I decided it was time to clean out some photos on my phone. This is one that brought back some smiles. It was when we were at Cape Blanco in July and there was a minus 2ft low tide. It allowed us to walk out in areas that are normally underwater. Great fun looking for marine life and savoring the exotic textures and colors.
I just paid for tickets for Randa to fly to Minnesota for a week. What a hassle! Commercials show folks smiling as they order tickets on line. They may be smiling if they are using someone else's credit card. Otherwise they would frowning, growling, even swearing.
First: Tickets are too expensive. The differences in ticket prices because it's a different day, or a holiday is just wrong. I know, hotels do it too. It doesn't make it right.
Second: How many people can you cram into an aluminum cylinder? The seats might be ok if all passengers are under 5ft 7in and under 170 lbs. Otherwise, not so much. And then the passenger in front of you reclines.
Third: Food ( what food? )
Forth: Added charges, BAGGAGE CHARGES ! Who flies without baggage? The charge for one carry-on was $61 per trip. So the "added charges " was almost half of the "discount flight rate".
Again, I say Frowning, Growling, and.....
If I had a choice, I'd drive.
Today was our turn to host Nature Play. I t runs form 10 -12 every Saturday. The idea is to allow children to use "natural" items ( sticks, rocks, leaves, bark =, etc to make art. We provide the ingredients, our guests provide the inspiration. It turns out better that you can imagine. The kids are involved and some of the parents get involved as well. It is interesting to observe the activities, and results.
The ingredients today were rocks of various sizes, shapes and colors along with cardboard and Elmers glue. Everyone seemed to enjoy thamselves. the count was 42 children and 50 adults . I would say a successful day.
Yesterday ( Friday) we had a group of 72 Kindergarteners from a charter school in Phoenix. Normally our groups are elementary school level, so we tried to adjust the program to account for the age level. We talked about it at our Wednesday meeting. Even with the adjustments, it was difficult to teach even a less involved lesson to that age group. I did my best, but I don't think many kids got much out of my efforts. They did, however, get to walk around in the outdoors and see a Cardinal, and several Hummingbirds and it did succeed in wearing all of us out.
Right around New Years we received text from the neighbors behind us hat one of our big fir trees had toppled into their back yard. It broke our fence and slightly grazed their house. They got it taken care of quickly (fence to be addressed later). There was another big tree still standing, but for how long? We made the decision that the time had come to remove the danger of that tree coming down. That happened yesterday.
There are many views of Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA)
Many areas to explore. Many trails to tread. Many changes that occur during our 5 month stay here.
I will be including photos along the way.
Another Oregon winter day in Arizona. 100% chance of rain. high of 52 low of 47. Mondays are a slow day at the site. Volunteers have the day off. There are no programs or tours scheduled. Our supervisor is off as well. We are free to plan for that day. Otherwise, our days off are dictated by the activities that are on the monthly schedule. This week Monday and Thursday we are free, Last week it was Friday, Sunday, Monday. It totally depends on when the schools have time for a field trip. I would prefer to have a set schedule, but this is what it is.
Rain is forecast through Tuesday and we are scheduled to have 80 4th graders on Tuesday and that many Kindergarten students on Friday. Oh Boy ( sarcasm). The rain is not a problem in itself. It's just that most of the trails are dirt, caliche to be exact. Caliche is sort of dirt, mud and clay mixed together. Wet, it's a greasy mud that sticks to your tires or shoes . Ruts and footprints are made. When it dries it hardens like adobe. Rural dirt roads can be a real problem. The tires become laden with the mud so they look like clown tires. Getting stuck is a distinct possibility.
The other danger is when folks do not pay attention to the amount of rain that has fallen and drive through dips on the road. These dips can be full of standing or flowing water. It doesn't take much following water to wash a vehicle off the road or at least flood it to stall the engine. Not a good situation to be in. Every year someone in Arizona is a victim of such an event. There are signs that warn, "DO NOT ENTER WHEN FLOODED" They aren't always read.
So what are we going to do today? Hmm Maybe we could go out to a Mexican Restaurant and have a Mexican Coke, with real sugar, not corn syrup like we did on Saturday.
We are halfway through January. Two days ago we took an hour hike on the shoulder of Picket Post Mountain. It was a beautiful and fun experience
Late afternoon presents great shadows. There are many photo opportunities here. This is just one of them. Ayers Lake is actually a reservoir. I was walking with the boys and the lake was like a mirror so I could not resist. The day was as nice as the view.
When the boys and I got on the trail this morning the yesterday's full moon was going down as the sun was brightening the eastern sky. The lighting was very cool. Here is the moon as we got back to the trailer.
As you know, we are in Arizona. When I say Arizona to friends in the Midwest or Northwest, most or them think, " Lawrence of Arabia riding his horse down a huge sand dune with a single saguaro cactus nearby. Nothing is further from the truth. There are four deserts in the US. All very different. All four of them are present in the state of Arizona. The most prevalent and most beautiful desert in Arizona is the Sonoran.
So rain, desert. Do they sound like they go together? Actually, they do. The Sonoran Desert has five seasons. Winter is the rainy season. the second half of summer is also a rainy season. It is the time for the "Monsoons", thunderstorms that blow in from the Gulf of California. The winter rains are slow and nurturing. The Monsoons are violent, loud, and often cause flash flooding downstream of the storm areas.
We have had three periods of winter rains, one in early December, one over Christmas weekend and one New Year's weekend. Probably a total of 5 inches over the periods. The wildflower display this spring is going to be awesome.
