Snow!!!

Weather:

Partly Sunny
High - 54
Low - 33

We had rain and wind during the night last night, and this morning when we woke up we had snow.  There was a dusting in the mountains all around us, and our roofs were white.

 

Tomorrow is expected to be sunny, and we'll be back in the high 70s in a few days. 

We've had two new visitors to our hummingbird feeder.  We had our first Rufous Hummingbird today, but I haven't been able to get a photo of him.  They winter in Mexico and Central America and are now on their way back north.  Who knows.  We may see this guy in our yard in Salem this summer.  

Our other visitor is a Gila Woodpecker.  This one is a male, but we've also had a female.  He hangs on with one foot. 

A Windy Day

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High -  80
Low - 50

It was very windy today, with lots of blowing dust.  Yuck!  And tomorrow promises to be a lot cooler.

Yesterday we went out for a hike at Saguaro National Park.  I know some of you have seen photos before, but I couldn't resist taking a few more.  The sun was in and out, but it was quite a nice day.

Here are a few cactus shots. This is a nice Prickly Pear.

 

 This is a Teddy Bear Cholla.  Not particularly cuddly.

This is a Palo Verde.  It has beautiful green bark.

 

A couple of days ago we went back to Sweetwater Wetland to see the Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  Just as the sun was going down they started to come in.  Unfortunately, they immediately dived into the reeds, so I don't have any photos of them.  But this is what it looks like out there. 

We also went to a city park in search of ducks.  We found Canvasbacks and Redheads.

There was also a young Black-crowned Night-heron.  He was begging for bread along with the ducks.  I was able to get very close to him.

The next few days will probably be stay inside days.  We have plenty to do inside, so we're actually hoping for rain!

All About the 'Old Pueblo'

Weather:

Sunny
High - 78
Low - 35

I decided to write a blog about some interesting things about Tucson.  I'm including photos of one of our favorite things, the sunsets.

 
















We also love the night skies here.  The city of Tucson was the first major city to regulate light pollution.  We can see an amazing number of stars at night.  We also love the annual average of 350 days of sunshine.  The record high is 115 and the record low is 6.  There are an average of 150 days of 90 or higher and 26 days of 32 or lower. 

 

There are five seasons, the usual four, plus the monsoon.  The monsoon is the season when most of the 11.8" of rain annually falls.  It typically starts early in July and goes through August.  Thunderstorms roll in in the early afternoon, with sudden downpours.  Because the city is mostly without storm drains, all the low places flood for a couple of hours, but it disappears quickly.  In 1995 Tucson passed what they call the 'Stupid Motorist Law.'  Anyone who goes around a barricade and into a flooded underpass can be fined up to $2000 for the cost of rescue. 

The city of Tucson has a population of 544,000, with the metro area totaling about 800,000.  It's one of the few U.S. cities with a symphony, opera, ballet, and numerous theaters.  It is also home to the University of Arizona and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. 

 

The elevation of Tucson is officially 2389 ft., but we are at 2604 here at Far Horizons.  Tucson is surrounded by five mountain ranges -- the Santa Catalina Mountains to the North, the Rincon Mountains to the East, the Santa Rita Mountains to the South, the Tucson Mountains to the West, and the Tortolita Mountains to the Northwest.  The highest point is Mt. Wrightson in the Santa Ritas at 9,453 ft.

And what we love second best is sunrises, which can also be spectacular.   This one looks like the Arizona flag.  

Trip to Tubac

Weather:

Sunny
High - 61
Low - 30



There is an art festival going on in Tubac this week, so we decided to drive down to look for some fun things to decorate our cottage.  Tubac is about 1 1/2 hours to the south.  Along the way we passed the San Xavier Mission, which we have visited several times before, but it's such a neat place we decided to stop.  I took several photos there.

 

 The inside of the church is very ornate.

 

 

 This is a photo of a very flamboyant cemetery in Tubac.  

The weather was beautiful and we had a fun day.  We bought a couple of outdoor pieces, which I'll post next time.

Another Moving Day

Weather:

Sunny
High - 63
Low - 32

This time we had a new cottage move in.  Our friend Janee, who has a cottage here already, decided that she wanted to move to a better location (very close to us).  So six weeks ago she ordered a new cottage.  It arrived yesterday.  It's arrival was every bit as exciting as the old one that left a couple of weeks ago.  By the way, the old one ended up sitting by the front gate for several days, but it's gone now.  Anyway, I got to take lots of photos of the new one as it was being moved into place.  It was the most impressive maneuvering I've ever seen.  Here are some photos to show the process.

Here's the empty lot, ready for the arrival. 

Our first glimpse of it as it came around the corner.

The driver turned right, next to our cottage, and then backed it in. This photo gives you an idea of where it is in relation to us.  This is looking out through our carport. 

As you can see, he was incredibly close to the cottage across the street.  I don't think it cleared the corner of the skirting by more than 1/4".  (That's the back of our shed in the background.)

 

Here's what it looked like once he got it placed on the lot. 

Today they removed the wheels and lowered it onto the supports.  It also no longer has a starboard list.  It will take several weeks before Janee can actually move in.  But it sure looks nice. And yes, it is two story.  Well, actually one and a half.  It has a loft. 

After the Cold

Weather:

Sunny
High - 68
Low - 31

We've survived the cold of last week, but not everyone was as lucky.  About 14,000 homes in Tucson had no heat because there was an interruption in the natural gas supply.  After it came back, workers from the gas company had to visit each home and relight pilot lights.  There are still some out.  We were chilly in the mornings, because we have a heat pump and it doesn't handle really cold weather very well.

But a lot of the plants in the park really suffered.  All the citrus trees were loaded with fruit, but it has all turned to mush and the leaves are starting to fall off the trees. This is a lemon tree across from us.

Most cactuses fared well, but this type didn't make it.

And a lot of the aloes collapsed.

On a  happier note, we went to Sweetwater Wetlands (aka Tucson's waste water treatment plant).  They have developed it into a really nice bird habitat.  There were more Northern Shovelers than I have ever seen in one place.  We met a local man who leads birding trips and with his help we were able to see a Black and White Warbler and a Summer Tanager.  We also found a Harris' Hawk.  The guide told us that every evening thousands of Yellow-headed Blackbirds come into the area to roost.  We hope to get back there soon to see that.

It's C-c-cold!

Weather:

Sunny
High - 39
Low - 21

This is not what we came to Arizona for!  We're heading for a low of 18 tonight, high of 38 tomorrow.  And to make matters worse, it's been very windy.  Brrr....   But by the weekend we should be back in the 60s.

Even the birds are cold.  This Cactus Wren spent several minutes on our deck in the sun, I suppose trying to get warm.

And this female Anna's Hummingbird has staked out our feeder and has been protecting it all day.  She sits in the shrub next to our house.  Every time another hummingbird comes close, she chases it away.  I guess when it gets cold they really get serious about food.