Cactus Forest Trail and a Day Date

Corona de Tucson

September 8, 2023

We welcomed September 1st under a flash flood watch.  It was a wonderful rainy day although the flash floods never happened...at least not at our little oasis.    

Sometimes, the best part of a rainy day is the day after.  Saturday dawned with cool temperatures, gorgeous blue skies and that wonderful earthy scent in the air...a perfect combination for a morning walk in the desert.  

Cactus Forest Trail in Saguaro NP-East is a longtime favorite...

  

Thursday was a day date.  We wanted to try a new restaurant, but first made a stop at Gather for the fall opening event.  Fall isn't exactly "in the air" just yet as summer's heat is still lingering, but it won't be long.  Fall colors have always been my favorite colors and what's not to love about cool nights and warm days? 

 

The lunch choice for our day date was a new to us restaurant we wanted to try.  Ghini's French Caffe and Bakery has been voted (by locals) as "Best of Tucson" for the number one place to eat breakfast for six years in a row.  It was a hard choice deciding what we wanted to eat...a variety of crepes, croques or French toast.  We both decided on the Croque Madame with creamy béchamel and Gruyere topped with an over easy fried egg.  We splurged and shared a rather large strawberry shortbread dessert covered in a mound of whip cream and lightly sprinkled with cocoa. 

Back at the oasis, 

it's nice to see wildflowers and green along the path on our morning walks.  

We had a couple of Harris' Hawks flying overhead this week.  They have never perched on our fence, but they did take a "look-out post" in the pine tree next door.  They flew in as a pair and left together.  It is pretty awesome to see them in flight with a wingspan of 3.5 to 4.8 feet.

  

The hummingbird feeder has been especially busy.  I really like the small feeder for these hot days.  At the end of the day, the feeder is empty and no nectar (which I make) is wasted.  These busy little birds are the first to show up every morning...hovering and waiting for me to get busy !

The thistle feeder...

and the suet feeder stay busy as well.  

Two of my favorites!

Sally and I are usually the first out every morning.  Sally makes sure all is right with her world...

while I fill the thistle and suet feeders and fresh water in the birdbath.

It doesn't take long for the Lesser Goldfinch to realize their feeder is full. 

We love these no-mess large cylinder seed blocks.  They weigh just over 4 pounds and last 10-14 days.  

Sally...

Jack...

That's a wrap on our week...

HAPPY TRAILS!

The Rest of August...

Corona de Tucson

August 31, 2023 

Sunrise August 31

Back on August 12th, Joe and I met Jamie and Andra in Tucson for a nice Saturday morning stroll in The Lost Barrio...a historic warehouse district in downtown.  

It was the weekend Gather was open and always a fun outing with the kiddos.  We meandered thru the vintage market which never looks the same as it did the last time we were there.  It's no wonder it takes a month for the staging to be completed...creative, colorful, seasonal, old, new, shiny, fresh, indoor, outdoor, and the adjectives just go on and on. 

Lunch is always on our agenda and afterwards, we all enjoyed a yummy lunch at El Charro.  Andra had never been to El Charro. It's such a fun and historic restaurant... and such a pleasure to share a favorite with family and friends.  

Who would ever think that as hot and dry as it has been August would usher in beautiful colors.  The barrel cacti are blooming... 

I love their crown.

 and we are also enjoying Arizona poppies.  

Definitely puts a smile on my face.

The rest of August has been a hodgepodge of days...hot days, rainy days, windy days, cloudy days, cooler days, pleasant morning days and mostly missing Dover days.  Our little family of four is adjusting one day at a time.  At first, getting out two bowls at breakfast instead of three seemed to throw the morning askew.  But with each passing day, the memories of Dover and her happy dance when breakfast was served puts a smile on my face and tears of joy in my eyes.  Such is love and we are so thankful.  

Morning walks continue to be in our routine.  On Tuesday our walk started early.  As we headed out we heard the Owls.  There is a pine tree beside the cart path just beyond our yard and when I looked up I saw the silhouette of three owls.  I'm guessing a family as it didn't take but a minute for them to snuggle up on a branch together.  Also, everyday this week, we have been treated to a rainbow.  And a big plus, the sunrises have been been nothing short of spectacular. 

Sunrise August 18

 

Sunrise August 31
Moooooo! And a big good morning to you too!

Back at the oasis, we had two hairy visitors...tarantulas.  Both of them meandered slowly across the patio (early morning coffee time about two weeks apart) while Joe kept guard and the pups and I kept our distance.  The first one we saw was a bit smaller and mostly black...a male. The second one, which is pictured below, is a female.  She was larger and brown. In the wild, these hairy spiders call the southwest United States home, eat insects, and are usually out and about at night.   

Desert dwellers can attain a body length of up to 2 inches and a leg span to almost 5 inches and live in deep burrows which they line with silk webbing to prevent the holes from caving in.  She had quite the daytime adventure at our house.  We watched as she climbed up the concrete wall, crept across the top and down the other side.  But that is not the end of the story.  She climbed back up the wall on the other side, back down the wall on our side, and across the rocks all the way to the other side of the yard before disappearing.  

For a few weeks, we have noticed a hawk flying overhead and often perched in a dead tree out beyond our yard or in the top of a pine tree in the yard next door.

A super zoom with the big lens...

And last week, he finally perched on our fence for a photo shoot.  My lucky day !

Cooper's Hawks are magnificent birds and strikingly beautiful...swift, strong, intense, and  documented research shows they do recognize human faces and voices.    

Once in Georgia we witnessed a hawk swoop down in our backyard and scoop up a bluebird.  It was both amazing and horrifying all at the same time.  We have not had that experience here...fingers crossed we won't.  

Some babies are growing fast.

 We  are still enjoying the Cardinals in a variety of growing stages...

The Cactus Wens have no trouble making themselves at home.  They scamper all over the yard and the patio fussing all the while about who knows what. On any given day, we might see up to six at one time.  The young ones will eventually fly away and discover their own territory in which to mate, eat, nest and live.  We still have adults feeding young ones...

and finally...drum roll...a Cactus Wren perched on our torch cactus !

And the pups...

Sally will sit for hours making sure all is as it should be in the yard.  Joe rolled the patio rug up on one of our windy days...Sally was most concerned.  

On one of our cooler mornings, we enjoyed playing ball outside...

I'll close with a few photos...

and a sunset from the backyard.

Until next time,

We were being watched...do you see the coyote?

Happy Trails !