Spring in the Sonoran Desert - Tucson

It's nice to have a good think, or a good non-think, outside in the morning air. That's what I thought.

Franklin Whitey still hangs around here day and night for some reason (Trader Joe's Lamb and Rice), and he's a good non-think companion, until...

He loves to chase cows. Who doesn't? They run from him - WHEEEE! - until he barks. That's a gamechanger; a steer stops, turns around, and chases Whitey. WHEEEE! Whitey remembers where I am! WHEEE! Whitey comes to find me! WHEEeee...?

 Lesson for today: We're all always wearing a bathing suit.

No pictures!

 Spring makes you take pictures of birds. Just try to stop yourself - can't be done.

 I waited so long for this ocotillo to leaf it's like I birthed it. Hope you're all birthing something great.

Annie's away again having a crown adjusted. I think she's feeling like royalty.

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Coyotes and coyotes - living in the Sonoran Desert

Hand shown actual size

Annie grabbed her smartphone (Computer Age girl) and I grabbed my stick (Middle-Aged girl), and we set out for a walk.

I didn't include this for its photographic splendor.

Howdya do?
Howdya do!
Best be going!
Yep, me too.

This area planned to be a housing development. We knew better, so it was good to have Annie's newfangled find-yourself-thing. We ended up bushwhacking our way home. We were so invigorated that we jumped into the Tracker and bumped off down a "road."

Finally, I understand the backpacks (thanks, Lucy). Coyotes sell these "survival packs" (bottles of electrolyte solution, cans of food, a dollar-store can opener) on the other side of the border. They get hopeful immigrants to the US side, point toward a city 60 miles away, and buena suerte.

A couple of miles down the "road" a pair of big dogs headed after us and chased us, with intent, for a mile. We were not on foot. 

 

Darrell and Lucy came out to the site and got us level! No simple chore, since our hydraulic levelers have never worked. Although they dismissed it as no big deal, this extra work they did to make us comfortable was just for us. They did a custom leveling job. Guys, we love being parked here, and we THANK YOU.

Extraordinary everyday life in Tucson

Before we left New York State and a good life we had gotten accustomed to, I imagined that once we hit the road, nothing would be ordinary again.

Maybe a Harris hawk nest?

But, things do get ordinary. We still have to put off doing laundry. It's important to grumble about washing dishes. Cats continue to place Craigslist personal ads while we sleep.

This one wild and precious life! Some days I'm awake enough to know none of this is ordinary. Not my life, and not yours.

I went out poking around in the desert.

You often see young saguaros thriving in the company of shrubs, usually mesquite and creosote.

They need the shade of these "nurses" to get their start. Then, like that wretched boy in The Giving Tree, the saguaro demands the ultimate sacrifice. 

The desert is harsh.

This bush was just lucky. Not so this cactus, who started being teased at the age of twelve.

Coyote? 

I've heard people say that the desert is desolate. The Sonoran Desert is anything but desolate. We love it here. The saguaros are always saying something ridiculous.

Cactus wren nest in "jumping" cholla

These cacti don't actually jump. They do separate easily from the mother bush and follow any warm body home. They weren't in the mood to separate this day, since I brushed up against one and am here to type the tale. If you get a baby stuck to you, don't grab it. Work a comb or a pen between your skin and the cactus bit and PULL. It will hurt, I'm pretty sure. If you grab it, it will hurt extra.

Cholla has-been. 

A Barrel of Fun!™

I think this indicates the land was once BLM land. Now? I don't know. There isn't any signage. Maybe that's why the cacti are always waving their arms. Hey you kids, get off my lawn!

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