Cannundrums: March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Chino Bandino

While in Phoenix on a Saturday evening, Judy and I stopped to eat at Chino Bandino, a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, located at 15414 North 19th Ave, Suite K (602-375-3639). .

It is a fusion of Mexican and Chinese food.

It qualifies as a dive, as it was initially designed as take-out, but they've become so popular that they have added a dining hall that would work as a school lunch room. We got there early and it was packed. There were about 10 people ahead of us in line and double that behind us as we got to the window. Judy got a rice bowl with emerald chicken.

I got a rice bowl with a combination of jade red chicken, jerk chicken, refried beans and jerk fried rice.

We both got their volcano (chocolate) cookie.

Judy really liked the emerald chicken, but would have liked more sauce. I thought the jade red chicken and jerk chicken were pretty ordinary. The jade red chicken, in particular, their most popular item, would fit into a typical Chinese fast food buffet. The refried beans were good and the jerk fried rice was unusual and pretty good. Overall, if given the opportunity, neither of us would have any desire to go back. I'm finding the Triple D highlighted restaurants to be hit and miss, but it does give us an excuse to try new foods and new restaurants and I think we will continue to seek out Triple D recommended restuarants in the future for that reason.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Baja Fairy Duster

The Baja fairy duster is a shrub native to the Cape region of Baja California. However, it has been introduced to Arizona where I recently found it along the freeway roadside in several places as well as in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The first was found at a rest stop between Buckeye and Quartzite and has fewer flowers so that the underlying shrub is more visible.

A view of the leaves and buds.

The buds then burst forth into flowers.

It grows from 1 to 3 feet tall and spreads out 3 to 4 feet. The next one was photographed in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the Puerto Blanco Drive.

It has red flowering balls formed by long pink filaments of 20 or more stamens emerging from small clustered flowers.

When we saw the blooms, they were a wild mixture of pink and red,

nothing like the pictures of the pure red, mature, flower I've seen pictures of. I had never noticed this plant before and the ones we saw were hard not to notice as their red and pink was begging for us to notice them.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Mexican Gold Poppy

Mexican gold poppies, after good winter conditions and rainfall, can provide incredible color displays

as they carpet the desert between late February and mid-April.

Really good displays only happen about every decade or so.

I'm going to put in lots of pictures

because I was so thrilled to experience the blooming of the Mexican gold poppies

in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (and other parts of Arizona) in a good bloom year.

This was my seventh time there and the first time I have seen the poppies like this.

What a thrill!

I was recently told by a ranger at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument that they typically need good rains in November and December to get a good bloom. This year, they had no rain in that time frame, but lots of rain in January and February, which has resulted in some spectacular blooms, much to their surprise.

The Mexican gold poppy flower grows on a single stalk

and remains open only in full sunlight.

The flowers are bright yellow

to orange

with four petals that form a cup between 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches wide.

They have fernlike leaves,

about 2 1/2 inches long

and can grow to a height of 16 inches.

They are found below 4,500 feet in elevation from southeastern California to west Texas and into northern Mexico.

It can be poisonous, if ingested. I was told by the ranger that the difference between the California poppy and Mexican gold poppy is that the Mexican poppy is more yellow, it is smaller and it is less hardy.

However, I am also finding an article that says that the Mexican gold poppy is a desert inhabiting subspecies of the California poppy.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Senita Cactus

While Judy and I were visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument recently, we stayed in Puerto Penasco, about 60 miles below the U.S. border. We took several detours into El Pinacate Gran Desierto and while driving there found what we thought were badly damaged organ pipe cacti. Many stems were brown and limp and we attributed it to the harsh summer conditions in that area and perhaps lack of water.

Then I noticed that the stems looked a little different and decided they might be a different species of organ pipe cactus.

Now that I am home and have researched it, I have determined we were seeing a completely different species of cactus: the senita cactus.

The senita has thinner stems, fewer ribs and the upper sections of adult stems have spine clusters (areolas), each with 15 to 20 bristle-like gray spines. This gives the senita a gray, hairy headed look from which it gets its name (senita means "old one" in Spanish).

and

The senita has pale pink flowers that open after dark and close around dawn. They are pollinated by a small moth. The fruit is red and spineless. They are prone to damage from cold, which I assume is what causes the browning of the stems. They are only found in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument very near the Mexican border in an area that is frost-free and not now accessible by car. They are much more common south of the border in Sonora where we noticed them. If I'd known they were a different speicies, I would have taken more pictures and paid more attention to them. It gives me another reason to go back!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Matt's Big Breakfast

I was with Judy in Phoenix recently and we stopped for breakfast at Matt's Big Breakfast located downtown at 801 N. 1st Street (602-254-1074). Matt's was featured on Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) and I was commenting to Judy that I have been very disappointed with a number of restaurants I've been to that have been featured on that show. However, even when a restaurant does not live up to expectations, it is still a fun experience to try something new, especially in a city where we are not familiar with what is available. Well, unlike some other Triple D featured restaurants I've tried, Matt's delivered. Matt's is open Tuesday through Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Many Yelp reviews warned that you could have a long wait, particularly on weekends. Judy and I visited Sunday, before attending church, arriving around 7:35 a.m. We had to wait over 30 minutes to get a seat. The rest of downtown Phoenix was virtually empty, but there was a line waiting outside this restaurant. Amazing! This picture, taken as we left, shows about 30 people waiting outside to be seated.

Matt's apparently tries to serve organic and locally grown food and though, with simple menu items, wows with great cooking of good ingredients. Judy picked particularly well. She got one of the specials with 3 scrambled eggs, chicken habanero sausage (very juicy and relatively spicy), sweet peppers (still somewhat crispy) and pepper jack cheese. They were some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten. The eggs were not over-cooked and the peppers and sausage worked incredibly well. It also came with hashbrowns, thin, with plenty of crunch, but also a nice moist inside. Some of the best hashbrowns I've ever tasted. Judy also got fresh-squeezed organic tangelo juice.

I got a porkchop and asked if they would cook it medium rare. After warning me about the health risks, the waitress said they would do it. It turned out too well cooked for my taste, but the seasoning on the porkchop was very good - lots of fresh ground pepper. I got it with two eggs over-easy. It also came with hashbrowns, home-made sourdough bread and fresh made blackberry jam that was delicious.

Finally, I got a side of bacon and some fresh squeezed honey lemonade. The bacon was very meaty and crisp. I like my bacon more fatty and less well down, but it was good and the lemonade was fantastic.

Matt's is worth a wait, or better, getting up real early for to avoid a wait (I hate waiting). If I lived closer, it would be a place I would go back to again and again, to try all of the menu items.

Index - Plants (Cactus, Flowers, Shrubs & Trees)

PLANTS:

Cactus:
Barrel Cactus
Barrel Cactus, California
Barrel Cactus, Sonoran
Beavertail Cactus
Buckhorn Cholla; Flowering
Chain Fruit, Hanging Chain or Jumping Cholla; Flowers
Fishhook Cactus
Hedgehog or Claret Cup Cactus; 2017
Mojave Kingcup Cactus (Echinocereus mojavensis)
Organ Pipe Cactus; Flowers and Fruit
Pencil and Branched Pencil Cholla
Prickly Pear Cactus
Prickly Pear Cactus, Engelmann's
Saguaro Cactus; Flowers and Fruit
Senita Cactus; in Organ Pipe Cactus NM
Silver Cholla
Teddy Bear Cholla

Flowers:
Ajo Lily
Arizona Evening Primrose
Arizona Lupine
Bigelow's Monkeyflower
Browneye or Brown-Eyed Primrose
California Evening Primrose (Oenothera californica)
California Poppy
Chia (Salvia columbariae)
Colorado Blue Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea)
Coulter's Lupine or Mojave Lupine
Desert Canterbury Bells
Desert Chicory
Desert Dandelion; DDII
Desert Marigold
Desert Mariposa Lily
Desert Sand Verbena
Emory's Rock Daisy
Ghost Flower or Mojave Flower
Hairy Desert Sunflower or Desert Gold
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis)
Mexican Gold Poppy; 2017
Mojave Aster
Mojave Desertstar
Narrowleaf Suncup
Paleface or Rock Hibiscus (Hibiscus denudatus)
Palmer's Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri)
Panamint Catseye or Bristlelobe Cryptantha
Parachute Plant or Gravel Ghost
Parish's Larkspur
Parish's Poppy
Parry's Penstemon
Peirson's Brown-Eyed Primrose
Prickly Poppy
Purple Mat
Redstem Filaree or Storksbill
Sand Blazing Star; SBSII
Scorpion Weed
Trailing Four O'Clock or Windmill
White Pincushion
White Stemmed Blazingstar or White Stemmed Stickleaf (Mentzelia albicaulis)
White Tidytips or Whitedaisy Tidytips (Layia glandulosa)
Woolly Daisy
Yellow Cup Primrose or Mojave Suncup
Yellow Desert Evening Primrose
Yellowdome or Yellowhead

Shrubs:
Agave
Baja Fairy Duster
Bearded Forget Me Not or Bearded Cryptantha (cryptantha barbigera)
Bladderpod Mustard or Gordon's Bladderpod
Bladderpod Spiderflower
Brittlebush
Burrobrush or Cheesebush
Button Brittlebush or Rayless Encelia
California Buckwheat or Eastern Mojave Buckwheat
California Fagonia
Chaparral Yucca or Our Lord's Candle
Checker Fiddleneck
Chuparosa
Cooper's Goldenbush (Ericameria cooperi)
Creosote Bush
Desert Alyssum or Bush Peppergrass
Desert Lavender
Desert Princesplume
Desert Starvine
Desert Thorn
Desert Tobacco
Desert Trumpet or Native American Pipeweed
Desert Wishbone Bush
Freckled Milkvetch (Astragalus lentiginosus)
Fringed Twinevine or Climbing Milkweed
Globemallow
Indigo Bush
Mojave Thistle
Mojave Yucca
Mountain Thistle
Narrowleaf Goldenbush (Ericameria linearifolia)
Nightshade
Ocotillo; 2017 Rains
Paperbag Bush or Mexican Bladder Sage (Salazaria mexicana)
Pima Rhatany or Littleaf Ratany
Purple Sage
Pygmy Cedar or Desert Fir
Shrubby Deervetch or Desert Rockpea
Snow Plant
Spiny Hopsage (Grayia spinosa)
Spiny Senna
Virgin River Brittlebush
Whispering Bells
Wire Lettuce or Desert Straw
Yellow Nightshade Groundcherry

Trees:
California Fan Palm
Desert Willow
Honey Mesquite
Ironwood Tree
Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
Palo Verde Tree
Velvet Mesquite

Index - Cannon Family

Utah and Two Rose Bowls

DESCENDANTS OF GEORGE CANNON THE IMMIGRANT NOT IN MY DIRECT LINE
Angus M. Cannon: Cannon v. United States, 116 U.S. 55 (1885)
Edwin Q. Cannon, Jr.: Redemption of a Slave Trader: Captain George Cannon

OTHER
Daniel in the Lion's Den - by Margery Sorensen Cannon Wiscomb
Isaac Sine and Marist Football
Judy and Food
Judy at 50: You're Only Getting Better
Rick DeLong, the PCT Thru-Hiker
Unusual Cannon Christmases - Nine Generations

Friday, March 26, 2010

Globemallow

There are many species of globemallows and I don't have sufficient resources or time to figure out the differences between them. In looking at the USDA website, I find 16 species in either or both of California and Arizona, including the desert, copper, scarlet, Coulter's, juniper, Emory's, Fendler's, gooseberry leaf, spear, gray, caliche, scaly, Munro's, Carrizo Creek, small flower, Rusby's and Wrights globemallow. The Desert USA website, which often combines different species, just lists the desert globemallow. I have used it as the primary source for what I have below. It states that the desert globemallow is found in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of Southern California and Nevada, southwestern Utah, Arizona and northern Mexico. The globemallow below was photographed near Eagle Mountain.

The globemallow is found in sandy washes and on rocky hillsides below 4,000 feet. It has a five petaled, cup-shaped flower that is usually bright orange or apricot, but can be white, pink, purple or bluish (again, I think, generally calling different species of globemallow the desert globemallow). A closer view of the Eagle Mountain flower.

The plant grows up to three feet in height. This small plant, with only two open flowers and some buds just ready to flower, was found in Estes Canyon in Organ Pipe Cactus National Park. Note that these flowers are more orange, the buds look different and the center of the flower looks different.

It has gray-green leaves that are triangular with three lobes and scalloped edges. A closer look at the Estates Canyon plant.

This larger globemallow plant was found outside of Buckeye, Arizona. It has substantially more flowers. The flowers grow in clusters on the upper stems of the plant.

And the following globemallow was found just off the main road in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and has even more flowers.

The following globemallow, found south of Gila Bend, seems to have less conspicuous lobes on the leaves than the one above.

A closer look at the flowers of the Organ Pipe globemallow.

The globemallow below was photographed near the Cottonwood entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

A closer view of a flower.

Note again, that the center of the flower looks quite different. Finally, a view of several stems from a globemallow found south of Gila Bend. On our recent trip to southern Arizona, the blooming globemallow along the side of the freeway provided beautiful splotches of red that we enjoyed.

On April 3, 2010, I found these globemallows on the rocks behind the Cottonwood grove of California fan palms in Joshua Tree National Park. Their color really perks up the surrounding area.

I particularly loved the morning light as it shone through the flowers.

and

A close-up of two flowers.

Cannundrums