Blogs from North America - page 12

Today was dry. Yeah. We said good morning to a passel of 10 Gambrel Quail in our garden, and then we were off to Patagonia, a community very near the border with Mexico, along the Sonoita Creek. Paton’s Hummingbird Center is there, and that was our first stop. BTW, Tucson is about 2300’ elevation, Patagonia is 4000 (and Madera Canyon about 5000 the other day). Elevation really affects the varieties. Actually there are only 2 types of hummers here now, the tiny broadbill and the violet-crowned Hummingbiards. Staff had taken down all the seed feeders (!) because of increasing avian flu, but there were still birds in the pecan trees and shrubs. We learned about the symbiotic relationship between the Gila woodpeckers and Ladder-backed woodpeckers with the pine siskins. The woodpeckers broke open the pecan pods, ... read more

Who knew that Arizona could be so wet and cold? We flew into Phoenix on Thursday January 18th, as the national board meeting for Lutheran Marriage Encounter started that evening. But first…. After renting the car (a very low slung Corolla) we drove to Mesa for lunch at a Chihuahuan Mexican restaurant we’d seen described on 3Ds show. We passed on the trip and cow cheek tacos, but the calabazas tacos were amazing, David’s 2 varieties of pork and another very yummy, and the street corn the best we’ve ever had (haven’t had many, admittedly). Then drove maybe another 20 mins to the Gilbert Riparian Reserve, where we observed just under 40 species of birds. It was lovely weather, sunny, and in fact too hot for me in my jeans and long sleeved turtleneck. We had ... read more

My usual red suitcase that normally accompanies me on these trips emigrated to Canada recently with my brother and so due to cheapness, I took my sister's pink suitcase covers in flowers. I was confident I could make it to San Francisco without getting beaten up for such an unmasculine bag, if it was the Bible belt that would be another story. If parking at Dublin airport,have your QR code nearby. It's meant to read number plates however it doesn't work. The security guard advised me that it doesn't work when there is a lot parking, which turned out to be b.s. as it was never so empty!! On entering US pre-clearence; I found myself doing Trump impersonations in my mind. I had to remind myself this was not the place for it, though tempting it ... read more

Sticking to my word…..remember in our last blog I said we still owed you another blog covering the rest of December and half of January. Well, hunky-dory….here it is! Oh, Happy Days! One day in December, we enjoyed the company of our good friend, Mike. He used to live here at Tropical Palms. His site was right between us and Sam & Sandy’s. Oh, Lucky Mike….he must have been born under a lucky star! He was the perfect neighbor for both of us. But….but….he moved to Lake Magic a few years ago. Could it have been something we said or did? Jeez! He reassured us it wasn't us……yeah, right! Why was he laughing, applauding, kicking up his heels, singing happy tunes and shooting off fireworks the day left!! We still stay in touch. He came for ... read more

Today was a fun day! We dropped Millie off at doggy daycare where she got to spend the day running and having fun. Then Scott, James, and I went to the San Diego zoo. The weather could not have been more perfect. The animals were super active and it was a overall great day. The we picked Millie up and took her to Dog Beach. She had a great time running through the water chasing and being chased. We ended with dinner at Under Belly in downtown San Diego. ... read more