Rincon Creek flows west out of the the Rincon Mountains below Tanque Verde Ridge. People have lived here for thousands of years in order to take advantage of the water in the creek. These days the flow is seasonal - but both winter and monsoon rains tend to add enough water for it to flow impressively.

Much of Rincon Creek is either surrounded by private land - land divided from the ranches that once claimed the creek - or a long hike from any trailhead. The exception is the Arizona Trail crossing. On the AZT day hikers/bikers can touch the creek from several different trailheads and thru hikers collect near the creek getting water, often spending the night either before or after climbing up and over the Rincon Mountains.

This recording was made on a sunny late afternoon in April - this year the winter storms were impressive and Rincon Creek is stilled filled and flowing nicely with their water. The microphones were clipped to branches just above the water where a few tall green trees grow near the bank.

With some luck this might be what you would hear near the creek - farther from the water you might also hear vehicles on some of the not-too-far away dirt roads, work going on at the houses in the area or other hikers and bikers. In a dry year you might not hear water at all...

I think it is likely residential development will encroach on this soundscape in the next few decades. Saguaro National Park protects some of Rincon Creek, and perhaps a few more parcels will eventually be added to the park - but watching the Rocking K development unfold it seems optimistic to imagine a future where large chunks of the Arizona State Trust Land south of Rincon Creek aren't subdivided into residential lots.

Hidden water in the dry summer and water falls in a wet winter, thousand year old pottery and grinding holes, owls flying away in silence, javelina grunting, insects buzzing around the first mistletoe blooms. I know the other travelers only by their footprints - this canyon isn't in any way a hidden secret, just one of an infinite number of nameless unremarkable curved lines on the map.

These smaller places are really where my heart is - different every day, every season, every year - endlessly changing, more interesting every visit...

The past weeks have been spent chasing the fall color thru the lower elevation washes, canyons and rivers of Southern Arizona. It came late - we saw more greens and browns than we did yellows and oranges - but the brief/scattered nature of fall color in the desert is balanced by an impressive intensity. After a long summer filling ourselves with the colors of fall was a joy, a recharge to take us thru the whites and grays of winter...

Spring and Early Summer - wandering daze I guess - local hikes, travel north and days where I hope we were lazy and happy... There isn't a theme that joins the photography from the last few months, but some familiar subjects emerge: beautiful spring flowers, blister beetles and other insects, water+green, travels, strangeness and sunset. I miss the spring flowers already but it is time to move on into the true summer's relentless heat and endless light!