Tag Archives: Arizona

Five Years Ago

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Cactus Arizona sunset
Sunset in the neighborhood.

Five years ago this week we moved from sunny Palm Springs, California to sunny Arizona!

I wrote several posts about leaving my home of 28 years. It was stressful, sad, yet exciting. We had some snafus along the way. The movers didn’t bring a large enough moving van for all our stuff. They had to rent a U Haul. With everyone leaving California, they couldn’t find one close by. They had to rent one from San Diego.

We arrived in our new home without our stuff. (But we had a sedated Olive kitty, who was not a good traveler.) Fortunately, we had purchased the furniture in the casita from the prior owners, so we had a place to sleep! And I smartly packed bedding in one of our cars, plus overnight bags with changes of clothing.

Our stuff eventually caught up with us.

Here’s one of the posts from five years ago:

Moving On To Excitement

The past month, I’ve been all over the place emotionally. I’ve been through shock, disbelief, sadness, regret and anxiety. But I woke up today and I’ve moved on. I’m feeling the anticipation of a new adventure. I haven’t moved since 1992 and I’m excited for a new experience.

I don’t know what happened to change my point of view. It may be that the escrows are going well and it looks like all will close this week on both ends of the move. So that takes a chunk out of the anxiety. We worked really hard the past two weeks, packing, throwing stuff out and making daily trips to Angel View Thrift Store — and the end is in sight.

I wish my daughter would come and help us move. But with the state in a new COVID shut down until after Christmas, she viewed the flight home and driving one of our cars to Arizona for us as not “essential.” Of course, I viewed that differently. But I do understand. She doesn’t want to get us old folks sick. She doesn’t want to get her brother and significant other sick, either.

We were surprised by one of our dear Piranha Swim Team family friends who offered to help us out. They volunteered to drive one of our cars. We didn’t even have to ask. That makes me appreciate the life we’ve had here, the friendships that are so true and valuable.

We’ve been blessed and I am ready to move on, knowing those friendships will continue.

fountain with plants
Our Palm Springs yard all prettied up for sale.

What moves have you made? Did you experience mixed emotions?

What were you doing five years ago?

“All good things must come to an end”

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I was looking through my “bird folder” and found a few photos I really liked but didn’t remember taking. They are from April and May. I brightened them up in Adobe Camera Raw and cropped them.

“All Good Things Must Come to and End” is a line attributed to Chaucer, a 14th century English poet. It seems fitting for my life right now.

First, I decided to no longer serve on the board of my women’s group. Then I learned a few weeks ago that the organization is caput. I believe it lasted for more than 30 years and I’ve been involved for about three. I was in charge of communication for membership and for the public, promoting our work and events. The group post COVID had dropped in membership from 200 to 20. Plus a lot of women are getting older. It just wasn’t feasible anymore.

Next, I decided to resign from the HOA newsletter. I worked on the newsletter for four years. I enjoyed it, but a new board was micromanaging and it was no longer a joyful experience.

Does anyone know what type of bird this is? I’ve only seen it once. I’m glad I got a photo.

I had my last photography class last week for the semester. I’ve really enjoyed it and have learned so much. There are five other students who have taken the class for three to nine years. I’m the newbie and this was my first semester. I thought this was going to be an ongoing experience for me. In our last class, I was the last person to present my final project, which I posted HERE.

Then the professor said he had some business to go over. He said the community college may be discontinuing the class. He won’t know for sure until January. So this too may pass.

A Harris’s hawk taking off.

The class is over zoom and there was complete silence when we heard the news. Apparently a student in another one of the professor’s classes was causing trouble for him. He didn’t go into detail, but said the other issue is low attendance. The advanced workshop is by invitation only. It’s not open enrollment. The group is very cohesive and everyone is talented and open to improving and trying new things.

There’s nothing I can do but wait for the New Year and find out if I have a class or not.

Mourning dove landing on the fence.

What good things in your life have come to an end?

A Carefree Visit on Easy Street

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This is a view of the park we have in the center of the little town of Carefree, population 3,672. There’s a playground, the Carefree Desert Gardens and one of the largest sundial’s in the country. Friday means that I visit Carefree for the farmer’s market. I look forward to that each fall when the weather cools down and I can buy fresh veggies. (All photos are from my iphone, except for the one of the sundial which I googled and snagged off the internet.)

The Carefree Sundial located on Easy Street in the Carefree city center is 35 feet tall. Oh yes, it works!

This is the slide at the playground. I was surprised one Friday morning to see my outgoing, social neighbor with her little fluffy white dog Rascal going down the slide over and over. Rascal going down the slide that is, not my neighbor.

There is artwork throughout Carefree’s city center. I’ve taken a few photos of the sculptures found throughout the circle on Easy Street.

We purchased this sculpture for our house, of course in a more practical size. It was made by a local Carefree artist and only 10 of the smaller statues were made.

A bit of Carefree history.

The Carefree city center has water features, too, which is a welcome sight in the desert. My DIL, who went with me to the farmer’s market on a visit commented on how water is a priceless item in a desert, hence it’s prominent feature in the town. Words of wisdom.

I hope you enjoyed my tour of Carefree and the sights on Easy Street.

Happy Friday! What plans do you have for the weekend?

I had to add “Carefree Highway” from Gordon Lightfoot to this post.

Birds and the Berkeley Bowl

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“There goes the neighborhood.” Mrs. leaves the birdseed block when a neighbor takes over.

While I’m up in the San Francisco area taking care of my children, I didn’t bring my camera or lenses. I did have some photos downloaded to my laptop of Red and Mrs. that I didn’t get a chance to look at before I left home.

I have taken a few photos with my iphone at my favorite grocery store called Berkeley Bowl, which was built in a former bowling alley, hence the name. I’ve written about Berkeley Bowl before HERE.

Here are a few views from Berkeley Bowl this week. Look at this variety of pumpkins at the entrance to the grocery store!

Sweet potatoes anyone?

Pomagranites, melons, apples and more.

More backyard bird buddies:

I was pleasantly surprised with how crisp and clear my photos of Red, Mrs. and a Mourning Dove turned out. I took these the day before I left to take care of my daughter.

Mrs. and her new pal Papa Quail. He doesn’t want to leave her side!

What a handsome guy! I worry that when I’m out of town, my Red and Mrs. will leave. My husband has assured me that he’s making sure they are well fed. They should be in my backyard when I come home.

A Mourning Dove fluffs up his feathers after a rain.

Happy Friday everyone! What plans do you have for the weekend? What’s your weather like?

Trouble in Paradise

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I watched a coyote scurry on the outside of our fence. I got one photo of his face, but he was moving fast and it’s blurry. This was the only one in focus. We also saw three coyotes on a morning walk this week, darting between houses. FYI, my story has nothing to do with coyotes.

My husband and I walked down our driveway to start our morning walk. I noticed the recycling bin on our curb had a pink note attached to it. Two neighbors walked by at that moment.

“We’re in trouble now!” I said.

“What?” they stopped and asked.

“We got a pink slip from the garbage police.”

I quickly read through the pink slip and discovered we were getting our first warning for not having the lid down all the way. We had a box that stuck up above the lid line. After three warnings, they said they’d stop our service!

“I didn’t know they looked at our trash,” the neighbor said.

While we were walking through the neighborhood, I noticed a handful of pink slips on recycling bins. We weren’t the only violators.

We walked by another neighbor who was walking her chihuahua Duke. I said, “It looks like a lot of neighbors are getting written up by the recycling cops.”

“Don’t get me started,” she said. “I’ve been written up twice. Then the supervisor of the garbage company knocked on my front door!”

We stood there incredulous.

The supervisor told her that our city is the worst in the state for garbage violations. He also said she had broken a number of rules, including not separating her newspapers and putting them in a plastic bag, as well as not breaking down cardboard boxes enough. I’ve never before heard about newspapers needing to be separated from other recycling.

“We especially have our eye on you!” he said as he left.

Other troubles in Paradise? I’ll save the stories for another day. Thankfully, nothing major at all. Life is good.

The last of three coyotes we saw run between neighbors’ homes. The neighbor who lives here said he saw a pack of seven run by this week. Earlier in the week he saw three Mule Deer.

What do your recycling rules entail? Happy Friday! What are your weekend plans?

Favorite Photos of the Week

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I liked the finch on a flamingo because of the light and background. The flamingos were a birthday present a few years ago from friends. At first I didn’t know what I’d do with them, but they’ve become a highlight of my photos and backyard.

Here’s Red underneath a bench in our backyard.

Mourning Dove loves to rest on top of the same bench. One day he/she was there for hours.

This is a bouquet of glass flowers on our outdoor fireplace. The prior owners of our house left them with us. I like the morning light on the edge of the fireplace and glass flowers. A hummingbird visits the flowers every morning to try and get some nectar.

Red stuffing himself while standing under the flamingo. Those two poles behind him are the flaming’s legs.

Mrs. found a perfect perch on a flaming’s head. She often stops there while grabbing a bite of seeds.

Our skies normally are bright blue. I’ve enjoyed a few cloudy days.

Seriously, Red asks. You’re still taking pictures of me?

Which photos do you like of the ones I posted this week?

Birds and a Chipmunk

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Red looking majestic in our backyard tree.

Now that I’m back home and have my camera, I’ve been taking photos when something interesting pops up in my backyard. From my cardinal couple, quail, finches and roadrunner, there’s been lots of action. Throw in a few chipmunks and I’ve taken a lot of pictures!

I’m impressed with this chipmunk’s balance on two legs.

I think this sweet bird is a female house finch?

This roadrunner actually laid down in our yard, waiting for prey. He had his eye on the chipmunk but left without any luck.

Mrs. staring at me taking while I took her picture.

Red found himself fending off quail to get a bite of birdseed.

Another shot of the roadrunner. Isn’t he beautiful?

Do you have a favorite of my backyard buddy pics? If so, which one?