Our Last Morning Walk

It really pays to head out the door at 6 a.m. around here.  We saw a lot of beautiful animals and a few surprises along the way.

These flowers bloom on the Argentinian Giant cactus.  More serious photographers were also taking shots of these beauties.

The best surprise of the morning was watching these two playful coyotes play hide and seek and tag with each other on the golf course.  One was gray and the other was brown.

One of our favorite birds, the Cardinal.  We were able to follow this fellow for quite a while as he jumped from branch to branch on this Ocotillo.

And our favorite friend, the Great Horned Owl, on a rooftop with his nesting palm tree right behind him.  His mate stayed in the tree.  This was actually taken last night.  

Now we will spend the day packing and cleaning the house before the long drive starts tomorrow.

Winding Down

The lazy days of our "summer vacation" are here now that our temps our into the mid-80s each day.  Actually we are to reach record breaking numbers in the low 90s this weekend!  Tells me it's time to hit the road.

This week we did yet another new hike with the hiking club.  The photos here show the usual scenery in the distance.  Wildflower season is upon us and certain parts of the trail were really lovely with flowers.

Hikers taking the mandatory "lunch break" after a 1 1/2 hour hike.

Yesterday Dave and I went to Saddlebrooke's sister property, aka The Ranch.  We kept hearing about their fantastic swim center.  So we took the plunge.  The outdoor pool was enormous and the fun feature was the lazy river.  Dave tried to leisurely float and let the current push him along.  He did feel it would have been more fun at higher speeds but couldn't find any way to ramp it up.  As usual, we had the pool to ourselves, but we weren't complaining.

Romero Pools, again

Things are starting to get warm around here.  Today we hit a high of 84 degrees.  We arrived at Catalina State Park at 8:30 and it was already too warm, for me.  The hike up to the pools is about two hours and involves a lot of rocks and elevation gain.  Lots of young people heading up there to cool off in the water too.  The wildflowers are really blooming and the hike was very colorful.  Jim and Lauren obviously weren't phased by the heat or the climb.

Dave among the Brittle Bush wildflowers.

Road Trip to Mexico

Well, sort of Mexico.  We went with our aunt and uncle down to Nogales, which is a border town.  Two hour drive, walk through to Mexico without anyone questioning us and we made it.  Dave got a little taste of the condition of the city which seemed very similar to Quito, but on a smaller scale.  We did enjoy poking around a store very similar to Walmart.  Later we ate at a nice restaurant and no one got sick.

Later that night we were all set to go to Bingo at the clubhouse.  This is a big event and is held just once a month so this was our last opportunity to play.  There were probably at least 200 people with gray hair setting up their cards and "stampers", eating candy and ready to win big money.  Just as the Early Bird game was to start there was a loud boom and the power went out.  And it stayed out for 2 1/2 hours.  So we all exited, slowly.  A lot of the elderly had to be shown how to use their flashlight features on their cell phones, which helped as it was pretty dark.  I ended up with a Blackout of the wrong kind that night.

Facts about Arizona Life

One of the downsides of living in Arizona is the hair issue.  Normally I have pretty curly hair.  You
wouldn't know that if you saw me now.  Between the hard water in our shower, the dryness in the air, and the wind, I have flat, straight hair.  I finally got a haircut yesterday and the hairdresser tried to bring the curls back but I think they are gone until I see Oregon.

Dave's hair, on the other hand, is getting long.  No haircut in three months - and that's a record! He is starting to look like he did in high school.  He's still got a ton of thick, dark hair.   I think he is turning into one of those old men who sport long, gray ponytails - except he doesn't have any gray hair!  I can see now that we're going to be one of those couples where when we go out people will come up to Dave and say "oh, it's so nice that you are taking your mother out."

Golf balls - my aunt Tina and Dave are both ball hogs.  Now on Dave's daily walks he brings a stick to help retrieve balls that have gone into the brush.  One day he came home with 33 balls.  He can't help himself when he sees a lost golf ball.  My aunt has garbage cans full of rescued balls.  It's a bit like an Easter egg hunt for those two.

This is one part of our front yard where Dave planted three new cactus plants.  We spent some time at Bach's Cactus Garden which was a fantastic nursery.  It was part research facility, part store.  The kind of place where you go crazy buying too much.  Starting to love cactus now.  We're hoping when we come back next year we will see definite growth on these guys.  They may be too young to flower, but that would be nice.

80 degree days are in the forecast!  Hope we can handle it.

Barren v. Abundant

Just walking the neighborhoods is a lesson in cactus varieties and landscaping.  We have been evaluating what plants we'd like to have in our yard, which ones bloom in spring, and which ones can survive without us for many months.  Here are two "opposite" yards. The first one doesn't even "say" Arizona.

 This one is on the deserted, sparse side.  Not our favorite look.

Here is a flower from the Argentine Giant.  This is the plant we hope to get a few of when we go to the cactus nursery - today.  We love these fantastic flowers!

Yesterday I went to the smaller of the two libraries in Saddlebrooke to pick up some books.  As my books were being checked out I noticed a sign on the "for sale" book cart.  It said 

$1 for a book

or

$1 for two books

It struck me as so funny.  Being the shrewd shopper that I am, I bought two books.

Spring is a-coming!

The first signs of wildflower season were seen on our five mile hike today.  These are Prairie Verbena and a much nicer lavender color than this photo shows.  Today with the hiking club we went into Oracle for one of the many hikes there.  This was a relatively easy hike.  We were expecting seven miles, but it turned out to be only five and a half.  No one complained.

This photo shows how far out we appear to be but really, the trailhead was only a 20 minute drive from our house (which is close for Saddlebrooke).  Not many cactus on this hike, but a lot of nice views, rolling hills, and oak trees.

We are expecting a bit of a rainstorm this weekend and into next week and fear our great weather will be taking a break.  One of the fun things about hiking with "the club" is that we learn to much about other things to do and see in Tucson and all over the world.  Everyone is interesting and has a lot of experience with hiking and traveling.

Tourist Sight Seeing

The last few days we had visitors from California.  This gave us the excuse to do some touristy things around town.  Of course to get anywhere it's usually an hour drive - at least to see the popular things.  But it's all worth it.

Marcie and I went to see Ted DeGrazia's gallery which was very, very interesting.  I never even knew about it.  He personally built the gallery of adobe clay.  In the bathrooms he painted on the walls.  We learned a lot about this Arizona artist.

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was fantastic, as usual.  The javelinas were active, though we never could smell their smell.

The Raptor show was great and we had nice views of the birds.

And the hummingbird aviary was a lot of fun.  One of the hummingbirds went right up to a woman wearing a red flowered shirt and poked her, then realized she wasn't a flower.  Lots of nests, which we've never seen before, and even saw the birds building new nests.

Dave and Jim also spent a long time at the Pima Air Museum and could have spent longer but we had to move on.  During their visit they were lucky in seeing wild javelina and roadrunners near our home.  But now back to work for them and back to retiring for us.

Pickleball-gate

You would think that a bunch of 75 year olds would get along just fine in this sunny climate.  Well, there is a big controversy brewing that involves senior citizen theft and vandalism!

Apparently, certain residents can't stand the constant thwack, thwack, thwack sounds of the pickleball as it goes over the net.  The courts are outdoor and near some homes.  To show their unhappiness, someone, or some people, have cut the nets, poured honey into the ball holder (multiple times) and recently stolen the newer, "quieter" balls.  The pickleball club members are getting furious and there may be some vigilantism in the near future.  We love hearing all "the dirt" that goes on here.

And, guess HOO we saw?

Sweetwater Trail

Today we met with the hiking group for a level C hike in the Sweetwater Trail.  A hikes are the hardest and D hikes are the easiest.  I liked this one a lot, but it really was a D, not a C.  The leaders tend to stop and chat and check on everyone's well being more often than I'd like which adds a lot of time to the hike.  What could have been 2 1/2 hours ended up being 3 1/2 hours.

Notice how the Ocotillo is a bright green.  Down is southern Tucson things are warmer and plants are blooming much faster than up in Saddlebrooke.

Tons of Saguaro and Prickly Pear on this hike.

More Owls

Now the nightly "owl hunt" has become an adventure.  Last night we headed out to find the owls in their usual spot but there was nothing.  Not even any hooting.  I hooted, but none hooted back.  So we headed back to the house and there it was - a hoot.  So we followed it and soon we heard several owls hooting back and forth.

Listening lead us straight to an owl on a roof.  A few minutes later his mate joined him.  They were very active, then one flew straight towards us.  We were not afraid.  Luckily the owl was only flying to a branch on the tree right in front of us.  We had never been that close to a Great Horned Owl before.

Unfortunately, even though we were so close, it was getting too dark for any photos.  But maybe tomorrow, or the next day I'll have some.

Oracle State Park

The town of Oracle is north of us and a nice change from always heading south towards Tucson.  This is a gem of a state park and it is only open to the public on weekends.  On the property is the Kannally Ranch House.  We arrived for a very interesting hour long tour from the park ranger.  Then we did some very easy hiking through the park for about four miles.

 Quite a different landscape than what we usually encounter on these hikes.

Later that evening we attended our first "Unit Social".  Approximately every 50 homes make up a unit and they are all independent in making their own fun.  One neighbor had a cocktail party and there were at least 40 people who brought an appetizer and stayed to visit.  We are not quite ready to be hosting one of those, but maybe in a few years.

Owls and Gems

We feel like we've hit the jackpot with wildlife now.  Since we love owls we are always listening for them.  From what we have learned from others here, there are lots of owls at Saddlebrooke.  We have discovered the nesting palm tree where there are a pair of Great Horned Owls, right down the street from us!  After a few quests for them we have learned that heading out at 6pm is the perfect time to find them in the neighborhood.

I need a better camera in the future to try to get some great wildlife shots.  But here are the two in their palm tree.

Dave and I had great luck at the Tuesday night trivia - and it was luck.  But our team of six won!  That means we each earned a free drink token (well drink - which disappointed Dave as he was planning on getting a double shot of Maker's Mark).  

This weekend is the last weekend of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (the rock show, as I call it).  Pretty hot, pretty crowded, dusty, but there were more beads, rocks, and jewelry than you could see in one day.  We didn't last too long because the sun was too bright and we needed to get back to our house where we can swim and cool off.

But it looked something like this.

Sutherland Trail

Today was another fun hike with the Saddlebrooke hiking group.  Every hike we meet new people - not many repeats, yet.  This was a 5 1/2 miler, but it was really easy and seemed much shorter.  A common expression among the "old people" here happens when they lose their train of thought.  "I'm just having a Saddlebrooke moment" is what I've heard several times now.  We are not at that point.

The reward with this hike was sitting on a large expanse of rock and enjoying the rushing (!) waters in the stream.  I so wanted to put my feet in the icy water but I ended up settling with just getting my hands wet.  The water was so cold that I couldn't keep my hands in for long.

Projects in AZ

In the master bedroom we have fairly high walls.  Also very long walls with very little art, at this point.  I don't consider Dave's free Arizona calendar above his desk to be art, but he does.  

So I realized we needed a tufted headboard.  This was a fun project and a physical one.  I'm really happy with the results.  Now we have less white wall space and more heighth to our bed.

The pool that we usually swim in each early evening is now closed for three weeks for maintenance.  It seemed fine to us, but what do we know?  So now instead of being able to walk to the pool we have to drive to swim.  We have been going to the Mountainview pool which is quite different than "our usual".  This pool is surrounded by pine trees and we feel like we are in Bend, Oregon rather than AZ.  I discovered this Elf Owl at the pool.

If you look closer, you'll see what it really is.

I still think it's charming and enjoy looking at it each time we swim.  Now if only we could discover a real Elf Owl.

Wildlife, finally!

This was a good couple of days for seeing animals that we have been longing to see.

Two nights ago on our 6pm walk down to grab some mesquite logs (that's another story), I thought I heard an owl hoot.  Then within a couple of minutes who flew by but a lovely Great Horned Owl, right in front of us, to land on a golf green to kill some rodent.  He stayed on the green for a minute (while crushing the meal, I suppose), then took off to a nearby roof.  Seconds later his mate flew right by us to land on the same roof.  Of course, we didn't have our camera or binocs with us, but at least we think we know the area where they nest so we will hunt them down again.

And this morning on our way to a very nice estate sale I yelled out "Javelina!".  Of course, Dave never sees these things, but he pulled over.  I was uncomfortable about "parking" in the golf cart lane but we had no choice if we wanted to see the pigs.  We quietly walked back up the street to where they were and I got a few pics with my phone.  They were really neat to see, but spooked easily.

I hope to get better photos next time.  This photo only shows two brave pigs but there were at least eight in the herd.

Peas in Tucson?

I'm hoping.  The beans I brought down as small plants have already succumbed to the cold mornings.  However, the Golden Peas I started over a week ago are finally sprouting.  They must have enjoyed the 2" of rain we recently got.

Yesterday we went on another new hike.  This one was down near the Desert Museum - about an hour's drive.  The hike of 5 1/2 miles lasted about 3 1/2 hours.  There is a lot of stopping, catching your breath, and eating which makes these hikes a bit longer.  The group of nine over 60s was a very fun group of people to hike with.  One of the men actually had a homemade nametag pinned on his shirt, along with his wife's phone number.  She put this on him in case he had an accident or heart attack.  Some people have professionally made nametags that they wear on their hats.  We haven't gotten to that point, yet.

At one point we could even see the Biosphere.  Look for the arrow.  Our home is only about two miles south of this landmark - but a gazillion miles from this hiking spot.

After we got home and relaxed we went to our second week of Trivia Night.  It's quite the event here on our "cruise ship" known as Saddlebrooke.  This week we actually were able to get three questions right and we met some more fun people from Seattle.

Record Breaking Rain

This is a huge puddle in our backyard after just one of the two day rain.  The ground was so saturated that the extra water had nowhere to go.  There were quite a few flood warnings around town, but we never had and trouble driving around.

Last night we went to a "real rock concert" as the 75 year old emcee told us.  It was pretty funny because I consider most rock concerts to be so loud that I wish for earplugs.  This was not the case.  At the compound there is the Desertview Theater which looks like it holds about 400 people.  The place was packed for the Fleetwood Mac Tribute band - BellaDonna.  These were musicians from L.A. and turned out to be very talented.  One lead singer and one backup singer (who I liked better than the lead).  Dave had seen Fleetwood Mac in 1977 in Portland.  He was disappointed that no one was smoking pot at this "concert" like they did back then.  This was our one show of the season.

Citrus Nirvana

Today we met with our new found citrus neighbors and helped harvest a ton of fruit.  Even after we were done picking, their trees are still loaded with grapefruit, oranges, and lemons.  Dave gets so excited I had to force him to stop picking or he would have wiped them out.

When we got back to our place we spent an hour juicing half the grapefruit and we yielded 2 full gallons of juice.  Really delicious!!  Either straight or with a bit of vodka thrown in for a nice Greyhound.  Dave still can't believe how much citrus he has.  I have enough lemons to make at least one lemon meringue pie each week (which I would love to do and eat).

The Ritz Carlton Hike

Today was our first attempt at doing a hike with the Hiking Club.  Our hike was the Tortolito Mountains and we hiked the Wild Burro Trail plus the Alamo Trail which ended up being a 6.1 mile trek.  There were a total of 20 people, of which we were the youngest.  One man talked about hiking the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon when he was 71 - and he referred to that as being a long time ago.

It's almost funny how the "old guys" are so into their hiking gear.  Everyone is fully outfitted with their hiking poles, appropriate hiking hats, and their Camelbaks.  There was no wildlife to be found on this  hike and Dave has yet to see a Javelina anywhere.