Arizona vacation???

It has been hard to get my head around writing blogs about what we are doing down here. It's been a busy time with a lot of things we had to get done. We have only gotten in three desert hikes which is unusually low but the energy simply isn't there for taking a long hike and coming back here to do the work. It has, however, been a very rewarding time with a lot of things accomplished-- some planned and many not.

Every time I am in Tucson and at this house, I am reminded how much I love it. I don't know what pleases me most about this space. It's balanced, sits in desert, is visited by many desert creatures and yet is still convenient to stores when necessary. It has a spiritual feeling which my saying might offend non-spiritually inclined readers, but it's the best word I can think of to express what I feel when I am here and that's not in a religious sense-- new agey or otherwise.


This is a very creative space, the land and the home. It has grown even more so with the work we have done this trip. If you are suspicious of anything that isn't biological, don't read the rest of this paragraph *s*. This time the house let us know a lot of things that would make it nicer, stronger, more pleasing. Maybe it enjoys being shared by renters. If you think that sounds too far out, sorry; but I do feel the house let us see a lot of things that should be done which doesn't mean it has a ghost or spirit that speaks verbally, but the vibes are there, one thing revealed another for what would be good next. Maybe feng shui simply revealed one more thing as something else would happen.


The cactus are blooming everywhere which is always a lovely time to be here. The palo verde are likewise full of yellow blossoms. Temps are between the mid-80s F. to now mid-90s which makes mornings and evenings the best time for getting work done. Naps for me have often been afternoon fare as we tend to wake up at first light which is about 5 AM.


Our first set of jobs involved getting the three back rooms ready for carpet layers to strip out the old (boy did it look bad) and install new. We took our time moving out all the furniture and of course, after the carpets were installed, we had to reverse the job. Much as I miss my cats, and boy do I, I am glad they hadn't come as they would have hated the drive and then to get here with all that disruption would have been even more horrifying.

Arranging for that carpet job had to all be done before we arrived; so we were taking a bit of a risk with what we chose, but it worked so well with the colors in the house and the new bedding we had brought down for the two queen beds.

Then came one of the first tasks that we hadn't planned when we saw that the den needed a better desk. I don't know why we didn't see that earlier but we went shopping. Now it looks like a real den, not a makeshift space. It would be a wonderful place to write a book although it actually is Farm Boss's space when he's here. I write in a back corner of the living room. Actually it's a perfect arrangement for two writers.

Most of the hardest work since that has been outside with cutting back plants that have been too ambitious and removing freeze damaged plants (we still have to get the canopy off the truck and take all of that to the landfill). The bougainvillea doesn't look good at all, sparse sprouts of green at the base. That was the biggest winter plant loss for me as they are usually so lovely. I hate to dig them out though until we know they can't come back as they have been here many years.

We had decided to remove the diving board and when we told our neighbor, he told us that made him very happy as he said when people have one in a small pool with a steep incline up from the deepest part, when the diver jumps out, they hit the slope up and break their necks. So removing it was both an issue of wisdom and looks.


As Farm Boss was working in one area, he found that we had a sunken, stone patio that had been covered by dirt. It was a lot of work to scrape the dirt off but has added a nice space for reading on a warm afternoon as that's below the pepper tree and pretty much has shade all day to some degree. It also has a fire pit which we will have to be sure we warn renters to only use with briquettes as mesquite trees are above it.


To further secure the fenced pool area, we had brought down a role of tight wire which Farm Boss put wherever small animals could escape. Since we are a pet friendly house, that will give the owners another secure zone for their pets to be safe. The risk of letting them be on open desert, besides all the thorns, would also put them potentially alongside coyotes, bobcats, and javelina (We've seen all three this trip but only the javelina stuck around long enough for a photo).


Going along with the improvements in the pool area, we bought a second table and chairs which has required redoing one of the brick surfaces where it had deteriorated making it not level enough for a table.

As an example of how one thing has led to another, in the pool enclosure, we have some spaces that plants just won't grow with too much clay right under the sand. We started looking for cement garden sculptures. I have several on the farm.


Then the plan changed when we came across these rusted metal sculptures. We bought two little ones and went back later for the big one. I think they were made in Mexico and imported to Tucson. They were nothing we had originally thought of being able to afford; but we got a good deal and they fit the feel of the house. Now instead of the pool area having these lost spaces where trying to grow a plant only led to its demise, the spaces have meaning and purpose.

From all of this, I have gotten a little sunburn, some sore muscles. Farm Boss has more. It is a good kind of sore though. It has limited the chances to go hiking or do anything else I normally like down here-- such as we have not yet been out to the Desert Museum. I am not sure if we will make it there at all which is too bad since we are members making it free to go; but it also is 25 miles from here and until we have this all done, it's not on the agenda. In fact, I am amazed how little we have actually gotten away from the jobs involving the house.

Anyway I am taking photos and will get more together somewhere for those who like to see them all (which might not happen until we are back in Oregon). Second blog from here coming on something interesting that happened on one of those few desert hikes.

(All photos taken at our Tucson home.)