The Winter Floods in the Verde Valley, Arizona

People think of Arizona as the desert and it is usually sunny, but when it rains, it can really rain and in the Verde Valley that means flooding.  We have had quite a few days of rain so the creeks and rivers have risen.  This morning I took a picture of ducks in a tree above Oak Creek who are probably confused as to why the placid creek has become a torrent of muddy water and fast moving logs and other debris!

In our community we have two creeks, Oak and Spring Creeks which went way beyond their banks in the past few days.  Our hiking trails are flooded and even walking bridges have been relocated by the powerful rushing rivers!  It is a good reminder of how powerful water can be.

The following series were created from photos taken this morning.  Happy Holidays to All!  There is a surprising amount of color in nature for such a dreary rainy day.  Red or pinkish soils, brown water, green grasses, and many other colors shine through the kaleidoscopes!

ducks on a tree

The turtle made of debris

Above the flood waters

the poor bridge

floodwaters and winter's lack of foliage

Fog and Rain in Arizona and Time Passing Fall into Winter

Just had 3 days of weather reminiscent of the East Coast.  We are finally back to sunny weather!  Most of the Fall leaves have fallen, but some still remain on our mulberry trees.  It is time for my now monthly blog post.  At one time, I was trying for weekly, but the weeks are coming more quickly now as the aging process continues.  I feel like garbage day comes almost every other day, not just on Mondays!  It is astounding how fast time is passing, but I am not stressing out about it anymore.  I used to think it was terrible if I didn't have something concrete to point to as an accomplishment daily, but now I am happier with less in general.

Right now I am fascinated with the wonderful foliage along Oak Creek where it is still Fall.  In this climate Fall lasts nearly to Christmas which is wonderful.

If you are in the Northern or Central Arizona area, make an appointment to see our studio gallery: Pumphouse Studio Gallery.  We would be happy to show you around with a personal tour.

Spring has Definitely "Sprung"

Bees are active, the birds are chirping and pecking at the roof, the Canadian Geese are flying overhead in formations, the grass is greening and the weeds are being chocked off with pesticides which is the worst part of Spring in the Southwest.

Michael had a workshop this week and I tagged along the last day to see what signs of Spring I could find down by Oak Creek at Crescent Moon Ranch.  The tops of the cottonwood trees had a faint blush of green, but the sycamore trees has little evidence of the next season.  The grass was greening and the tourists from the North were out in their shorts and tee shirts.  I have adapted to the climate and am afraid of skin cancer so I generally wear at least 2 layers over all skin surfaces where practical.

Flowering Shrub amongst the Red Rocks

Subtle Greens at Crescent Moon Ranch

Perennial bunch grasses greening pp from the bottom up

A Beaver's Work is Never Done and Some "Flood Sculptures"

I was walking along Oak Creek looking for some flood sculptures when I came across some recent beaver activity.  I couldn't help making some kaleidoscopic photos from the picture below.

A Beaver's Work is Never Done!

They have almost killed this young cottonwood!

No it is not a large "bird's nest!"

The debris can weave an intricate pattern

Next week I will share with you some of my kaleidoscopes made from the "flood sculptures".

Five Kaleidoscopes from One Photo of Oak Creek

Oak Creek Blues

Reeds on Oak Creek

Today I was inspired by a photograph that I took of Oak Creek during my morning walk.  I planned to take photos of some of the recent "flood sculptures" which I will feature at a later time, but the blue reflected sky in the Creek was unusual today as it was prussian blue.  You can feel the chill in the air just looking at the photograph!  These all were done with the same shape which is a square with twelve wedges.

original photo of Oak Creek

The Flooding of Oak Creek

Last week I blogged about the color of ice and this week we had flooding!  Fickle and wildly changing extreme weather is our plight during this period of global warming.  Both Spring and Oak Creeks jumped their banks with trees bravely hanging on as water streamed around them.  They were flowing very fast this morning and we took many videos and photographs.  The last time the water was this high in the winter was at least 3 years ago.

The photos became the inspiration for this weeks kaleidoscopes.

Mighty Warriors
8x8 $50 framed

Flooding in Winter
8x8 $50 framed

Here are some more of our flood pictures!

Wonderful Vegetation at Red Rock State Park

We took an early morning hike at Red Rock State Park this AM.  I find it still hot in Sedona so we try to finish our hiking by 10 AM.  There were still some beautiful yellow cottonwood trees down by the Oak Creek, but my eye was caught by some especially large prickly pear cacti, some ancient junipers, and some sycamores which have lost most of their leaves so you can see the structure of their limbs.

Prickly Pears--Looks Like Fabric Art!

Ancient Tree How Old Are You?

Twisted Together-- a sycamore love Story

Week Sixteen.....What and Where is this!

I love water so I am continuing on that theme in this series of kaleidoscopes.  It is very early Spring here and really no leaves yet at Red Rock Crossing area of Sedona so I went to Oak Creek for inspiration and created "10 ducks in the water"

8 by 8 inch print framed $50

Original photo was:  

anyone know what type of duck this is?  I think a common merganser?

Week Fifteen.....What and Where is this!

Water is a recurrent theme for me.  We had a large snowstorm earlier this week in the high country north of Sedona and then it became quite warm so now Oak Creek is really rushing!

The kaleidoscope was created of a picture of Cathedral Rock with a rushing Oak Creek in the foreground.

Tomorrow I attend a Native Plant Workshop in Sedona so I can identify better all the beautiful spring flowers that are beginning to pop up everywhere.

8 by 8 framed $50   Rushing Water

original photo capturing the energy of the water!