A Day Date and Canyon Loop Trail

Corona de Tucson

April 16, 2023

The evening glow...we haven't had a lot of clouds this week.

It's nice to have a day date.  It's a day when we head to town...no appointments, no errands...just for the fun of it !  We hadn't been to The Lost Barrio in a couple of months and it's one of my favorite places to meander and browse.  Gather:A Vintage Market was open for the April showing and the other stores along the street are fun, colorful, and offer a variety of old, new and unique things.   

Afterwards, CAFE a la C'ART was our lunch choice. 

  The patio is wonderful this time of year.

We have enjoyed brunch (which they serve all day) at the CAFE several times, but we both wanted to try something new.  I am happy to share that lunch is every bit as yummy as brunch.  

I had Salmon Nicoise  served with green beans, egg, radishes, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, a variety of mixed greens and the best herb vinaigrette ever.  Joe had a Cafe Burger cooked to order and piled high with smoked peppered bacon, avocado. pepper jack cheese, chipotle aioli on a challah roll served with fries.  Both are a mouth full to say, and both our mouths were full...we ate every bite !

Saturday morning we were up early and headed north to Catalina State Park.  The adventure for the day was a hike with Jamie and Andra.  Neither one of them had been to CSP.  It's such a beautiful setting and one we really wanted to share with them.  Even the short drive from the entrance to the parking lot (which is really the end of the road) for the trails tugs at my heart strings !  

The hike for the morning was Canyon Loop Trail. 

It's a great trail that crosses several different washes, follows the canyon rim, hugs the creek, and meanders at the base of a hillside covered in saguaros. 

 

The wash had just enough water to get our feet we.  Lots of fun memories crossing this wash from years past...

Beautiful mountain vistas on the rim...

 

Looking down on the wash we just crossed...

Lavender fields of clover...

thistle...

and asters lined the rim trail.

As we rounded the curve to drop into the canyon, lavender gave way to orange...no fields of poppies, but plenty blooming to put a big smile on my face !

And hot pink penstemons were blooming along the steps (there are 90 of them) that make the descent to the creek much easier.   

 

I was so happy the creek had water...flowing water ! 

From the creek, we crossed the wash and followed the trail as it curved around the base of a hill.

Crossed the wash again...

and followed the path back to the parking lot.

We all enjoyed an early lunch at Tucson Tamale. 

Nice to beat the crowd !

One green chili chicken tamale and one black bean and cheese tamale with a side of Mexican slaw and chips (the best chips ever!) and salsa. Yummy! 

It was such a nice morning...the weather, the trail, the flowers, the tamales, but mostly the company !  Life is good !

Back at the oasis,  we spent Wednesday morning with Jack at the vets.  He had an EKG, a CT scan and his blood pressure checked.  Hoping to hear from Dr. Huang mid week with the results.  He was a good boy at the vets and did not have to be anesthetized.  He was one tired little fella and went right to sleep on the way home.

The mornings have been perfect for coffee with the sunrise.

The Bottlebrush tree in the backyard is about to burst open.

The owl finally showed him/herself.  

And the rabbits...lots of them... have been enjoying the area on the other side of the fence. 

 The orioles have arrived and are enjoying the oranges.

And crane flies, better known as mosquito hawks at our house, have been buzzing around Tucson for weeks and finally made the news.  There have been kazillions of them in the yard and the rainy weather is said to be the cause. And to make matters worse, it's mating season which explains why we find them on the wall or ceiling from time to time paired up. The good news, crane flies are not harmful and do not bite.  They spend most of their life underground eating microbes which helps plants.  Nonetheless, I'm happy when I see the birds dining on them for breakfast, lunch and diner !

That's a wrap on the week...a really nice week I will add.  Red was a favorite color this week.

A male Cardinal in the bush on the other side of our fence...

The Bottlebrush tree in the front yard...

Begonias I potted on Wednesday...

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS!

Family, Feathers, and Flowers

Corona de Tucson

April 9, 2023 

It is so awesome to have Jamie and Andra and Ozzie close by.  I say close, but they live on the north side of Tucson...about a 45 minute drive.  They both work hard thru the week and often have things on the weekend to do. To make a long story short,  we love it when they call to ask if they can come for a visit.  

Our visits usually begin on Friday night for dinner, they spend the night and we find something fun to do on Saturday or just hang out at the oasis.  And they head home on Sunday morning to get things ready for the upcoming week.   

This weekend we all spent a wonderful morning at Saguaro National Park hiking the Cactus Forest Trail.  It is close to home, one of our favorites, and a new trail for them.  

The desert is dressed in shades of green and yellow...

dotted with purple, 

orange, 

white, 

and lavendar.

There are lots of reasons to enjoy this trail as it meanders down into washes and up to wide open vistas with lots of curves and twists along the way. There is a beautiful stand of saguaros with barrels, chollas, stag horns, and ocotillo.   

The first of the week, Windshields Arizona came out and did a terrific job removing Belle's windshield for service.  Ryan and Damian promptly arrived at the storage unit where Belle waits patiently for the next adventure. 

The moulding and bus trim was removed and cleaned, the old urethane was cleaned off, and the body was cleaned with a primer to prevent rust.  New urethane sealant was applied to the body and the windshield was put back in place along with the moulding and trim.  

Ryan"s grandfather began this business in 1952.  Ryan is the third generation as his dad Victor is now the owner with 69 years experience.  Ryan and Damian were not only prompt, but efficient as the entire job was completed in 2 1/2 hours.  They were informative, polite, professional, and made a great team.  

Left to Right...Ryan, Damian

I watched form the inside.  With the windshield off, Ryan cleaned the body and Damian cleaned the moulding.

If you ever find yourself in need of a new windshield or just need your old one serviced, we highly recommend Windshields Arizona.  

Back at the oasis, Dr Huang called with Dover's lab results. 

My little shadow...

Dover has T-zone lymphoma.  It's very common and one of the better types of cancers for dogs.  It is slow to progress and the lifespan is usually measured in years. Treatment is not needed right away if the affected lymph nodes do not bother Dover and if she is not exhibiting signs of illness otherwise.  An oral chemotherapy with prednisone will eventually be needed which most dogs tolerate well.  Until that time, Dover will have follow up tests...palpate the node and bloodwork every two months. We are relieved and thankful.  Thank you to everyone who sent positive thoughts and well wishes our way.  

We had a fun backyard birding week.  We had an unexpected visitor...a male Rufous Hummingbird.  These tiny hummingbirds have one of the longest migration journeys of any bird in the world...roughly 3,900 miles from the northwest United States into Mexico and the Gulf Coast. Their travels take them farther north than any other hummingbird.  

These fiesty little birds take a clockwise route of western North America each year.  From Mexico, they travel up the Pacific Coast thru Washington and British Columbia to Alaska in late winter and spring.  As early as July, they start south again traveling down the chain of the Rocky Mountains.   They have an excellent memory for location which helps in finding flowers from day to day and year to year.  They breed in Alaska...the northernmost breeding range of any hummingbird in the world. I find it amazing that the oldest recorded Rufous Hummingbird was a female at 8 years, 11 months old when she was caught and released during a banding operation in British Columbia.  

The lighting was off to capture the vivid iridescent red/orange throat.  The bird photos are better viewed if you clicked on the bird photo. 

We were also excited to add a new woodpecker to the first time backyard visitor list. 

 

A female ladder back stopped by for a late afternoon snack.  She was a little shy at first but came back several times and eventually enjoyed the seed from both feeders.  

They are considered to be small for a woodpecker with a short neck and a bill that is small, straight and chisel-like.  

The Mourning Dove are always in the yard...perched on the fence, pecking for seed (which is 99 % of their diet) and occasionally enjoying a drink from the birdbath.  We have no idea how to tell the male and female apart unless we see them in a pair and one is smaller than the other.  

I always thought that Dove mated for life, but I recently read that is not always the case.  They are typically seasonally monogamous meaning that they form a new pair bond each breeding season, but the same article also stated that many of them re-pair with the same mate.  They are loyal to each other throughout the breeding season and spend all their time together.  

Some pairs of Mourning Dove will remain together all year round in warmer regions. Many pairs raise three or four broods a year, and up to six have been recorded...that is more than any other bird in North America. They do everything together from building the nest to incubation and feeding and raising the chicks.  We have been here a little over two years and this week we had a first...a pair of dove displaying affection for each other.

They even had their eyes closed !

All puffed up...

We did try to close our eyes...but I peeked !

A hug...too sweet !

The feeders have been especially busy all week with Cardinals, Cactus Wrens, Gila Woodpeckers, Gold Finches, Sparrows and Curved-bill Thrashers...all of them coming in pairs.  

The Torch cactus bloomed...

Jack played ball...

Sally supervised...

and Dover slept.

Joe planted two small trees.  Tucson Electric Power sponsors Operation Cool Shade and offers these small trees for $15.00 each.  We chose Desert Willow trees.  All the trees offered are low-water use once established, are three feet tall, and delivered (at no cost) to your home.  

We walked the cart path...

played peek-a-boo with a Gila...

laughed out loud at Ozzie...

and sat in awe !

It was a great week, and a nice Easter Day.

Thursdays wildlife on the cart path...

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !