~ About ~

The posts in this blog concern animals and plants that I’ve discovered on my walks, mostly at South Mountain Park in Phoenix.  I also closely follow animals and plants in my back yard.  Our property borders South Mountain Preserve, and features wildlife-friendly native plants.  We strive to keep a water fountain going.  The native plants, the water source, and the immediate proximity to the desert mountain create a place of biodiversity, even as our address falls within the fifth largest city in the nation.  Unless noted otherwise all of the photos are taken with my Panasonic Lumix ZS50.

For two decades I’ve walked the trails of South Mountain, bewitched by lizards, tortoises and owls, hummingbirds and javelinas.  The natural history of the Sonoran Desert has revealed itself to me through my ramblings, through work in wildlife rehabilitation and through my writing.  My reverence has grown for this arid and sometimes brutal environment.  I am a Master Gardener and an advocate for the use of native plantings in home landscapes to benefit wildlife.  I grow herbs and vegetables in a small garden semi-successfully fortified against rock squirrels.  I’m published in a number of local magazines and e-newsletters including Maricopa Audubon Wren*ditions, Liberty Wildlife Nature News and Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Roots and Shoots.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I’d love to hear what you see when you Look Out! Gail Cochrane