Deck Update

Today's weather:

Cloudy
High - 66
Low - 37

Our deck project has been put on hold because our builders have left town, to return January 3.  They are setting up an O gauge train display at Roger's daughter's house in Whittier, California, for Christmas.  I guess it's a big project.  I think he said it's 10 feet by 16 feet.  He used to set it up here every Christmas, but we were never here to see it.

Anyway, here's what the deck looks like now.  We are able to use it, but obviously it has a way to go.

We've put all our deck furniture on it to see if it fits, and it does.   We've also strung a rope around the front end, just as a reminder of how close the edge is.  We're really pleased with the size.  There's plenty of room for our two chairs and a small table in front, and a large dining table and four chairs at the other end.

Roger and Jeanne have promised to have it finished by the time we return in January.  We'll see.  They've been pretty consistent at underestimating the time things will take.  But they are doing a great job.  It's very sturdy.

We've finally had a Broad-billed Hummingbird at our feeder!  I'm trying to get a photo of him, but so far he's been elusive.  

New Deck

Today's weather:

Sunny
High - 71
Low - 40

Work has begun on our new deck.  Last Thursday all the materials were delivered.  We can no longer park in our carport.

We have a two-person team working on it, both residents of the park.  Roger is the former head of maintenance.  He is ably assisted by Jeanne, an Air Force retiree who loves to learn new things and build stuff.  They make a great team and seem to be doing a wonderful job.

Here's what it looked like on Monday.  We've lost the use of our front door, as the steps have been removed.  Fortunately, we also have a back door.

By Tuesday it started to resemble a deck.  The steps were starting to take shape. 

No work was done today because Jeanne has a volunteer job three days a week and Roger was called in to help with driving.  They both volunteer at the local VA hospital.  With any luck, Roger will be back on the job tomorrow.

We seem to be the talk of the park.  It's a wonder they get anything done at all.  We're on a very busy corner and everyone stops to look and chat.

The other news is that we've put up a hummingbird feeder at the front corner of the house.  We had our first hummingbird within an hour of filling it.  It was a Costa's.  We've been told there are also Broad-billed hummingbirds in the park, but we haven't seen one yet. 

Sabino Canyon

Today's weather:

Sunny
High - 65
Low - 48

We took advantage of a cool day today to do some hiking in Sabino Canyon.  This is a recreation area in the Santa Catalina Mountains just to the north of Tucson.  It's actually several canyons, with riparian areas between stretches of desert vegetation.  We hiked about two miles up Bear Canyon, then back down.  It was a bit difficult because much of the trail is rocky and uneven.  You can cheat and take a shuttle to the top and walk down.  Maybe we'll try that next time.  We had hoped to find some birds, but we didn't have much luck.

Last Saturday we went to an open house at the local Master Gardeners demonstration garden.  So guess what!  More flower pictures!

This one's called Bignonia, or Queen of Sheba.

This is Tecoma 'Orange Jubilee'.

What's Blooming

Today's weather:

Sunny
High - 81
Low - 61

There are so many plants blooming here right now, and most of them are plants I've never seen.  So I thought I'd include some of my favorites.  This little guy is right at the corner of our driveway.  I assume it's a native.

Here's another native that's growing along the wash behind us.

This is ocotillo, my favorite of all the cactuses.  It usually blooms in May, but we've found quite a few blooming now.

The rest of these are in people's yards, so I assume they are not natives.  But they sure are pretty.

This one has flowers that look like sweet peas, but the vine is very large and dense.

The bougainvilleas grow like weeds here.

This one is a chilopsis, desert willow.

This one looks kind of like a butterfly bush, but it's a huge tree.

I'll report again later when other things bloom.