We've Got Weather

Weather:

High - 58
Low - 45

After weeks of ho-hum sunshine every day, today we've had some interesting weather.  It was cloudy when we got up this morning, and we had sprinkles off an on.  Then around 10:00 it started to rain harder.  The temperature dropped to 45 and we had 1/4" hail.  This is the golf practice cage across from us.

 

We had periods of sun and rain all afternoon, with a total of .04" of rain for the day.  As the sun was going down the sky was full of big dark clouds and it was raining nearby.  The clouds were amazing.  This photo doesn't really do it justice.

In the next couple of days we're expecting lows in the low to mid 20s and highs in the 40s, but the sun will be out.  Fortunately this kind of weather lasts only a few days, just long enough to be interesting.

Last week we took a day trip east to the Willcox area to see the wintering Sandhill Cranes.  It was a neat trip.  We added thirteen birds to our annual list.

Party Time

Weather:

Sunny
High - 68
Low - 33

Yesterday afternoon we invited a bunch of our friends and neighbors to a deck warming party. 

We had a ribbon cutting ceremony, with the builders doing the honors.

We then all piled onto the deck for a group photo.  (Roger assured us that it could stand the weight.)
 It actually took two photos to get everybody in.  

Everybody had a great time.  So far we've only been able to eat lunch outside, but before long it will be warm enough to eat all our meals out there. 

Update on the neighbor's cottage:  It is still sitting by the front gate. 

Moving Day

Weather:

Sunny
High - 68
Low - 40

I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that the cottage behind us was going to be moved out.  The woman who owned it moved out of the park and her cottage is too old to be sold.  So it had to go.  She actually moved out in November, but the cottage was still here when we returned a couple of weeks ago.

Here's what it looked like when she lived in it.

And here's what it looked like when we returned.

The hold up was that they had to find another wheel for it.  Well, this morning several men were working on it, taking things off and disconnecting lines.  And this afternoon it left.  Well, sort of.  They pulled it out with a pickup truck and got about 100 feet down the street when an axle broke.

 

So there it sits in the middle of the street.  Who knows how long it will take to get it out now.  I'll keep you posted. Needless to say, it's been a very exciting day here at Far Horizons.

Late breaking update:  Miraculously they got the cottage rolling again within a few hours.  But it didn't get far.  We saw it sitting in a vacant space near the entrance of the park, listing seriously to starboard.  Rumor has it it's bound for Mexico.  It will take a miracle to get it there.

The Deck is Finished!

Weather:

Sunny
High - 66
Low - 32

The finishing touches were put on our new deck this morning and this afternoon we had tea out there.  We love it, but we're finding it difficult to sit out there because we are constantly being distracted by people complimenting us on it. We're on a very busy corner, so almost everyone in the park has watched the progress.  I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon.  Here are some photos.

 

We're Here!

 Today's Weather:

Sunny
High - 68
Low - 35

We arrived back in Tucson on Sunday, January 9, but it's taken us this long to get our Wifi hooked up and working.

We had a fun trip down.  We left home on January 2.  We were able to stop at a couple of wildlife refuges in the Sacramento Valley, where we saw lots of wintering waterfowl.  This is a photo of a flock of Snow Geese.

We arrived in San Francisco early in the afternoon.  On Dan's advice, we had tea at a wonderful tea shop called Samovar in the Castro District.  We spent the night with Dan and Liz. They took us to an amazing Croatian restaurant with outstanding food.  The next morning we drove to Atascadero via Highway 1.  Near Santa Cruz we visited another refuge, where we added about 30 birds to our list. We also visited the Elfin Forest at Morro Bay.  It's a really fun area to bird, because all the vegetation is small.  The tallest trees are only about six feet tall, so the birds are easy to see.  We drove along the coast to Santa Barbara, hoping to find the Black Skimmer on the beach there.  We struck out, but did find a huge flock of Brown Pelicans.

These are Heerman's Gulls, also on the beach in Santa Barbara.

We spent the next night in San Clemente.  The next morning we visited Bolsa Chica Wildlife Refuge, which we'd never been to before.  There were numerous shorebirds, including a pair of Reddish Egrets, which are life birds for us.  (For those of you non-birders, that means it's a bird we've never seen before.) Unfortunately, they were too far away to get a good photo.


We had lunch on Balboa Island and spent the night in San Diego. We stayed right in downtown San Diego, across the street from the El Cortez.  At one time it was a hotel but now is apartments.  It's been restored and is really beautiful.

We spent the next morning walking around San Diego.  There are wonderful trees along the beach.  The convention center is in the background. 

There were some wonderful eucalyptus trees that had peeling bark.

This much-larger-than-life sculpture depicting the famous photo from World War II is on the waterfront in San Diego.

From San Diego we headed for Yuma.  This is a flock of Cattle Egrets and White-faced Ibises along Highway 8.

We arrived in Tucson on Sunday afternoon.  The deck isn't finished yet, but it's close.  We were greeted that evening with another amazing Arizona sunset.  It sure is good to be back.