In the Arizona desert.

A few last pictures of the recent visit to the Desert Botanical Garden and the butterfly exhibit. It closed for the season as of today.

A friend and I visited the Desert Botanical Garden today and enjoyed the butterfly exhibit. Since this exhibit shuts down after this weekend there weren’t many butterflies but we did find some very nice ones in good shape.

Monarchs in the butterfly exhibit at Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden.

Butterfly at Desert Botanical Garden

The fall butterfly exhibit, Majestic Mariposas, opens Sept. 23 and is on display through Nov. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Harris’s Antelope Squirrel at the Botanical Garden today, keeping an eye out for Quail that were actually chasing it.

I just went on a walk in the Santa Rosa neighborhood where I’m visiting, on a beautiful day.

It is sooooo hot in Phoenix today. Swimming in the morning is wonderful, but then there’s the rest of the day. So I’ll just put on another photo I took, from the Cessna, with my young nephew, Jack, as the pilot. I wish I was back in Alaska today.

Magical Butterflies. Always fun to watch and photo. This one from Butterfly Wonderland in Phoenix.

Sadly, I just learned one of the little Elf Owls, that my friend and I would see every year in Hereford, AZ, was recently found dead, on the ground below its hole in a tree that it shared with its partner. The owner of the Bed, Breakfast and Birds, has watched the Elf Owls for 20 years. I’m sure some passed on and offspring took their place. I’ve seen them every year for the past 5 years. Life and death, and I understand that, but it’s still sad for many of us.