A Foggy Desert Morning

Corona de Tucson

December 8, 2022

 

Last Monday after a weekend of two glorious rainy days, Joe and I headed out to the grocery store.  It isn't far out of the way to visit Saguaro National Park-East.  The sun had been in and out at our house and we packed a backpack before leaving thinking we might get in a short hike before the grocery store.  The closer we got to the park, the foggier it got so we scratched the walk and decided on the eight mile one-way loop "auto hike".  

Cactus Forest Loop Drive curves its way up and down and through the heart of the park.  There are lots of pull-outs making photo stops easy and I am pretty sure we stopped at each and every one.      

The clouds were low...the air was full of droplets...it was so amazing !

Back at the oasis, it was a rainy week-end.  I was in heaven.  I'm not a big fan of rainy days that just go on and on and on for days and days and days, but a couple of rainy days in the desert is a wonderful thing.  

The desert sure needed the rain and Joe and I found ourselves being completely lazy.  

Tuesday, I made cookies.  It's the recipe my mom used which is the recipe my grandma used for peanut butter cookies. We switched over to almond butter a few years back. Peanuts are legumes and legumes can cause joint pains.  We both love roasted peanuts and found that eating them...probably way too many...caused our hands to hurt.  Last year I found a recipe for almond butter balls dipped in chocolate.  They were good, but don't compare to peanut butter cookies.  Joe loves chocolate so the cookies got a good dipping in Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting wafers.  

I am pretty sure the cookie snatcher grabbed a cookie when my back was turned...there is one missing in the top right corner.

We still enjoy mid-morning walks...

the beginning of a new day...

I think I see a fluffy tail...

and sunsets.

 

Breakfast has a whole new meaning...

Sally and Dover sleep alot...

and the birds stay busy.

Life is good at the oasis.  

Until next time,

 HAPPY TRAILS !

Something Old, Something New, Something Yummy

Corona de Tucson

December 4. 2022 

Something old...but it never really gets old !

I love those mornings when we wake up and and one of us asks, "What do you want to do today?".  Thursday was one of those mornings !  The weather was about as perfect as any weather can be for the end of November/first of December. There were no appointments, errands, or plans on the calendar.  My answer to the question is always, "Let's do a hike!".  Our choice for the morning was Sahaurita Trail about 6 miles from home.  Sahuarita Trail is a small section (17+ miles) of the Arizona National Scenic Trail system that goes from the Mexican border to Utah.    We get a good 3.5 miles on our "in and out" walk.  The "in" has views of the Santa Rita Mountains...

and the "out" has views of the Rincon Mountains.

 

   

           

In between, there are lots of prickly pear cacti...

mesquite trees...

winter grasses...

skeletons...

and grasshoppers...really big grasshoppers.

But the sky stole the show !

Something new...always fun to find new things to do !

The historic and art village of Tubac celebrates the Holiday Season with its Luminaria Nights de Tubac the first week-end in December each year. The festival is held Friday and Saturday nights from 5:00 to 9:00.  Wahoo, sounds like a date night to me !  The streets and walkways are lined with luminaries and lights... 

and shops, galleries and restaurants are open.  

We arrived about 5:00...just before sunset...

strolled down the streets...

and meandered thru a few shops.

Clay Rabbit House was my favorite shop.  I do have a soft spot for pottery.  Dean and Debbie moved to Tubac about three years ago from the Northwest and opened their potting studio complete with two wheels and two kilns.  Dean creates each piece by hand or using wheel thrown methods and Debbie completes each piece of stoneware by adding colorful animals and western scenes.  Beautiful cardinals painted on platters, bowls, cups, and vases caught my eye when we passed by.    Then, I saw the saguaros...

and I couldn't help myself !  

A hot sandwich and a mocha latte at the deli hit the spot although I really wanted a piece of peanut butter pie.  The couple in front of us bought the last piece.  

Something yummy...always the first December treat I make.

Back at the oasis, the first of the holiday goodies is checked off the list.  A counter full of yumminess...toasted in the oven for 2 hours at 225 degrees and stirred every 20 minutes.  So worth the effort as Joe and I love this crunchy concoction of cereals, pretzels and pecans covered with melted butter, Worcestershire sauce celery salt and onion salt. It never makes it to Christmas Day ! 

Jack had a spa day.  

The violas have a mystery plant.

Jena sent pictures of Felix and Edith opening their cliff dwelling ornaments.

We enjoyed mid-morning walks with the pups.

Dover and Sally keep a watchful eye.

Joe puts on the morning coffee.  Sally waits patiently for me to fix my cup and go outside with her. 

The globe mallow is blooming on the other side of our fence.

And Saturday delivered much needed rain.

Until next time,