Bloomin' Blenman

With spring well on its way, and the onset of summer leading us into triple-digit temperatures, the blooming season for many of our neighborhood plants is almost over. Although, there are a few native species, particularly cactus, that bloom throughout summer. Most notably, the saguaro cactus have just begun to bloom, synchronized with the appearance of the white-winged dove, which migrate north from Mexico to mate and reproduce in the Sonoran Desert. The saguaro fruit arrives just in time for the newly born doves to feast on the juicy, red delight.

Image from Wikimedia.org (J. Folmer)

Over the past few weeks, I have been wandering through the neighborhood collecting some photographs of a few of our neighborhood's brilliant blooms.

As the palo verdes (Parkinsonia spp.) gear down from their impressive yellow display, the blossoms begin to create a yellow carpet below.

Different prickly pear species (Opuntia spp.) will continue to flower at different times throughout the summer, after which they will produce their bright pink fruit.

The chollas (Cylindropuntia spp.) found throughout the neighborhood bloom in many different shades of oranges, reds, and yellows.

This house had a stunning display of wildlife flowers.

Lantana (Lantana spp.), although not native to this region, is used quite frequently throughout the neighbohood. This variety is almost blinding in it's brightness.

The desert willows (Chilopsis linearis) are also blooming in abundance right now. Their sweet scent mathces their purple beauty.

What's you favorite spring-time bloom?

Great Horned Owl

Let's start this new process off with something fun. We have Great Horned Owls in our neighborhood! And rumor has it, there were also some owlets, or baby owls, in our midst as well. The young owls and parents were seen near Saint Peter and Paul Church on Adams last week.

I went on a walk in search of the owls. As luck would have it, a balloon in a tree caught my attention and as I looked up, I saw this beautiful adult.

Unfortunately I don't have the best camera for these types of shots and it was getting dark, so the pictures aren't very good. (If anyone does have better pictures they would like me to post, feel free to e-mail them to me).

Bill Mannan, at the U of A, has done quite a bit of research on urban raptors. He has some interesting things to say about raptors, much of which makes me think we are lucky to have their presence in our neighborhood.

Typically, Great Horned Owls will nest in areas that are moderately developed, as opposed to a more urban area like downtown. They depend partially on other raptors like hawks by occupying their nest sites. (From what I was told, these owls took over the nest of a hawk and the church had mixed-feeling because the hawk had been eating the pigeons which were becoming a nuisance). The owls will also nest at the cup-like form that is created at the base of some palm trees or at man-made structures with the right conditions. The presence of large Aleppo pines and eucalyptus trees helps raptors, who use them to hunt from and nest in...and indeed this owl was seen in an Aleppo Pine.

Here are a few other interesting facts about the Great Horned Owl:

• They occur all over the U.S. and parts of Canada, making them one of the most wide-spread species of owls.
  
• They weigh from 3 to 4 pounds, are 18-25" tall, and have a wingspan of between 3 to 5 feet. The females are typically bigger than the males.
• They use their ear tufts as a form of communication, moving them in certain ways to convey different messages. If they are irritated, the tufts lay flat, if they are inquisitive they stay upright.
• Their call sounds like they are saying "Whose Awake, Me too" in a series of deep hoots.
• They are one of the earliest spring nesting birds.
• They eat a variety of prey including cottontail rabbits, squirrels, mice, snakes, scorpions, other birds, and even cats and small dogs. (Keep an eye on your animals).
• They can rotate their head 270 degrees. Amazing!

These facts were found at DesertUSA and where you can find more interesting facts if you click here.

Something New

I'm finding that my previous notion of creating a block by block account of our neighborhood was perhaps a bit too ambitious for myself at this point in time. The effort that it takes to locate each item of interest on the aerial photo is a fun way to document where interesting things occur in our neighborhood, but it also takes a considerable amount of time.

So, I think I'd like to try something new. Instead of discussing topics in a particular order based on each block, I think I will try posting general topics that are relevant to the neighborhood. I'll still take pictures from around the neighborhood, but I might not always locate them with a map. I think this will offer more freedom to talk about neighborhood topics and still be interesting and fun. What do you think? :)

Block #8

Making up block 8 is Saint Peter and Paul's Catholic Church which is now over 77 years old. At the time it was built in the 1930's the only other parishes existing in Tucson were Mission San Xavier del Bac, the Cathedral (Saint Augustine), All Saints, Holy Family, and Santa Cruz.
Beautiful stained glass windows like this one over the entryway were installed under Monsignor Gramer's direction sometime after the church was built.

The steeple is prominent in the landscape from many points in our neighborhood as well as while driving down Campbell Avenue.

It's easy to get overheated and dehydrated in the hot Tucson weather, and having water available at more places seems like a good idea. The church placed a drinking fountain outside of their entry, and I have to say it was nice to be able to take a drink on my walk. I was rather thirsty at that point.

Blocks 8 to 11

Blocks 8 through 11 are bounded by Campbell Avenue and Olsen Avenue, Adams Street and Elm Street. Special features of these blocks include Saint Peter and Paul Catholic Church, occupying block 8, and La Posada Del Valle Bed and Breakfast in block 10. Blocks 9, 10 and 11 are primarily residential.

Block #7

This is a large block that is home to Saint Peter and Paul's Catholic School. It has been a presence in this neighborhood since 1931 when it opened its doors and has been run by the Sisters of Charity of Section Hill since 1933. This K-8 Catholic school has a mission of "nurturing spiritual growth, strengthening moral values, and developing academic excellence."


Many of the old buildings in Tucson have beautiful architectural details, like this brick wall with a narrow opening that lets the light spill out from the courtyard.

During school hours, Adams maintains a 15 mile per hour speed limit. Luckily, the road is narrow, helping to reduce the tendency to speed. When school lets out, you will often see many children in their uniforms either walking home or being picked up by parents. It brings a liveliness to our neighborhood in which other times of the day you will see few if any children.

The majority of the school is fenced off to the public, a practice that is common these days, especially for private schools. I often think it is unfortunate that our litigious society prevents schools such as this from opening their grounds to the other children in the neighborhood. We have a great resource here, but unfortunately it can only be used during school hours and by children and parents that attend the school. Even still, it is nice to be able to walk by and see (through the fence) children playing and parents supporting their activities.

ref: http://sspptucson.org/

Blocks #5 and #6

Because these next two blocks seem to have a common theme, I am going to talk about both in the same post.

Our neighborhood is lucky to have an eclectic mix of residents who personalize their homes in different ways. This variety in styles, colors, decorations, landscape and architectural features is part of the uniqueness that differentiates Blenman-Elm from some of the newer Tucson subdivisions. Walking through the neighborhood, you will not come across the same house twice. This lends visual interest that is much more stimulating than if most of the houses were the same. There is something new to discover around every corner.

For example, residents here take great pride in personalizing their entryways...

...with unique gates or doors...

...or interesting landscape features...

Color is also a great characteristic of Blenman Elm. People here use bright colors as accents to their homes or to paint the entire home....

Periwinkle...

...and deep red-umber are just a few of the vibrant shades that make up our neighborhood.
On a side note, I've dreamt of living in a neighborhood where everyone plants fruit trees in their front yard and we all share in the harvests. This house's orange tree is one step in that direction.

And, on the northeast corner of block 6, this estate has often been a bit mysterious to me, with it's deep setback and grand appearance. It looks as if it has been here from the start of the neighborhood, as it sits on a much larger parcel than most of the other homes. What's more, their yard is an amazing wildlife habitat, with dense, thorny cover and many native species.


It would be great to hear from the residents...what is your favorite thing about living in the Blenman Elm neighborhood?

Blocks 5 to 7

Blocks 5 to 7 are a combination of two residential blocks and Saint Peter and Paul Catholic school. It is bordered on the west by Campbell Avenue across from the University Medical Center.

**It's been a long time since I have posted to the Block by Block project and I appologize. My work load is really picking up with my thesis, so I suspect that it will be a bit harder to find time to post. I am going to try to post at least once a week from now on...more if I can fit it in.

Hope that you still come around and leave comments!