Settling into February...

Corona de Tucson

February 11, 2024

Settling in at home is a wonderful thing...putting things in their place, adjusting to space, our very own little oasis, a roomy shower, and a much larger washer and dryer are just a few things that help settling in wonderful.  There are many things we enjoy about home, but the quiet might just be my most favorite thing of all about being here.  

Monday, we were up early and headed to Lazydays KOA.  Just saying/writing Lazydays KOA floods my brain with so many great memories of days gone by.  Carol and Ronnie left SD when we did and pulled right in to the KOA for two weeks of Tucson time and Monday we had plans to hike at Catalina State Park.  Anybody that has visited this beautiful Arizona state park knows that to do most walking/hiking there one must cross the wash.  Sometimes, the wash is dry...that is always sad to me...and sometimes the wash has running water...that always makes me happy.  Memories of laughing all the way across with garbage bags wrapped around our legs come to mind...just ask Sue !  No bags this week, but there were lots of laughs heard while wading thru the better than ankle deep cold water.  

Catalina is a favorite hiking place.  Joe and I both agree that we don't get there enough as it is just shy of 45 miles from home.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a picnic before heading back to town.  

Another day this week we enjoyed perusing The Gallery in the Sun with Carol and Ronnie.  The gallery DeGrazia built is a work of art in itself and while we like some of his art...not all of his art...it makes for a colorful morning with a little history thrown in the mix.  Carol is quite the artist herself and I enjoyed watching her stroll thru the gallery and pointing out things I would never even think about.  

There were two rotating exhibits on display until September 4th. 

"Rodeo" is a series of oil paintings DeGrazia did in 1954 that were inspired by the Tohono O'odham Nation Rodeo and Fair in the community of Sells, AZ. DeGrazia referred to these paintings as his "dramatic" paintings...works that capture a decisive, dramatic moment in paint.   

Titled : Wild Horse Race
oil on canvas, 1954 
I loved the bold colors and action in this painting.

And "Master Thesis Paintings" featuring a selection of watercolors and oil paintings  from his 1945 University of Arizona Master of Arts Thesis.  

Based on movements from popular classical music, his work demonstrates his theories about the correlation between the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms of music and the shapes, colors, and rhythms of abstract paintings. 

Tschaikowsky
Concerto #1 in B flat minor
oil on canvas diptych 1944
(I had to look up diptych...a painting on two hinged wooden panels which may be closed like a book.)

Throughout the gallery, are tables, benches and chairs that DeGrazia made.  I love the simplicity. 

In DeGrazi's studio, the buses caught Carols' eye.  

And in the courtyard, Carol and Ronnie paused...

to study the self image DeGrazia did in a sculpture like form that hangs in a tree.  

We also took the time to see Mission in the Sun, the first building DeGrazia built on the grounds.  

Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice lunch at Cafe a La C'Art in town.  A delightful morning, a yummy lunch, and time with friends makes for a really nice time.    

  

Back at the oasis, it has been a hodge podge of weather days....mild and sunny, rainy, windy, and cold.  

We only had one decent day for a walk...

No complaints...we need the rain! And a great day for being lazy!

The doves practiced their ice skating skills...quite gracefully I will add. I felt really bad when he started pecking at the ice for water. 

Yesterday (Saturday 2/10) we had plans.  Andra and Jamie and Carol and Ronnie came for lunch.  I made lasagna, salad and bread and Carol brought cherry cheesecake.  It was a wonderful time visiting.   It was also cold and snowing !  I didn't get photos of the people, but I did get some of the snow.  

Ozzie loves the snow!

The best part about snow  here is that it was gone by late afternoon.

We weren't sure how many birds we should see after having been gone for a month.  Filling the feeders was the first thing we did! No surprise that the Cactus Wren was the first to show.  We have had the pleasure to see Cardinals, Gila Woodpeckers, Curved-bill Thrashers, House Wrens and Sparrows...all the regulars!  

And we had a new bird in the yard...a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  What a nice surprise! 

The thistle feeder has been the busiest !

And this morning, this sweet little Costa's Hummingbird waited very patiently while I took his feeder inside to refill it.

Sally had her annual vet appointment this week.  All is good with her.  We think she is happy to be home too...

February is off to great start.  It is almost Valentin's Day !  Love is in the air...in the whisper of the trees, in the thunder of the seas, in the rising of the sun, when the day is nearly done, everywhere I look around, every sight and every sound, love is in the air.  (taken from lyrics to "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young.)  

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !

Garwood Trail

Corona de Tucson

October 26, 2021

In March of 2019, Joe and I visited DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun.  I won't rewrite about his beautiful gallery or mission (he designed and built both which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006) or the life of Ted DeGrazia in this post.  

The Featured Post (top, right side bar) is a link to the blog post I wrote on that visit.   I closed that post by writing "and a return visit someday would be just as enjoyable".  It definitely was! 

There are six permanent exhibits featured in the gallery.  We spent awhile perusing them again, but the reason for going was to see the three rotating exhibits we had not seen.  The photo below shows the entrance to the corridor where the "treasures from the vault" are on display. 

First are the paintings and drawings in a collection named "Dinner with DeGrazia" featuring regional food of the desert southwest.

 

Next is the exhibit titled "DeGrazia Recycled".  

The entire collection of oil paintings were done on ceiling board scraps leftover from the construction of the gallery.  

"Wispy layers of pastel colors had been dry brushed onto rough-sawn ceiling boards before installation, and the resulting cut-off scraps were recycled as ready made, pre-painted backgrounds."  

"Lost in the Flowers"

The smallest known oil paintings by DeGRazia were done on these ceiling board knots.

The last rotating exhibit,  "DeGrazia's Superstition Mountain Collection" is a collection of essays, drawings, and paintings for his 1972 book Degrazia and His Mountain - The Superstition.  From the late 1940s to the late 1970s, DeGrazia was a frequent visitor to the mountain...exploring the backcountry on horseback and prospecting for gold.  He was inspired by the legends, history, natural beauty, and native cultures of the Superstitions.  

Dr. Thorne (oil on canvas in 1972)

This is one of my favorite paintings in this collection. 

There is Hope

When we visited the gallery in 2019, Mission in the Sun was closed due to renovations.  The mission was the first building DeGrazia constructed in honor of Padre Kino.  It is open 365 days a year. 

Murals painted in the entrance

"The roof is open to the sky, as it should be. You can't close up God in a stuffy room!"  DeGrazia

Moving on,  we explored a new trail.  Our destination was Garwood Dam.  Garwood Dam was built in 1948 by Nelson Garwood, who at the time, owned 450 acres in what is now the northwest corner of Saguaro NP East.  Access to the property was difficult for the Garwoods so they constructed an entrance road on Speedway Blvd..  Today, Douglas Spring Trailhead is located in the same proximity as their road and this is where we began our hike.  

There are lots of intertwining trails off Douglas Spring Trail.  The intersections are well marked and signs are easy to follow so a hike can be as long or as short as you like.

Joe and I were both in awe as we walked along completely engulfed by the desert and all it's beauty. We stopped a lot, just to breath and take it all in.  This is home!

We did an in-out trail and the dam was our turning around point.  It is definitely a place we will do more exploring.  

At home we have enjoyed lovely pastel skies,

curious teenagers,

shimmering hues,

early morning smell of rain, 

and lots of cuddles.

Joe and I got boosted this week.  I found myself on the sofa with a headache and achy muscles from head to toe for a couple of days...not quite as bad as it was when I had the second vax.  Jack stays close by!  

That's a wrap...another week in the memory bank from our little oasis in the desert.  Until next time, 

HAPPY TRAILS !