Fun Day - March 30, 2012

Friday was Fun Day at Far Horizons.  It's the last big event of the season.  Mostly we avoid the fun and games, but we did watch the parade, which passed right by our cottage.  It took all of about a minute and a half.

The grand marshals were our two oldest residents, Esther (98) and Bob (97).  Esther is riding with Ken, our manager, and Bob is with Chuck, the owner.

Next came the Red Hats, followed by the Hiking Club, all dancing to 'YMCA."

The hit of the parade was the Canadian group.  Our friends Brian and Elaine carried flags.

They had a Mountie on horseback, followed by a pooper scooper picking up marshmallow 'road apples.' 

We've decided next year we need to form some kind of group and march in the parade.

Sierra Vista - March 29, 2012

We just returned from a short trip to Sierra Vista, one of our favorite birding areas.  We stayed for two nights at Battiste's Bed and Breakfast.  They cater to birders, with Tony being a professional birding guide.  Their yard is full of feeders, with lots of opportunities to take photos.  He's even set up a blind. 

Many birds are late in returning, so we didn't have great success, but we did see a nice variety in their side yard and from our private deck.

The highlight of the stay, though, was seeing the Elf Owl.  It has returned every year since they've lived there, about nine years.  It nests in the fourth hole from the bottom on this pole.

Acorn Woodpeckers nest two holes up.  Tony and Julie had heard the owls earlier, but they had not seen them for ten days and were beginning to worry that they might not return to nest.  We joined Tony at 7:00 p.m. to sit and watch for them.  Shortly after, two of them came in and were calling to each other.  They even went up to the nest hole.  We saw them clearly with Tony's light, but I wasn't able to photograph them.  The next night several other people sat out to see them, but they never came.  I guess we really lucked out.

The Elf Owl is the smallest owl in North America, at only five and three quarters inches tall.  We also saw the Magnificent Hummingbird, which is just a half inch smaller than the owl.

We took a couple of side trips, one to the San Pedro River and another to Ash Canyon B&B, but both places were pretty quiet, with few birds.  But we still had a great visit and will definitely be returning to Battiste's next year. 

Our Bakery - March 23, 2012

One of our very favorite things about Tucson is our nearby bakery, called La Baguette Parisienne.  It's walking distance, which can be a problem, because it means our downfall is so close.  They specialize in all kinds of artisan breads, but  they also have small tasty treats.  And their prices are very reasonable.  A loaf is between $1.50 and $3.00.

Right now they have hot cross buns, for 65 cents, which are divine.

They make a total of about two dozen different breads, not counting several kinds of baguettes and epis.  The availability changes each day.

This bakery is so popular that there is frequently a line out the door.  And getting in on a Saturday morning is a real challenge.

Roadrunner - March 22, 2012

This afternoon we had a roadrunner stroll past our house with lunch (a lizard) in his mouth.  I grabbed my camera and got a few shots, none of them great.

Here he is on our sidewalk, but he wouldn't turn around.

 

I got this shot of him (and lunch) down the street. 

 

Rain! - March 18, 2012

We're in the middle of some really interesting weather.  Two days ago it was 89 degrees with 5% humidity.  We had blowing dust and red flag warnings.  This morning we reached 64 around 9:00 and then it plummeted to 45, got very windy, and we had a third of an inch of rain.  Tonight and tomorrow we have a chance of snow.  And by Friday it's going to be 80.  Go figure.

This is the first time we've ever seen water in the wash.  It wasn't much, but then it doesn't take much to get us excited.  This is one of the drains that dumps into the wash.

This is the stream flowing through the wash.  Keep in mind that during the monsoon there can be water from one side to the other.  We'd love to see that.

Our Hero - March 16, 2012

We have a neighbor here, Esther, who is the most amazing person and a true inspiration for us.  She is 98 years old, still walks around the park and does her own housecleaning.  Up until this year she played bocci ball three times a week.  She is one of the sharpest people I have ever met.  Here she is, dressed up for the fashion show and luncheon .

The citrus trees here have all recovered beautifully from last winter's 16 degree nights.  The air is thick with the fragrance of blooms.  Yesterday a neighbor brought us some grapefruit.  The skins are about a half inch thick, but the insides are wonderful.

On Wednesday we went to Tubac, a small town about an hour south of Tucson that has a lot of art galleries and shops.  We bought a tin lizard to take home to put on our fence.  They have lots of colorful pottery.

The weather continues to be wonderful, in the 80s, but we have a few cooler days and the chance of showers coming on Sunday.  We're actually looking forward to a couple of inside days to catch up on some inside activities.

Out with the Old - March 13, 2012

There's been a lot of movement in the park recently.  The owners have decided to try to spiffy up the place by removing a lot of the really old cottages.  This week so far three have gone out.

This one is just down from the street from us.  Here's what it looked like recently.

Today they removed all the extra stuff on it and also cut down the cactus.  Here it is, almost ready to move tomorrow morning.

This is one on the street behind us.

After stripping it, they tried to move it but ran into problems.

So here's Plan B, which worked much better.

They got a standing ovation from the peanut gallery.

This one went out today as well, but we missed it.  Apparently they took all the fun out of it by removing the lamp post first.

A Short Visit - March 11, 2012

Dan and Liz just left after a very short (one and a half day) visit.  Friday evening we went out to dinner at Feast, which is one of Tucson's best attempts at a decent restaurant.  It was quite good. 

On Saturday we spent a good part of the day at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  It was a beautiful sunny day, in the upper 60s.  Dan had left his camera at home, so he used mine to take some great photos.  All along I've been blaming my mediocre photos on my inexpensive camera.  I now know it isn't the camera.
This is a wildflower that we have growing in our side garden.  I think it's called a desert bluebell. 

There weren't any cactus in bloom yet, but they were still pretty.

In the hummingbird aviary there were several nests with one or two babies.  We watched one mom feeding her two youngsters, who really filled the tiny nest. 

When we returned to the house, we hosted our friends Robert and Mike and Brian and Elaine for wine and munchies.  It was a fun evening.

This morning we picked up Dan and Liz at their bed and breakfast and did a brief tour of downtown Tucson.  On the way back, we stopped at the pedestrian and bike bridge that was made in the shape of a rattlesnake.  It even has a motion sensor that emits threatening rattling noises as you pass under. 

Before they left, we looked at some photos from their recent trip to Antarctica.  They had a great time and we're looking forward to seeing all of Dan's photos posted on his photo site.

An Inside Day - March 7, 2012

It's been very windy and chilly today.  After several days in the mid to upper 80s, today was barely over 60.  So we've been cooped up inside.  I made soup and baked a pie.

After getting our new floor and new rug, we decided our old chair really looked awful.  Plus it always seemed too big for the space.  So we gave it to our neighbors, who are moving to an apartment, and I found a replacement chair at the consignment store - $58.  We like it a lot better than the old chair.

Our daisies next to our carport have been especially nice this year.  Everyone has told us that they are the best they can remember.  I guess we had rain at just the right time this winter.