Early Turkey Day

Here it is the day before Thanksgiving, the day promises to be beautiful and the only thing that is on our minds is our golf game this afternoon, our wine cruise, dinner and most importantly the UA basketball playoff game . The weather has been absolutely beautiful with a high predicted for today in the low 80s, in fact it's suppose to be in the low 80s the rest of the week. It's kind of hard to handle that temperature, but we will find a way to get through it.

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving grilled turkey Monday so we can partake in leftovers for the rest of the week. So we will be creative in making turkey dishes, enjoying the cranberry sauce with everything and of course topping off our meals with pumpkin pie (we always make two).

Took some pictures this morning of some of the flowers around the park. Wanted to share some of the brilliant sunshine with colorful flowers.

We have only 3 days left here, as we are heading back to Tucson on Sat. to avoid some of the holiday traffic. It's been a relaxing trip that included beautiful weather, great food, good basketball games and pleasant evening wine cruises.

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels wherever you are.

Search for Wildflowers

We're all settled back at home in Tucson again. Decided it was about the last chance to find wildflowers, so met a friend, Cindy Klinge, at Sabino this morning for a few hour photo shoot. The wild flowers were hard to come by, but we did leave with some good shots. Here is a sampling of some of the flowers we did find.

We came upon this beautiful, colorful lizard just sunning himself on a rock. He just stayed still for us to take as many pictures that we wanted. What a ham!

A few yards down the trail we came across a gila monster. He slithered around the rocks for awhile, then was on his merry way.

It's always an enjoyable time when it's spent with a friend, wildflowers and critters.

Wild Wild West

With the beautiful weather we have been having (in the mid to upper 70s) I could not pass up a trip to Sabino Canyon last Wednesday. The day was overcast but still warm, which made it just right for hiking. As I was sitting on a rock along the Sabino Creek contemplating life .....

Just like to wild west - I suddenly had visitors.

They didn't appear to be outlaws.

 They stayed just long enough for their horses to drink the cool water - then rode on up the trail.

 It's nice having water running in the creek again.

Along the way I ran into this Saguaro scarecrow. It's quite interesting how old, dead Saguaros take on different figures and how they remain standing.

 It was sure nice getting out for an afternoon in the fresh, warm air and enjoy nature again. It's been awhile since I ventured out.

The next morning my day was greeted with a colorful sunrise. With the clouds moving in we had showers on Thursday and there is a promise of more showing up tonight through the weekend. Well I guess washing the vehicles is out for now.

Reid Park Zoo

Last Saturday presented itself with not much on the agenda, so I suggested we visit the zoo, it's been a long time since we have been there. I always enjoy seeing the many feather/furry friends there. It promised to be another hot day, but we started out around 9:30 and with the zoo being quite shady, the heat did not pose a problem.

Here are several of the many animals we saw. The first one is an anteater. I always pictured them being much smaller, but he(or she) was quite sizable.

 It was nap time for several of the residents.

 There were several unusual birds like these two. Don't know how he can eat with that long beak.

 This is the first all white peacock I have ever seen.  He put on quite a show.

 Here is the normal peacock that I'm familiar with.

 I just love a giraffe's expressions.

 This parrot has such beautiful color.

 Then there is the stalking tiger.

All in all, our few hours at the zoo was quite enjoyable. Even though the Tucson zoo is small, it is well kept and has many animals. It's well worth the minimal admission that they charge.

Enjoyable Saturday

Greg invited us over yesterday for an afternoon of golf and an evening of great food and conversation. The day turned out to be quite pleasant in the 80s but with 20 mph winds which made the golf a little challenging.

Greg lives on the 8th fairway of Dorado Golf Course. This makes it convenient for him to own his own golf cart.

 And quite the golf cart he has with the fancy wheels and of course the flames on the side.

 After a challenging and windy round of golf, we headed back to Greg's place for a few beers and glasses of fine wine to ease the beating the golf course issued, plus a delicious BBQ dinner. And don't forget the peach/raspberry pie for dessert.

We enjoyed the flowers that are blooming in his backyard while enjoying the evening on his patio. Greg is such the accomplished gardner.

It was a great day! What more could one ask for - golf and great food and great company. Thanks Greg.

Phone Line Trail

It's been awhile since my last post, so that was the only excuse I needed to head to Sabino Canyon to take pictures. The day proved to be perfect for a hike starting out in the mid 70s this morning, climbing to mid 80s in the afternoon. I wanted to hike the Phone Line Trail, which for people not knowing the area, this trail is along the side of the canyon wall.  Not sure of elevation change from the valley floor, but about halfway up the side of the mountain. The trail is about 4.5 miles long one way.  Knowing I would not be able to hike both ways, I copped out and took the tram to the farthest point, then took the next 2 3/4 hours hiking back to the beginning.

Here are some of what I experienced along the way. This is looking to where I need to go - the trail is along the side of the left about 1/2 way up the mountain, all the way through the canyon.

The buds are showing up on the Saquaro.

There were some wildflowers still hanging on.

Came up to this thistle with the puffed heads and blooms with threatening long spikes.

 Surprising, the wildflowers that were still present were quite small and delicate.

A nice couple stopped and offered to take my picture when I rested on a rock enjoying the beautiful scenery - wanted to prove that I was really there.

 There were several butterflies gracing the trail along with me.

 Most of the blossoms are on the cactus now, such as this one on a cholla.

 It's a bug's life enjoying a Mexican Poppy.

 As you can see, the flowers are starting to dry out.

 Another cholla bloom.

Ran into a friend along the way.

The hike was a little longer than my usual treks, but it was well worth it. I always enjoy nature especially when I am able to photograph flowers. But it's coming to the time of the year that the temperatures will prohibit mid-day hikes, so either I will be on the trail at daybreak or need to travel somewhere to find cooler temperatures.