Diario de porazzo

I completed this nature walk on the Lost Dog Trail in the McDowell Mountain Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona. I love hiking on this trail because it is close to where I live and has a wide variety of cacti. This trail is also open to horseback riders so it is always cool to see some horses along the way. It was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit with no cloud cover when we started hiking. The difference in temperature between the day time high and the night time low in the desert of Arizona allows for some really interesting species of plants and animals to thrive there. Among my favorites are the saguaro cactus, the prickly pear cactus, and the barrel cactus, all of which I was able to find on my hike. The saguaro cactus is so interesting to me because it can survive for hundreds of years in such a hot, dry climate. The age of a saguaro can usually be estimated by its height and number of arms, as it does not sprout arms until it is between 50-70 years old. I chose to observe some of the taller saguaros on my hike because they typically house birds that somehow manage to build nests around the thorns of the cactus. I was also able to find some barrel cactus, which are often called "suicide cacti" by Arizonans because they are known to sometimes grow too tall that they fall over. In addition to the cacti, I was able to find a lot of flowering plants, as it is wildflower season in the Sonoran Desert. I think it is interesting that many of the plants in the desert only have flowers that are yellow, orange, and some shades of red. I am not sure why this is, but these colors really highlight the beauty of the flora in the desert.

I did this nature walk while on a run around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir right before sunset. The weather was unusually warm (about 55 degrees Fahrenheit) so it was not surprising that there were plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine. It was difficult finding organisms that would be easy to identify because many of the plants I observed seemed to be dormant for the winter and did not have any foliage. However, I was able to find a few different types of moss and I thought it was interesting that each type seemed to grow in a different pattern or on a different type of surface. Being from Colorado, I was surprised to find an Aspen tree here because I did not know that they grew on the east coast or at lower altitudes. I was also surprised to find plants with berries (such as the Eastern Redcedar with blue berries). I had thought that most plants only produce berries in the summer. I was hoping to find more animals to observe but I am glad that I was forced to focus on plants because I have never noticed the diversity of trees at the reservoir. Overall, I really enjoyed this walk because it allowed me to appreciate just how beautiful the reservoir is. Since moving to Boston, I have really missed the hiking in Colorado and this walk allowed me to feel like I was at home.