Friends of Ironwood Forest, Meet The Monument

The weather has started to cool down, there has been a heavy sprinkling of rain, and jackets are needed for the next few days.  The forecast for the next week has us back into the 70s, and the outside happy hours will continue.

The bird feeders that we have, are providing enjoyment, and entertainment, but this morning I found the leftovers of a dove at the base of the feeders.  I saw a bunny under the feeders when I left to check the trail camera this morning, and as I looked a bit closer, I found the dove parts.  The bunny had nothing to do with the dove parts, he just interested me enough to get closer to the feeders.  The doves only feed in the day time hours, so it had to have happened during a time when we could have heard or seen it.  All that I can think of is a cat, coyote, or hawk, and we have had visits by all three at various times.  Whatever got the dove made a little bit of a mess.

Steve took Anne-Marie and I to The Friends Of Ironwood Forest, Meet the Monument Event.  This event was held at the Ironwood Forest National Monument, located about a 40 minute drive from the RV Park.  We expected a little larger crowd than what was there, but the smaller groups made it easier to ask questions.  We registered, got raffle tickets, and checked out the programing.

The native history talk was given by Felipe Molina, who is a native Yoeme (Yaqui), and he talked about the relationship that the forest played with his people.  Anne-Marie and Steve are talking to Cecil Schwalbe at his display.  Cecil has authored or co-authored a few books about reptiles, and the southwestern desert, and his display reptiles are animals that he has cared for at home for years.

The small lizard was captured in the morning by one of the volunteers, and the tortoise was hatched in his yard about 15 years ago.  He explained that he has several tortoises, and the others were deep into their boroughs, and this one was the easiest to catch.

A King Snake, and a very fascinating talk on who eats who in the desert, and how the King Snake kills Rattlesnakes.  The Gila Monster is one that Cecil has had since 1986, and he tied up a harness around it, to set it into the sun to get it more comfortable.  Cecil allowed the audience to touch the skin, to feel the different textures from the top and underside scales.  The Gila Monster feeds on eggs in nests, and on little animals that are too young to get out of the way.  The Gila Monster is too slow to catch anything that moves quickly.

Steve and I took the walk/lecture with Allan Morgan, about How To Photograph The Desert.  Allan Morgan, when introduced to the group, was credited with being a Professional Nature Photographer having worked for the Desert Museum, and has been published in the National Geographic Magazine.

This is a view of the Ironwood Forest with Ragged Top Mountain in the distance.

A part of the crowd around Cecil and his interesting talks.  The weather was warm enough for most all of us to stay until the end of the programs, and speakers like Cecil kept interest high.

We came home exhausted, mentally from information overload, and physically from being on our feet and walking all day, but it was a great time, and we look forward to other events like this.