An Arizona Spring

Like a piece of Chocolate cake our Cactus blossoms don't last very long, but they are so lovely when they appear.

The top two photos are a Cholla.
The pink one is a Hedgehog Cactus and the yellow one is a Prickly Pear.





If these are familiar it's because I posted photos of the same plants a year ago. Some of you missed them so I am repeating posting photos of the blossoms in my neighborhood. (I am such a showoff.) I also tried out a new camera lens on the top four. I really can't tell the difference; it makes me wonder why I spent so much money on it.

I don't know the names of the last four cactus. They are in my neighbor's yard. The yellow and orange blossoms appear to be those of a variety of a Barrel Cactus.

An aside: Is anyone else having trouble commenting on some blogs now that you have to sign in with a specific title? I have tried using my Google account and it automatically diverts me to a Google sign in page. After signing in my comment vanishes. On some blogs I can sign in using my URL, but not on all of them. So if you didn't get a comment from me it was not for wont of trying. Sorry !!!

The Sonoran Desert

This will be the last of my series about showing Lynne the sights. The first picture was taken in the Desert Museum looking toward the Santa Rita Mountains. The middle cactus is an Ocotillo and on its right is a Cholla with Teddy Bear Chollas in the right hand corner. Saguaros are scattered throughout.

The next two photos were taken at Saguaro National Monument West. There are two Saguaro Monuments in Tucson; one on the East Side and this one on the West. I gave the details on Saguaros on the last post so if you didn't see it you can scroll down and read about them.





The final photo is a Rhinoceros found in the International Wildlife Museum. Too bad for the big guy because he is no longer living and has been stuffed; sort of like I feel after a Thanksgiving dinner. Lynne wanted to visit the Wildlife Museum en route to the Desert Museum. I was not thrilled about seeing it. Animals killed for trophies are definitely not my cup of tea. Even though I would not want to return, I did find it interesting and well done. The Big Horn Sheep are placed on a fake mountain and all animals are displayed in their natural setting. I took a photo of a Woolly Mammoth and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was a real animal. I did decide one thing after visiting the bear exhibit. I don't want to go sit on the ice floe. Those Polar bears are huge !!!!

Showing Lynne the Sights

My company left this morning and now I have time to post again. While I catch my breath I will be showing you some of the photos I took during our sight seeing trips.

The first one is of Lynne on the covered patio at San Xavier del Bac Mission. The next two are photos taken at the Mission. It is being restored and they are still re-plastering the exterior. Notice how white the left side is. The right side is waiting until they finish the back. The interior is finished and the paintings are vivid. I had photos of the interior on a previous blog. The next two photos are taken of the exterior of San Xavier.

This day was our Mission trip. If you want to view a photo of San Jose de Tumacacori you can find it on a previous post. I seem to be unable to add another photo to this post.

The last one is of the mountains near the Mexico border en route to Tumacacori.

Some facts about the Missions:

SAN XAVIER DEL BAC

San Xavier del Bac was originally built on a site several miles north of the current location. The site was named Bac, meaning "Place where water appears." Between January, 1692 and 1700 a Jesuit Father Eusibio Francisco Kino laid the foundations of the first church. It was destroyed by the Apache Indians in 1770 and the site was moved to the Presidio Tucson for protection where it is located now.

Charles III of Spain mistrusted the Jesuits and banned them from all Spanish lands in the Americas. The Franciscan order then took over the Missions.

The present church, fondly nicknamed The White Dove Of the Desert, was built in 1783-1797 with Indian labor and was established by Franciscan Fathers Juan Bautista Velderrain and Juan Bautista Llorenz. (Juan Bautista must have been popular names in those days.) It is considered to be the finest example of Spanish Mission architecture in the United States consisting of a seamless blend of Moorish, Byzantine, and late Mexican Renaissance architecture.

The missing tower is still a mystery. Some say an Indian fell to his death while constructing it, but the truth is still elusive. Other legends cite that unfinished buildings weren't taxed so the last bell tower was left unfinished.

The church is an active one serving the converted Christian O'odam tribe (formerly known as the Papagos) and is open to all for worship.


MISSION SAN JOSE DE TUMACACORI

Father Eusebio Francisco Kino founded Tumacacori in January, 1691. The original mission was on a different site, but was relocated to it's present site in 1751 after a rebellion by the O'odams Indians. The Franciscans restored it to it's present form in 1828.

FATHER EUSEBIO FRANCISCO KINO

Father Kino was born in Italy in 1645. He died in 1711 in Mexico. His birth surname was Chino. He founded 24 missions and country chapels in Northern Mexico and Southern Arizona. Father Kino traveled 50,000 sq. miles on horseback mapping an area 200 miles long and 250 miles wide. He was an astronomer, cartographer, and writer. He taught the Indians basic farming and brought seed and animals to them.

And thus ends our first sight seeing day. More tomorrow.

People At the Grand Canyon

I am working on a political post so today I will make it easy on myself and fill up space with more photos of my last trip to the Grand Canyon. I selected photos with people this time for a more human theme. It seems more appropriate after the latest news of having to evacuate the Indians and hikers from the bottom of the canyon after a mud dam broke.

The top photo is of a comedian who entertained us on the train. The cars are old, the seats close together and the aisles narrow. This guy was in our car for a long time and had moved toward the end of the car when I needed to use the facilities that were beyond him. I walked up the aisle and he didn't know I was behind him wanting to get by. Since he was well into his patter I didn't want to interrupt.

Each car on the train had an attendant in period costume. Ours was a very handsome piano player in the dress suit worn in the Gay Nineties. He saw my dilemma and quietly came down the
aisle to where I was standing and pinched the
entertainer on the butt. Without missing a beat the comedian whirled around and said, "Did you do that Maam?" I think my face turned a lovely shade of hot pink and I tried to avoid looking at all those laughing faces who were finding this episode to be the funniest thing said.

The next photo shows a couple of white haired buddies (I honestly don't know if it's two women or a man and woman).

The next photo is of a cliff house. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can get a better view of the visitors.

The final photo shows our companions from the bus walking up to view a monument. I can't tell you what is on the plaque because I decided that the path was too rocky for me to navigate with my poor sense of balance.

More Cactus Blossoms

Today is a busy one; therefore my post will be more photos. The one above was taken yesterday and is of a Barrel Cactus. The bottom ones are of a Prickly Pear Cactus and the photos were taken in May. All are in my front yard.

I'm sure many of you know that jelly, jam and candy are made from the Prickly Pear fruit. My husband even made wine from it a couple of years. I thought it was ghastly, but he was proud of his efforts. I bravely smiled and drank it because I knew how much work he had put into it. I think I deserve a medal of some sort for my bravery.

Arizona Flowers

Although these flowers are not exclusive to the desert they do well here and provide a change from cactus. These bushes are in my yard or near my house. The one above is Oleander. It is poisonous, but very hardy. It's next to the wall of my front enclosed patio.

The middle one is red Honeysuckle and is by the mail box.

The last one is Texas Ranger and I have three plants in my back yard.

(If only I could learn how to compose the photos and the text without losing a photo I would enjoy this project more.)

T

Cactus Blooms

Cactus blooms don't last long, but they put on a grand show while they do. This is a Cholla (choy-ya). A fuzzy variety is nicknamed a Teddy Bear Cactus.



This is an Ocotillo (0ck-0h-tea-ya) and is quite tall. It usually blooms in May.


The final one is my favorite. I think it's a hedge hog, but am not sure. It is in a neighbor's yard and I want one in mine.

This will be a short post because I am working on my Sunday rant on politics.
Sorry about the hieroglyphics in yesterday's post. I don't know what happened or how to fix it. Will I ever learn?

Fly Me To the Moon

Last month I read that the following night was going to be spectacular if you watched the moon come up. The word was that it was the one night, due to an optical illusion, that the rising moon would look huge.

With the words of Dean Martin's classic song, When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore, running through my head I went out early, camera in hand, ready to take a photo of the phenomenon. I was determined to get the photo of the century that would establish my credentials as a photographer par excellence. The time the moon was to put in an appearance was 7:32 pm here.

Determined to not miss this shot I was standing by my light post, camera poised, at 7:25 pm. That moon wasn't going to fool me by coming up early.

Minutes passed while neighbors out walking looked at me with puzzled expressions that said, "What is this crazy old woman doing out there leaning on her lamp post?" I guess they thought that I had finally gone 'round the bend.' Or maybe they thought I had had 'tee many martoonies'.

Undeterred, I waited and waited. 7:35 - no moon. 7:40 - no moon. I frantically went to the back yard for a better view. No moon in sight. Back to the front yard again. At long last - I finally viewed the moon.

Above is the photo of that stubborn moon. Not a huge moon, not an award winning shot, but just a moon between the trees.

As luck would have it, I had been looking in the wrong direction. Because houses and trees blocked my view of the horizon I would never have been able to get that award winning shot from my house even if I had known where to look.

I guess this will have to be filed under 'missed opportunities.' The only problem is, I think that file is full.

Arizona Sunsets

This morning I opened the shutters and viewed the clouds turning a pale pink. To start the day with such a lovely sight made me glad to be alive.

This started me musing about other beautiful scenes that nature displays. What is it about sitting on a beach watching the waves crash or being by a gurgling brook in a mountain setting that can give one a feeling of peace and utter contentment? To watch a butterfly land on a beautiful flower is a vision more beautiful than any painting in the Louvre.

Our connection with nature is inbred and very strong. When I return to my home in Colorado Springs I am greeted by Pikes Peak and it's as if I am seeing an old friend. It is inexplicable to me, but mother nature calls us to her and there is no escape. We don't really want to free ourselves from her pull for she is very nurturing and loving at times like these.

The last photo of my sunsets is taken from the front of my house looking down the street as the sunset begins to unfold. The other scenes are taken from my back yard as a different sunset progresses.

Tumacacori Mission

This is the first Arizona Mission founded by Father Kino in 1691. It is now a ruins. The name comes from two Pima Indian words; chu-uma and kakel. (Don't ask me how they got Too-ma-cock-or-ee from that.)

In 1751 the Pima Indians rebelled and the Mission was moved to it's present site south of Tucson.

The only time I visit our tourist attractions is when I have out of town company. I suppose that's true of most of us. Last March a dear friend from Massachusetts was here and we did most of the touristy things including Tumacacori. The photos I am showing you are the ones I took then.

We had just moved to Arizona the first time I saw this building . Then it was badly eroding and was a crumbling adobe church. It is now part of the National Park System and the adobe has been stabilized, as you can see on the front and sides of the building. The bell tower was never completed. The outer buildings have all disappeared; only the foundations remain.

Many years ago when we returned from Massachusetts we had another visitor from that state. She came in the middle of the summer and the heat was brutal. I took her to see this mission. The church is not air conditioned and after we walked to the church and back she was dehydrated and asked the Park Ranger, "Where's the bubbler?" Of course it came out, "Where's the bubbla?" I will never forget the perplexed look on the poor Ranger's face. I quickly informed him that she was looking for the drinking fountain.

Sometimes our regional colloquialisms get us in trouble. My son, Mark, missed out on a lot of Coca Colas because of that. When we first moved to Massachusetts he was a teenager and the kids invited him for a tonic. He thought they meant the kind of tonic water you use in a gin and tonic. For many months he declined the invitations until he finally discovered that was their term for soda.

I hope you are enjoying my Arizona photos. More on Tumacacori tomorrow. I still can't find out how to put them all in the same blog. It should be simple I know. Oh well, I never was very good at following instructions.

San Xavier del Bac

This Mission was founded by Father Kino, a Jesuit Priest. It was built by Indians converted to Christianity by Father Kino. Improper repairs and lack of funds had let the Mission fall into disrepair. Fortunately a group was formed to save the Mission and it is now being restored to it's original glory. This interior photo shows the careful restoration of the murals that was done by art experts from Italy. It is an active Mission and is on the Tohono Chul reservation. The Indians worship there to this day.

This view is looking toward the main altar which is very colorful.

If I could figure out how to add more photos without starting a new post I would show you more of "The White Dove Of The Desert". That's the nickname for San Xavier. Tomorrow I will add another photo.