good-times-rollin: coyotes

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Life Under the Oaks Lavender Farm

Corona de Tucson

June 24, 2023

Life Under the Oaks Lavender Farm is a small family owned farm about 60 miles north of us in Oracle. Yes, the fields in Sequim, WA we visited back in July 2018 were much larger, but the sweet smell of these fragrant blooms filled the air just the same in Arizona as they did in Sequim. I love the smell...a combination of floral, herbal, and woodsy all at the same time.

Lavender is in the mint family and originated in the Mediterranean, but can thrive in any sunny place with stony well-drained soil. Imagine my surprise when I read that a lavender farm was close by and thriving in sunny Arizona. The farm is a life-long dream come true for Carolyn. She and her husband, John, bought the land after John retired from the army and this year marks their fifth Lavender Bloom Season.

Pictures do not do the fields justice...in person visits are a must to experience the blooms swaying in the gentle breeze, the fragrance, and thousands of bees and butterflies happily enjoying these small lavender flowers.

During bloom season, Carolyn offers wreath making classes, farm to table lavender dinners, traditional teas, and harvesting fresh bundles. One area of the farm is known as Five Sisters. This wonderfully shady area with a nice breeze is named for the cluster of five oak trees over 100 years old.

The Five Sisters and Carolyn preparing for a wreath making class.

I was also very excited to read, the farm offers picnic baskets...breakfast or lunch. Orders are placed on line 48 hours in advance. As you know, brunch is a favorite for me and since we were up and out the door early, we chose the breakfast basket with a croissant breakfast sandwich and lavender breakfast potatoes, a blueberry cookie, lavender lemonade in a mason jar, and a sachet keepsake.

A beautiful setting, a cool breeze and our breakfast hit the spot !

Not only does the walk at the farm meander around and thru the lavender fields, you might just see the farm's pets, find hidden treasures or sit awhile and enjoy a lavender lemonade (It really is quite good and refreshing!).

It was a wonderful morning and I am so glad Carolyn's dream came true for the rest of us to enjoy ! Bloom season is the busiest time of year at the lavender farm, but the farm has something to offer in all the seasons...an old-fashioned Christmas, pumpkins and cornhusk dolls, and a fairy festival just to name a few.

And don't forget to stop by the charming Boutique on your way out...

The rest of our week was spent enjoying morning walks around our neighborhood...

Sometimes, for a split second, I feel like I have been transported to San Diego.

And back at the oasis...

We have had a yard full of Lesser Goldfinch..

The hummingbirds have finally found their feeder. It was moved from its' regular spot in all day sun to a shady spot.

The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is visiting more frequently...

And there are at least two couples of Cardinals visiting non stop. They have been busy at the feeders and photo bombing !

One morning, we enjoyed watching a coyote family of three running, playing and having breakfast. I worked hard to try and get a photo that had all three, but it didn't happen.

Red was a fun color this week...

The pups are doing good. Early morning patio time...

And Jack watching and waiting for Joe to throw his ball.

We brought some of the farm home...

And sunsets from the backyard are romantic...

Life is good at our little oasis...until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Sunset Saturdays

Corona de Tucson

August 13, 2022

One of our favorite places for meandering is Tucson Botanical Gardens. In fact we love it so much for the past two years we have purchased yearly memberships.

We can spend a few minutes or a couple of hours strolling the grounds, enjoying the desert plants and birds, and checking out the new exhibits.

This past Saturday the TBG hosted the first of four (each Saturday in August) Saturday events they call Sunset Saturdays...a live concert series highlighting a different local Tucson band each week. Desert Melodies was in the spotlight for the first event featuring songs from the Speak Easy/Swing music era.

What a treat. And even though these songs were just a bit before our time, we both smiled at each other as we remembered the lyrics for many of them.

If that isn't enough, street food...Sonoran dogs and tacos with all the fixings...along with beer, wine, spritzers or water was catered.

As members, our concert tickets were free (non-members cost is $15 per ticket), but we had to pay for dinner.

During the break, we checked out a new exhibit, Rooted in Fiber...A Contemporary Fiber Exhibition. It is presented by Fiber Artists of Southern Arizona (FASA). The details, colors, textures and techniques used by these artists who are committed to creating and promoting textile and fiber art is beautiful. Janna I thought of you...

Tropical Flight by Ruth Sharp...$3,000...an amazing piece of art...and yes, it is all textiles and fibers.

I had never seen June bugs before...plenty of cicadas, but not a June bug. Surprisingly, I didn't find them at all creepy until one landed in my hair. At that point, I was on high alert. They are harmless to people and thank goodness my only other encounter was one that landed on my jeans.

The larva feed underground on grass and tree roots from several months to as long as three years before emerging as an adult June bug. They are attracted to light and were having a grand time at the concert.

This was the best sunset shot I could get at the gardens.

Such a fun date night.

The word hellacious is defined as exceptionally powerful or violent. Well, coming home from TBG we had a hellacious monsoon lightening storm. It was totally awesome and totally scary at the same time. Neither of us had ever witnessed continuous lightening flashes and bolts so strong and coming from all directions all at the same time. Thank goodness the torrential rains held off until we pulled into our neighborhood.

Tuesday was the big day to get Joe's stitches removed. As it turned out, only the stitches behind ear were removed. His leg and shoulder needed another week, but the dr said we could resume our early morning walks...YIPPEE!

We were up and out the door Wednesday in time to watch the sun rise. The mornings continue to be cool with high 60s and a nice breeze. The neighborhood has sure greened up since we walked a couple of weeks ago.

We just happened to spot a large yellow bloom along the path. At first I thought it was a watermelon, but the leaves don't match...maybe some sort of a gourd.

There were a few pops of yellow, blue and white, but purple was the color of the week.

Last week I shared pictures of the Gamble's Quail. They are still visiting daily.

We even had a large family of babies that were quite small. After reading last week's post, Joe reminded me of a story. About 35 years ago on a trip to Hartsville, SC to visit his mom and dad, we went to the local feed store to buy black oil sunflower seeds for his mom. It was one of those cute little shops...maybe a small version of Tractor Supply in todays world (minus the clothes, shoe, etc.). While there, we purchased a door bell for our back porch. It was a real door bell, as there was no electrical wiring for a fancy door bell/chime on our porch. All of our family and friends came to the back porch when visiting and I had been wanting a bell for some time. It was a pretty little bell made of bronze with a rather funny looking bird at the top. We had never seen a bird like that, and didn't bother to take the time to figure out what kind of bird it was. For all the years that followed, we enjoyed the clang, clang...the perfect announcement that family and friends had come to visit. We simply had to take this bell with us when we sold our Georgia home !

The bell is barely visible in the top left corner of the photo.

It is funny how things come around. The bird on my sweet little clanger is a Gamble's Quail.

Today it hangs in the garage by the door of our Arizona home. Just for kicks (and reminders of nice memories), Joe and I clang it often !

We had a little excitement in the backyard this week. Every morning, the pups and I go to the backyard first thing. The pups have business to do, while I check to see if the sky is picture worthy. It was...

5:46 AM

This morning, I was excited for Joe and I to get started on our morning walk and was hurrying the pups to go back inside. Dover and Jack are usually under my feet, but Sally has a way of moving at her pace...and it is never hurrying. When I reached the patio door, I turned around and saw a coyote...not from a far, but right at the fence...YIKES !...and just seconds earlier, I had been standing right there. I was glad Dover and Jack were inside and Sally was about three-fourths of the way to the patio. The coyote wasn't bothered at all by my efforts to get Sally, grab my camera and take this picture.

This must have been the week for reminders to keep a watchful eye out for the pups (especially Jack who weighs 11 pounds) as a pair of Coopers Hawks sat in the tree for awhile watching one afternoon.

Beautiful Arizona skies, awesome monsoon storms, nice temperatures, and resuming early morning walks sure made this week one to enjoy. Hope your week was happy too !