect “cerb” slithered across the path in front of me. He had a massive bulge from a recent meal like a ground squirrel. His head was raised as he moved slowly and gracefully. I shouted to Tim that I had found my “lifer,” and soon we were photographing my prize.

Crotalus cerberus

After our incredible encounter with this snake, Tim and I decided to get an early dinner in preparation for doing some road-cruising. Our original plan had us starting at night, but I got up to Phoenix nice and early, and now we had my main objective on our memory cards. It was fortuitous as well, as that night our road-cruising would only yield a nice Desert Nightsnake. I would end up not finding my hotel until about 11:30 p.m., and we decided I would pick Tim up at 4:30 a.m. to begin our search for “specks.” I wouldn’t fall asleep until well after midnight and was in the shower by 3 a.m. This would be a whirlwind snake hunting trip!

The next morning Tim and I found our first snake before 5 a.m. as we hiked a wash in Phoenix in the pre-dawn dark. Just before and after 6 a.m., about twenty minutes apart, we would observe two Tiger Rattlesnakes. The first is shown below. I love how this species has a comparatively small head and large rattle. The little head is believed to aid it in poking itself into rock piles after its prey.

Crotalus tigris

By 6:15 a.m. we had already encountered three rattlesnakes. In a climate as hot and dry as Phoenix, you have to start early before the oppressive heat. My lifer Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake would be found by Tim just before 7 a.m. The sun had risen, and we had progressed further into the wash. The species is perfectly adapted to the marbled rock where it lives, and it lies camouflaged at dusk and dawn in ambush of birds and other prey. But, as they say, a photograph is worth a thousand words.

Crotalus pyrrhus

Our second speck was found at 7:40 a.m. and would be the fifth and final buzztail of the morning. The temperature had climbed, and by the time we made it back to my truck before 9 a.m., it was already 95ºF. I drove Tim back to his Mesa apartment and then began the four-and-a-half-hour drive back to Portal. The collage below shows some of the other creatures we experienced.

Top: Desert Nightsnake - Hyspiglena chlorophaea, Tiger Rattlesnake - Crotalus tigris; Middle: Large-blotched Ensatina - Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi, Regal Ringneck Snake - Diadophis punctatus regalis; Bottom: Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake - Crotalus pyrrhus, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake - Crotalus atrox

But now my thoughts turn back to spiders, and I will leave you with two recently photographed at my homestead at the corral. The first is Phidippus carneus, a jumping spider that has become numerous around the horse tack building at my camp. It was photographed on September 22. The second is the enormous Cat-faced or Jewel Orbweaver Spider that is living beneath my Wheelhouse.

Again, thanks for the sympathies on my loss of Jesse, and thanks for reading my blog. I haven’t written much this year, and I appreciate those who still visit this page. All the best, MJ