Break from the heat

I can't believe it! This is my 150th post. Since I forgot to celebrate my 100th post, maybe this deserves some kind of celebration? So, how about a cheers to all of you who stop by and share my life with me! You rock.

It's been getting progressively hot here, but not as bad as it usually is this time of year. It seems that the weather patterns have shifted a little bit and we are experiencing clouds and rain in May. Very unusual but welcomed by us humans. I do wonder how a change like this will effect the rest of the desert. As I am sitting here typing, it seems as though we may get a few showers shortly. I'm not complaining...I love it!

Yesterday was pretty hot, however, and to escape the heat some friends and I drove up to Mount Lemmon. It's pretty amazing that you can go from desert to a place like this is 45 min. Here...see what I mean.

Doesn't look like a desert, does it? This amazing fern forest was such a treat for us desert dwellers. And for those of you from Tucson, this is located on the Butterfly Trail on Mount Lemmon. It's a steep hike, but well worth it.

The New Mexican Locust were gorgeous.
This waterfall is one destination on the hike...such a peaceful spot to take a break.

These caterpillars were all over the trail...probably why it's called Butterfly Trail. I wonder what kind they are?And these tent caterpillars were on another trail higher up. I know they can be pretty destructive in some areas (they were in Michigan), but I didn't see too many of them so hopefully they won't do damage. I just think it's so cool how they make this cocoon....like a big caterpillar orgy. :P

Spring flowers

Hope your weekend is full of brightness!

Thunderbird Trail - Tucson

N and I really had the urge to hike the other day, but we've been a little bored with our choices lately. Not that Sabino Canyon and Mount Lemon aren't incredible, they are! It's just that we've been there so many times that we wanted to try something new. Enter Thunderbird Trail at the foothills of the Tucson Mountain Range. This trail was great! Not only was it only about a ten minute drive from my place, it has some of the most lush vegetation I have seen in this area. The 4 mile round trip hike was not difficult, but also gave us a decent workout since you are either decending on the way in or ascending on the way out. To make it even more interesting, there are several abandoned mines along the trail.


I don't know if this mine is seeped in some tragic past, if it was the cloudy day, or the sadness to see such a huge saguaro come to it's end, but N and I both got a very eery feeling around the mine. We both remarked that it felt like a grave yard. I'm curious to know if something happened here in the past.

Regardless of the somber mood, these spines were facinating to see up close.

It seems that Warren at Touch the Wind started something. I found myself searching the entire hike for a saguaro arm that is eeking out into the world. Ah ha! Mission complete!

What's Up?

This saguaro has personality.

The ice wanted stillness, but the water underneath had a different agenda.

More winter wonders

Winter Wonderland

It's been a short while, but I'm back. I've traveled home for the holidays and have been spending time with the family, making trips between Ohio and Michigan. It is so snowy and lovely here right now and boy do I have pictures!

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

This past weekend I traveled up to Leland, Michigan with my dad and brother. We rented a cabin in the woods near downtown Leland, went skiing, and enjoyed the massive amounts of snow. It snowed constantly from the time we arrived to the time we left...in fact I believe it's still snowing. Everyone was talking about how they haven't seen snow like that since 1978. It's going to be a great year for winter sports up there if this keeps up. And it was sooo gorgeous.

Leland

Leland was the home of my grandmother, and it's the one place that has been constant throughout my life. For this reason, it feels more like home to me than any other place. Through my families moves, my going off to college, and my move to Arizona, Leland has remained my place of memories and family friends. Even as we returned this time, 6 years after my last visit, it feels mostly the same. It's a small town, and there are people that live there who have known me since I was a mystery inside my mom's belly

At just about every place, my dad runs into someone he knows. In fact, we went into the Leland bookstore and happened upon a book about Fred Petroskey, a famous Leelanau painter and my grandmother's dear friend. We opened the book, and there upon the page is a painting of my grandmother, as well as the painting of my grandfather and I that sits in my father's living room.

It was wonderful to return to this place that is so entrenched with memories from my childhood, to see familiar faces and places, and to enjoy the winter wonderland with my dad and brother.

Again, I wish I had a better camera, because my pictures don't come close to doing justice for the beauty of the area...but I will share anyway. Happy Holidays!Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Fishtown, Leland

Suttons Bay, Michigan

Indiana Woods, Leland

Lake Michigan Shore, Leland

Barn in the Woods

The Narrows, The Village of Lake Leelanau

It's fall!

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.
So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Yesterday was the first day that it truly felt like fall. It was overcast, 75 degrees, and windy. Now, I know for those of you in cooler climates, 75 degrees doesn't sound that cool, but for us in the Sonoran Desert, it's a much desired relief from the heat of the summer. I even had to wear a long-sleeved shirt yesterday!

Trying to take full advantage of this weather, I spent the morning with N at our favorite coffee shop, Raging Sage, and then did some yard work. I love love love being outside in the yard. The Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha) are blooming right now and they are so beautiful. Purple and soft like velvet. I wish my Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) would bloom though. After all, it is Autumn!

Here are two pictures of the Mexican Sage to feast your eyes on:

The Non-felonius Cactophagy Expedition

I'm catching up a bit with this post, but thought it was still important to share. Mostly because it was so fun and resulted in something delicious.

A few weeks ago my architecture friend C invited N and I to "hunt" for Prickly Pear with which we would make a feast of all things bright pink. (Making food that was bright pink was not quite the intention, but it was an interesting consequence of cooking with this Sonoran desert fruit.)

The prickly pear adventures began in the Colonia Solana neighborhood, a higher-end neighborhood in Tucson that has fortunately left much of the native vegetation in tact. We were initially skeptical of searching for prickly pear in a neighborhood, especially one like this, but fortunately no one asked us what we were doing. We kept it on the down low and stuck to some of the alleys where, lucky for us, there was prickly pear galore.

After accumulating two paper bags full of fruit we thought, "this is probably enough." Well, let me tell you, this fruit goes a long way...it was more than enough. What proceeded was a 6 hour adventure in scrubbing, peeling, chopping, juicing, and baking. It left us with pink hands and lots of glochids, but the results were completely worth it. Here are some pictures of the process and the results.

Prickly Pear Butter

Prickly Pear Cobbler

If you would like the recipe for the cobbler, which was soooo good, here it is. It doesn't give a time to bake it or anything, but we just watched for the crust to turn brown.

3-1/2 cups of prickly pear pulp
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1 stick of margarine or butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar (for crust)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Place the pulp, cup of sugar, and water in a saucepan and boil (with stirring) until the sugar is completely dissolved ... then remove from heat and set aside. (This will be the filling.)

To prepare the crust, begin by putting the margarine (or butter) in a large baking casserole and placing the casserole— in turn—in the oven as it preheats to 350°. Then, in a clean bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, and vanilla together and pour the resulting mixture—which should have the consistency of pancake batter—into the hot casserole, atop the melted margarine (DO NOT STIR). Then—in the center of (and on top of) the crust mixture—pour the filling. (Here again, DO NOT STIR.)

Now slide the whole works into the 350° oven. During the baking period, the batter for the crust will actually rise over and completely cover the pie's filling. (yep...it's true.) The pie is done when the crust is completely brown.

Enjoy!

The barrel cactus in my front yard is blooming and it is AMAZING!
.....and a quote to end the day with......

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential and fight for your dreams." ~Ashley Smith

Madera Canyon

I'm about ready to go to bed...after reading 100 pages of literature on urban design and planning I am feeling pretty tired, but I wanted to share pictures of the hike N and I took today at Madera Canyon.

I was so in need of an escape to the fresh air of the mountains, and it was wonderful. There is nothing like the smell of a cool breeze with a hint of pine; especially because it was 101˙ in Tucson today.

The site and sound of the small creek that runs through the canyon was also refreshing. The sound it made through most of the hike was so soothing. I wish I could capture that sound and bring it home with me.
There were all sorts of different grasses in flower along the trail. N and I were commenting on how beautiful our native grasses are, and how we wish they were used more in urban and residential landscapes.


There were also many insects out today; it must be the perfect weather for them. We saw quite a few beautiful insects, but this one in particular amazed me with its colors.

There were also a bunch of black hairy caterpillars around...I was wondering if they are the larva of this insect? I am thinking it is a type of moth because of its antennae??? Hmmmmm....

No one could ever recreate this! ~Arches National Park

Michigan - The Place of My Heart

A few pictures from my trip home at the end of August...ahhhh...water...and big, green trees...

My dad's little wildlife patch...not all native, but the birds and bees love it...

Harvest moon in August

The heron fishes in the light of the early morning...