REFUGIO VISITORS

Refugio visitors...

"What do you like about Tucson?" Lindsay asked.  My immediate response was: the Catalina Mountains, the uniqueness of the Saguaro cacti and the multitude of other Sonoran Desert fauna and inhabitants, the clear blue sky, the pure night sky and its many stars, the sunrises and the moon-rises behind the Catalinas, and of course the sunsets which last a half hour and spreads it's palette of colors across the sky.  Pastels, filmy as can be, or bright neon orange/red/purple against the cornflower blue sky.  They are just breathtaking! 
The variety of bird songs and calls is captivating as well.  This morning as I was re-installing my drip system for my patio plants I heard the most beautiful song up in the tree...There it was---my wanna-be-friend, the Northern male Cardinal.  They have 28 different songs, but this time he was singing to my Hapa songs.  I guess he likes Hawaiian music too! 

 

A bit later while at my desk I noticed the tail end of a roadrunner as he zoomed through the labyrinth.  Then a Harrison's Hawk swooped past with its dinner in its mouth; also too speedy to tell what it was. 

 This is such a pretty time of year here.  There are pops of little color all around, and trees wearing their flowerful canopy or bright yellow!  And of course the tall Ocotillos are vying for attention.  Here are a couple pictures taken down Rancho Vistoso Blvd on the way to Honey Bee Ridge where we live. 

 The Ocotillos, with their waving arms and orange-red toppers can get to be two stories tall.And then there are the huge hot pink flowers on these cacti on the median of the Blvd as well.  And Jon Skaug has some in his front yard going on their 2nd round of flowers.  Though they only last one day, they are show-stoppers! 

 

 

We have had a couple of Javelina herds and a trio of coyotes all in the same morning.  They came to put on a show for Mike and Kathy Miles who were here to visit us and the Spring Training baseball games.  Sure enough, while we were in the office in front of my window I noticed a trio of coyotes -- Wiley??  I think so.  And I think it was Wylette, and their teenager Willie. I have never seen more than two here, so that's my big excitement out here in the desert!  A half hour later there came a family of javelinas with their wee ones.  They were followed just a bit afterward by a small herd of javelinas.  They were all just passing through, not stopping to much on our prickly pear and other cacti and agaves.  Whew -- just providing entertainment (as Laurell says!) for me and our guests.  It's too bad they don't "perform" for all our other guests who so earnestly want to catch a glimpse of them.  Well, they'll just have to come back!! 

 

  

SNOWY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

 

 

 

I returned home from Valntinaville...Santa came, and Papa and I took V to the park for run-around time!

 

 

I flew from Oakland to San Diego to change planes to get to Tucson.  Well there is 1 separate terminal for SWA which has only 2 gates: 1 and 1A.  Of course that is where we pulled up.  Not a bad flight, but I had to go out and to the main Terminal for the bulk of SWA flights, and back through security.  The line for checking in was way to the central doors!  Oh wow!, but then I had Pre TSA Check so it went very quickly; also, they opened up more space for security checks---finally!  So on we go to Tucson, start to decsend, then go back up and around for a bit.  The pilot came on and said  "We have to land in Phoenix to get gas.  There is a lot of congestion at the airport, and we don't have enough gas to keep circling."  It was heavy clouds and rain and bumpy.  So add another hour.  I left on a 9:20am flight, and got home in the dark.  Just happy to be home!

At 10:30pm last night it began to snow... and for quite a while by the looks of it this morning.  So I have to share some of the pix with you.  Starting with last night out back, and one that Rodney took. 

 
A new day, a new Year, a new Desert!
 
   Out My Window...

     Our Street   Yes, our mailbox
                   My Labyrinth.................................

 

 St. Francis at the Labyrinth

 

Our REFUGIO signThe back of our house

                      
 This is something sent to me by Diane, my Skin Care prof...   It helps if you sing it! 
                          
WINTER WONDERLAND
AIRZONA STYLE
 
Palm trees, wave, are you listening?
In the pool, water's glistening
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight.
Living in a Tucson Wonderland.

Gone away is the blizzard.
Here to stay is the lizard.
A warm sunny day, we like it that way,
Living in a Tucson Wonderland.

In the desert we will have a picnic,
Cactus, sand, rattlesnakes and sun.
Christmas dinner is an old tradition,
It's pinto beans and tacos by the ton.

Later on,we'll perspire,
As the temperature rises higher.
A warm sunny day, we like it that way,
Living in a Tucson Wonderland.

In the desert we don't shovel snow, man,
There's no ice to make us slip and slide.
All the houses here are air conditioned.
So we can get cold when we are inside.

Later on, if we're wishing
We can golf or go fishing.
A warm sunny day, we like it that way,
Living in a Tucson Wonderland
So,  Enjoy our pix, and Blessings for a Joyful, Abundant, and Healthy 2015!!!!   Peju of the Desert

 

 

Comings and Goings for Chritmas

Hello all,  I have not had a lot to write about until lately.  After our return from Thanksgiving at Valentina-ville, I ws sitting at the computer when a bunny came raacing up the driveway past me.  I thought Oh-Oh,  Wiley might be on the chase.  I have not seen him come through the labyrinth at all lately.  But alas, several minutes later here comes a really pretty bobcat simply strolling up the drive, taking the same path as the bunny.  It will be safe at the bobcat's pace!

The next week I look out, and there is the herd of Javalinas --looking for more of our cactus and shrubs to munch on.  I went out and did my "HYAAAH!" several times, hoping no neighbors were outside.  Good job, I thought, as they trotted off the end of the drive and around the corner,  several little babies running to catch up.  I've said this before...the babies are cute, but boy are the big ones uuugly!  I then went out after seeing 2 stragglers hiding under the tree.  I did get a pic of one of them before they finally sauntered off toward the big rocks.  It's not the best pic because I did not want to get too close, lest there be another one behind me.

 

And speaking of coyotes, I have only seen several small ones around Honeybee Ridge. Another one yesterday which ran across the boulevard in front of me at Honeybee Canyon Park, just next to our development (Honeybee Ridge).  And, FYI...there are Indin Petroglyphs about a mile into Honeybee Canyon, a nice hike!   But no Wiley!

Also yesterday, I had to come home from errands just for 5 minutes.  As I started up the driveway I had to stop --- there in front of me was a big buck deer with antlers and all ...maybe lost from Donner and Blitzen...??  They tend to come down from the mountains in the winter, looking for water.  He didn't know he couldn't jump the fence to our pool!  After staring at me for a minute he loped off around the back of the pool and onto the street.  But of course he did not stop long enough for me to get a really good pic.  I did get several ones for your viewing poleasure, however. 

I cannot move the second picture up, so excuse the empty space. 

 

 

 We are leaving for Valentina-ville soon. Here are  her newest seasonal pics by Blaire:

                                                             VALENTINA  ROSE 

 

 

And now I wish you all a very Mele Kalikimaka and a Hap, Hap, Happy New Year!

Blessings and Light to you,  Peju of the Desert

 

 

 

A rare sighting, and the Great Flood of Tucson

     

A couple nights after we returned from Valentinaville and driving up our driveway after dinner out there was a big Gila Monster slowly moving across our drive.  It's a fairly rare thing to see here, and it was our first time seeing one in Tucson.  So pretty!  I was so excited and jumped out of the car to snap some pix.  I did get a good one...

The next morning on my routine check of the pool for unwanted critters I watched a tiny brown frog doing laps across the pool.  I just left it there since I didn't know whether it wanted to stay in the water or go out in the desert.  Although the next morning upon my inspection there it was...sitting on the pool thermometer, which for some magical reason was floating on the surface, (usually it is straight down in the water!).  It looked so cute I took a pic!

And then a friend of mine sent me this Bobcat pic taken from her backyard. It is such a great photo that I have to include it for your entertainment.  Thank you Leslie!

 

Now for the Great Flood of Tucson 9/8/2014!  We had not only the Monsoon seasonal rains, we had a hurricane hurling tons of water on us!  4 inches yesterday in several hours.  That is more than we get in an entire Monsoon season.  So I was on "Flood Watch" all morning.  I stood at the front doorway watching our driveway in front of our garage and front entrance filling up.  When it got close I had to do something, and went out in the rain to dig a trench.  However, there was no place for it to drain, and I also hit solid rock.  Then in the middle of my disaster  prevention effort thunder started, and it lasted for --seemed like 5 minutes!--.  Well, you know what that means... if you hear thunder you are to take cover...go inside!  That's a better idea to avoid a lightening strike, especially since I am in a bright red slicker; possibly a beacon to attract lightning!?!?  (last month lightening struck our pool filter and blasted it!)  Nothing to mess around with here on THUNDERSTORM PLACE!

 

Water to the DOOR!

     Sandbags at the ready. 

And look how pretty Refugio is ---out My Window now!!

This is all for now,

Peju of the Desert

 
 

Hot and sultry...

 

This morning we had the lightest rain possible here in this Monsoon season.  It was just beautiful!  I liken it to what I remember as the "piki rain" of Hawaii.  Now, I can't find anything with that terminology, so I may have made it up, but that was back in 1967 so it could be anything.  It is hot and sultry -- that's the only description I could come up with as I sat outside on the patio watching, smelling, and feeling the rain.  In fact, in one of our hula dances, Ka Beauty A'o Manoa,  one of our
verses is: "A beauty is the Tuahine rain of Manoa". It is the name of the famous misty rain of Manoa Valley on Oaha.  To dance this is just as lovely as the Tuahine rain itself.  I love it!  However, later this afternoon it revved up to full on thunder and lightening leading to flash floods.  Yes, the washes were like rivers, and many warnings not to drive in the dips of the roads if you can't see the bottom.  Cars can get swept away quickly.  Plus, if that happens you are the topic of the news as part of the Stupid Motorist Law.  Our front driveway/parking area flooded...there is no drainage, so water just sits there.  I was praying it would not keep rising in our front door!!  Fortunately it stopped, but it took

hours for it to go down.  I was getting to make up sandbags for the doorway.

    

Our Catalina Mountain view in our backyard revealed a remarkable setting with the low clouds sifting across the foothills. By this time it was 71 degrees at 3:30pm and our humidity was 84%.  ----And you are staying away from visiting due to what??? 

I was away almost 3 weeks to the Bay Area, and on the 2nd morning home, just after Ron drove off to be the caretaker of Justice in the Juvenile Court, I wondered what I would see out "my window".  Ha, like there really would be something out there for my entertainment just because I am home!  Well...yes, there was a javelina under my window munching on the maroon fruit of the prickly pear.  He was underneath it so much I could not get a photo.  And knowing where there is 1 of these long-haired peccaries there is a herd.  Sure enough, right across the driveway was the rest of the gang, grazing on our "pasture",  which is a heavily weeded area next to my Labyrinth.  Everything is very green and healthy due to the Monsoon rains.  They too were hidden by the mesquite trees prohibiting a photo op.  All I could do at that point was to chase them away with my "cowboy Heeaaahh!"  and armed with my walking stick in case they turn in my direction.  If they eat cactus, then they could probably bite my stick in 2 pieces.  I did get one pic before they meandered off.

A bit later on there were the usual big quail out there, also under the prickly pear.  All of a sudden there came a roadrunner toward them.  I have never seen a roadrunner with this colorful bright yellowish-gold feathered top of his head;  striking.  Since males are usually the fancier of species, that's why I said "he".  Their real name is "Greater Roadrunner", and they can run up to 18 miles/hour.  The next thing I saw was a big ruckus with 2 large quails feathers and wings spread out chasing that roadrunner across the patio and away!  Then I saw another roadrunner circling back toward the first one, and this pair...yes I am certain they were an item, beep-beeped along the driveway away from our area.  I suspected they wanted a portion of the dark red fruit called tunas that had fallen from that prickly pear cactus. The next day I saw a quail family run across the driveway with 2 teeny tiny quailettes, only about 2 inches high.  I think the that was the stimulus to that chase scene. I could not see them at the time, but I suspect that roadrunner saw them! They were too small to show up in my photo.  The next day I saw one of them running in the road around the corner two times during the day, and not again since then. 

There are 2 more things I have to show you, mostly of interest to those of you not from the desert.  The first is this plant outside "My Window".  It must be 10 ft. tall, with flowers at the top of a long bamboo-looking stem and a large spiny bush at the base.  My friend Jon Skaug tells me it is a variety of a plant called a Toothless Spoon.  Have you ever heard of such a thing? It sure has a lot of spiny teeth along its leaves for being called "toothless"!  To the right is a picture taken facing "My Window", reflecting my image due to the very tinted windows. 
The other amazing thing that happened while I was writing this blog is that I looked out and saw a desert tortoise lumbering toward our front door to visit me.  I have been looking out for one lately since I had not seen one this year.  They only come out during the Monsoon time.  It let me come right up to it.  You

are not supposed to pick them up because when they get frightened they urinate, and then get dehydrated. Not good in the desert! 

I do have more to show you, but it will have to wait until the next blog. 

Signing off,

Peju of the Desert

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tarantulas are...

So here we are on the patio last night enjoying Santa Maria-style Tritip with our OV friends in a balmy 82 degree weather when Jill announced that she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye.  The full moon had just come up over the Catalina Mountains providing us with a beautiful backdrop. It was the night of the "Super Moon", when the moon is 1 of the 3 times this year when it is closest to the earth, so it looks a lot larger.  We all turned to see a very big tarantula moving across the patio.  Ron and Jon tried to steer it away from the house and door because the pest control spraying was just done, and we didn't want it to get in the poison.  Boy can those big arachnoids move quickly!!!  No time for a picture this year.  You'll just have to look at last pic in my blog. 

And our big excitement the night before was going to Tohono Chul Park in the dark with our flashlights.  This was after our dinner in Catalina at Mi Tierra -- Valentina's favorite place!  The park had been advertising that "The Queen is coming!" for about 3 weeks.  There is one particular cactus that blooms only for 1 night a year.  They track the pre-bloom phases and put out email blasts about the expected day it will bloom, Then on the actual day, they post it again.  It was even on the News! 
This year there were enough that they had some blooming for 2 nights.  So off we went, in our closed-toe shoes and our flashlights and cameras.  We got there around 8pm.  There were soo many cars and people--- they were parked for blocks around the park, and lined up in a long queue!  We had no idea there would be this many people.  It was like the end of the movie "Field of Dreams" where all the cars were coming to the ballpark lined for miles at night.  Here is a pic of one of the 300 of them that they had fenced all around the park, the paths lit up with luminarias.  It was a sight to see for sure.!  Without the blooms, they just look sticks.  And they have a beautiful subtle aroma. 

 

Meanwhile along the Rancho Vistoso Blvd. median and street corners, there is another plethora of cacti blooms. This is the main street that loops through Rancho Vistoso -- our part of Oro Valley;  it leads  to our development.  Since the Monsoon has brought us some rain, the blooms are on parade again. They are all colors, and even more blooms on one plant than in April.    Most are different colors of red and  pink in many different shades.  And some are white and yellow.  Here is a sample. 

 

Driving down the boulevard it is hard to watch the road and observe the bloomin' cactus and watch out for the many bicyclists at the same time.  I had to stop for this one this morning. 

 

So, watch out for tarantulas y'all; it is the beginning of their mating season when the males are out -- in spite of all risks and danger -- in search of a willing date. 

Signing off for now,  Peju of the Desert