Discussions or Arguments

 

Tonto National Monument, Arizona, April 2011

I had some ideas for this blog; then read what is below. I don't know for sure if the person it claims said it (you never do these days), but the words are right on for our times. Don't avoid all difficult discussions, when they are discussions where you can both express your thoughts and when needed, let it go at the end. 

This image of a hanging garden, on the trail down to the natural bridge, seemed apropos about a discussion that bears fruit.

Anyway, here's  who said it (maybe) and the quote.

~~~~~~~~~~

Helen Mirren once said:

Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective. Because if not, there's absolutely no point.

 

Not every argument is worth your energy. Sometimes, no matter how clearly you express yourself, the other person isn’t listening to understand—they’re listening to react. They’re stuck in their own perspective, unwilling to consider another viewpoint, and engaging with them only drains you.

 

There’s a difference between a healthy discussion and a pointless debate. A conversation with someone who is open-minded, who values growth and understanding, can be enlightening—even if you don’t agree. But trying to reason with someone who refuses to see beyond their own beliefs? That’s like talking to a wall. No matter how much logic or truth you present, they will twist, deflect, or dismiss your words, not because you’re wrong, but because they’re unwilling to see another side.

 

Maturity isn’t about who wins an argument—it’s about knowing when an argument isn’t worth having. It’s realizing that your peace is more valuable than proving a point to someone who has already decided they won’t change their mind. Not every battle needs to be fought. Not every person deserves your explanation.

 

Sometimes, the strongest thing you can do is walk away—not because you have nothing to say, but because you recognize that some people aren’t ready to listen. And that’s not your burden to carry.

Writing and Emotions

 

While the world has gone on with many issues impacting many lives, mine stays much the same. It's one of the advantages of being old maybe. Some panic regarding that too, of course. Will Social Security continue, Medicare, investments, pensions, how about bank accounts? And the always reliable thing to fret over-- will crime hit my street or my family? 

For a writer, it's not hard to escape into other worlds, ones we created, and have some control over. If a black swan hits my characters, I am there to deal with it. Of course, there is the nervousness that always goes with-- what will be the next sentence or did that make sense for the characters to do? At least though it's something I have some control over... kind of. It takes me into an imaginary world and out of the one so many people are flipping out over.

With the books I have written (30 at this point), most are novel length with a few exceptions that were novellas. With one series, eight Arizona western historicals, set between 1883 and 1905, I ran into trouble with changing their titles one too many times. I have earlier written how that happened due to not reading Amazon's emails with new rules regarding title changing. Oops.

What I hadn't realized then was that when Amazon pulled my books or I did, they would also disappear from readers' devices. Ack!  I have notified those who had earlier purchased these books, that I'd send them the new versions, when they came out, at no cost to them. 

Except for it doing that to readers, there was an advantage for me. I could edit and improve the stories, adding more scenes that I saw would be beneficial. I was in no hurry to bring them back out after having all eight to do. I still didn't know better ways to promote them. Another drawback was I lost all their reviews. Nothing I could do about that. Getting new reviews has been difficult to impossible as they came out. Many readers don't like to do reviews. 

Today, with the five I now have out, with their new series name, Winds of Change, I still have had no idea how to promote. Marketing is not something I am good at. With the new versions, their titles were either totally changed or tweaked to satisfy Amazon rules. Never again not reading emails from Amazon.

I actually enjoyed the editing and had them also edited by Ranch Boss, who is good at looking to the masculine side of what happens. Men are an important part of my stories and usually have a point of view. Ranch Boss also does the technical side of publishing and running the few ads we run for books, some of which have never had an ad, hence the Amazon black hole is their fate. 

The historical novels ran 80,000+ to 100,000+ words. They have improved covers to fit their new titles. I had esited five of them last spring. Because of our being in no hurry to bring them back out, I was in no hurry to edit the next three. 

The two novellas, which I had originally seen as being better if shorter, because so many readers today like fast reads. Except, as I edited them, I was dissatisfied with the length of their stories, felt there was more to tell. I had the same feeling regarding their covers. They were pretty enough, but I wanted the lovers on the covers. 

That presented a problem, in the main sites I have been using, there are very few images of middle-aged or older people. The sites mostly go for younger models. Fortunately, several sites, which I had first bought into, did have older faces possible to use. I won't go into details here, as that's not what the blog about, but I got my couples, the first one below here. It's now a book long enough to be a novel, but not as long as the other novels in this series. I though was able to bring to the book the additions that added to my interest in writing it-- and hope it will for readers, whenever we figure out how to let them know. *s*

The images on the cover came from one of ours and others I had purchased. On the title page, credit is always given as to from where the pieces have come.

When enlarging a book, I had earlier published as a novella, I ran into an aspect of writing, that readers might also experience. How the scenes, the chapters and their emotions can impact our own lives. I don't always have that happen when I create characters, but maybe because these were older, I related more to their issues.

For me, the hardest emotionally can be when I need to have a very nice, even beloved, character die. i might know it would happen, even should, to feel right for the story, but it's still hard. The most satisfying, emotionally, is when love works out, maybe a wedding, but more important is when the couple commit themselves to each other. 

One thing I never do is kill off a pet or a horse/donkey/mule. I don't even like to read books or watch films that do that. Yes, it also happens in life, but emotionally, I don't want to live with the pathos. If I have to accept a beloved animal has died of old age, it will happen between books. I'm not saying it makes for superior writing. It's just how the emotions work for me-- positive and negative.

Next blog, I'll write about the second enlarged, novella. These two couples do know each other but their romances are five years apart. There are important differences despite similar ages. The cultural times are similar, but the four characters have different economic levels and pasts. 

For this one, Rose's Gifts, both hero and heroine had been in the three books ahead of theirs. They were not, at least in my thinking, a couple that others might expect to fall in love. That's the fun of being a writer, who is open to such possibilities. I've written before about the enjoyment for me of writing a series and that all came to play with this book, more a "relationship novel' probably than a generic romance for the issues that arose.

For more about Rose's Gifts, check out the link for the blurb and the free sample. I especially like the cover now, as bringing an older couple to a story was a challenge but also fun. Their experiences and expectations, through lifetimes, were woven into the plot.

This link is to Amazon, but alongside here are the Universal Links, for those who prefer to buy from other sites.

Rose's Gifts for Kindle 

 

 

 

Mr. Tarantula and the Spider Woman

  

 Although last week was not the first time we saw a tarantula here, it was the most recent; and we'd been concerned about why not; writing about it led to some research. I knew the basics, but these are interesting spiders with multiple varieties and some behavior patterns I had not known.   The recent pictures are below as I know some people are afraid of spiders and instead I have photos of Spider Woman on top. Why she is 'Spider Woman' is in the story.

What I learned is that female tarantulas can live up to 30 years but the males usually just 10. The males right now are on the hunt for a mate and in some states like New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, they can seem to be in massive numbers as they cross roads.

The tarantula photographed below is likely a male due to it being black. We don't think it is the Desert Tarantula as it would be brown. Instead it looked like the Tucson Bronze Tarantula, which the article said mostly is found in New Mexico. Males are black and females brown or tan. It's known to be gentle and often the one made into a pet. No thanks for me, but I like seeing them outside. There are ten species of tarantulas in the United States.

The hair on their bodies actually can be weapons if they are being attacked as they evidently throw them like a spear. There are spiders that are dangerous to humans, but they are not the tarantulas in this country. We decide something is evil often by how it appears. That's not always a good way to judge...

The stories below come from when we first bought Casa Espiritu. That was over twenty years ago and Ranch Boss was working at the company where  he'd been for 24 years and then as a consultant for a variety of start up companies. That meant we didn't live here all the time; and sometimes, I lived here alone while he was at the farm or on business trips.

At Casa Espiritu, I had various jobs to do outside. One involved cleaning out the outdoor wildlife pool and then cementing some holes in it. As I did it, I moved the sculpture you saw above. (At that time, I did sculptures of all sizes, she is one of the largest. I had to shape her in two pieces; so she could be fired in our kiln. Her clay is 'high-fire' for outdoor works. She came with us to Tucson). 

When I moved her, an angry tarantula scurried out from underneath as it had been his or her home. I quickly restored the sculpture where it had been and apologized. That's when the sculpture got its name, very apropos for Native American mythology-- Spider Woman. I don't know if the tarantula ever returned but she was used by other small critters over the years, one of whom gnawed the hole you now see in the photo.

My second adventure with a tarantula came out by our swimming pool where I was watering the plants. I saw a tarantula being chased by a Tarantula Hawk. Knowing these large wasps kill tarantulas, I turned my hose into a spray and let the wasp have a big dose, allowing the spider to at least escape that time.

I knew that the way the wasps killed them seemed brutal to me. They  inject a poison into the tarantula that paralyzes it legs and pincers, then it would drag its body to its burrow where it'd lay its egg in it. When the baby hatched, it would eat the still living tarantula... I know everything has to live but ugh. I did give a scant concern to it turning on me, but that's why I hit it long and hard. I've read they hurt when they sting humans, but they don't paralyze or kill us.

Our most recent sighting of a tarantula was outside my window when Ranch Boss saw it, staring in. He got the camera and took some photos. I suppose it was out looking for a mate. Although it didn't seem to mind being photographed, it also didn't hang around. Mostly they live underground except when looking for prey or a mate.

Here is a link to more info on them if you are not spider avoiders.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13781945/Thousands-male-tarantulas-three-states-mate-female.html

Rose- The Professional Homemaker

 

When beginning a new book, the idea of theme is important but also who will be the characters. Back when it was time to start this book, I wanted a senior romance for a novella. I also wanted at least one character from the first three books in the Arizona historical series. Turned out, I found two, along with other characters returning in secondary roles.

First came Rose, who I had loved for her caring qualities. She is referred to in the first book but is actively in the next two. As a woman who has dedicated her life to caring for another family, along with her husband James, she seemed interesting to me as well as a woman who deserved a happily ever after ending. 

She had been a homemaker, nanny and carer for Priscilla to the point she became a second mother to her. Priscilla had married and moved to a border ranch, Where Rose and James joined them until James grew ill. Priscilla helped them return to Tucson, got them a small cottage and continued to pay for their lives. When James died, Rose cared for her small home and the larger one still owned by Priscilla. She found a quiet life with friends to play cards and chat. It seemed all she would want until along came a disruption.

Ollie, a rather unlikely hero, was a secondary character in all three earlier books. An aging outlaw, mostly retired, he had admired Rose but did nothing about it while she was married and then went through a healing process. He didn't want to wait too long though, as he figured more men would see her as he did. In his late 50s, he wasn't too old to not want passion in a relationship. How would that work with Rose's stable life?

Hence begins Rose's Gifts, with a few surprises along the way. 

Rose's Gifts at Amazon

and through Universal Links

For anyone interested in finding Ollie and Rose in earlier books, along with their families, they can be found in the first three in what is now called the Winds of Change series. The links are alongside this blog to both Amazon and those other links.

There is a trailer along the original title before the book had to be withdrawn over a need for changes. The trailer tells a bit more about the story and it didn't change when it came back.

Rose's Gifts-- YouTube Trailer

Titling a book

 

If you have never written a book, you have no idea how difficult finding titles can be. You want one that suits the book but also alerts its potential readers. It's not easy. The series name is to tell those readers that there is more if they so wish.

We have found some of my books worked for their titles from the start... but some not so much and we changed them. Something Amazon had allowed. Such a change had come when in December of 2021 we felt we needed something different for the Arizona historicals-- something that indicated they were more than romances. Ranch Boss came up with the idea, which led to shortening the titles also to something that didn't define the genre but did give a hint of the theme. We made the change in February of 2022 with no problems.  

What sounded like it should be interesting turned out not so much or readers, who saw nothing in them to convince them to try something maybe different. We stuck with it for a while; but come the end of 2022, we decided to shift back to a more romance oriented title but different than we had previously tried for this series (I know that sounds confusing. It was for me too). That was the beginning of trouble which taught me some new lessons-- none of which related to titles, subtitles or series names...

 First-- read the messages from Amazon when they come in. Neither of us had done that and they stated firmly that it was no longer possible to change titles or subtitles on books already out there. They would follow the guidelines for ISBN-- no changes after publishing. We had made the above change before the new rules. The new ones were now 'the' books. They refused to accept our desired changes-- though, they might've been sympathetic-- to a point!

I won't go into all the frustration that led to for us and them-- all of which could have been avoided if we we had just read that notice. It ended with us finally reading it and learning we had one option. It said, to change titles, pull the books, make changes and submit them to Amazon as new books. Because I made a further mistake, Amazon blocked the first book in the series. Guess they were tired of seeing our questions regarding what they had previously answered.

 Second lesson was something only I had to learn, as Ranch Boss already knew it, pay more attention to the meaning of subtitles. I saw it more connected to the series, but it's to the title-- as it says. A subtitle gives the reader a further clue as to what the book has for a dominant theme. He had done this for other books (after he'd taken some classes),
but I had missed the boat for what I understood. It's an important one.

 

What I have to do, and am in no hurry to do it, is sufficiently edit each of the books. I already came up with a better ending for the first one as one reviewer had earlier said it appeared to end too abruptly. In my writing it, I had thought all issues had been resolved, but it'll be easy to expand that ending in a way that might satisfy such critics who wanted something more.

 

 We can still notify previous buyers, in the blurb, that it's a returning title-- even though it's new.  Editing, for me, is actually fun as I always see how I can find better ways to say things. The books won't qualify as abridged as I don't want to substantially shorten them. So, what is a good word when they are reedited?  Maybe just that, as I've seen it done by other authors. I think the first of these will be out in two months *fingers crossed*, as we are in no hurry and then maybe one a month after that. 

 

The first one does have a new title in our minds-- but that could change. We have some ideas for the series name-- as we try to come up with titles we can live with forever. Lucky I was not working on the new book right now as my calendar is free :)

Is there a lesson beyond the books? I'd say-- pay more attention to rules. This is particularly true when we are bombarded by information, or is it? Also be aware of the meaning of words to use them properly-- again when we are bombarded by words... Everything doesn't have such immediate consequences but they can. All photos are from our Arizona home.

Why a blog

 Since it's only me writing here, as it was for many years, I don't need to say by... I thought I might write a bit about why I have done blogs. It's been a lot of years. I think I began in 2004, but felt it wasn't going anywhere, as I had no feel for it, stopped it, then found someone had taken my 'name' when I decided to try again. And this one, since 2006 has continued and will continue. 

Why do a blog?

For me, it's about communication and sharing. It's about my ideas but also those who come across the words. I don't do much to bring readers here, as in reading a ton of other blogs. I count on putting out ideas that will attract those looking for such ideas. I avoid using keywords that might draw trolls. Nobody should want trolls as they aren't about ideas but about destruction. Why is that fun? I have no idea.

Blogs are not just about the writer but those who come to read the words. I feel a responsibility to them. I though have never done a memoir type blog where I tell readers all that is going on with my marriage or family. There are such blogs but I never wanted my blog to be about my personal life-- instead, my ideas, oh yea, definitely that.

This blog draws from nearly a thousand viewers to a hundred with very few who comment. I suspect that's because I don't comment other places-- with a few exceptions. What you put out, you get back--mayb.

It will change over the next months as my life will-- this time, it's about me. We are heading north with a new vacation trailer (new to us) as we have to live in it for a few months. I'll write more about that in the future as we leave our Arizona home and head back to the Oregon farm. More next Saturday on the trailer that will take us north...

Changing Times Also--

 by Rain Trueax

 

Growing up, westerns were my favorite series TV and movies. The good guys used guns and they always won in the end over the bad guys. There was no problem figuring out who was who. As I have mentioned, right now I am watching no TV; but even before, I didn't go to the channels with the old westerns. Maybe someday I will, but right now they don't draw me to them.

There were a lot of television westerns that I loved back in the day. One of them was called Gunsmoke, about the marshal of Dodge City, Kansas and the woman he loved. Oh, I know the woman he loved never came to fruition while in the shows, but it was there in the expressions and the looks Matt and Kitty gave each other. If it had been in a different time, maybe it would have, but in those days the hero either had to marry the heroine or it needed to stay suggested. The emphasis was always on the marshal and his job.

What I came across on YouTube is, how many people had created the love story we all craved to have seen, the one we imagined. There are a lot of these videos. They go back ten years or even more where the music is put to clips from the shows. Here's one--

Behind Closed Doors

Gunsmoke ran from 1955 to 1975, following an earlier radio show. In the last year, Kitty had left the show. Maybe the star got tired of never getting her marshal.  

This question is whether the heroine and hero never connecting (many in those days) led many western writers to want to create romances where happily ever after was required. If I had begun publishing my own books back in the 50s, would it have influenced not allowing a marshal to have as a lover, a saloon owner (or bordello madam). Could they kiss? Not a chance. 

My first books were written in the 60s but I didn't have the sex in them either-- the rough drafts that is, as in those years I wrote but didn't publish. By the mid 1970s, the word for romance novels changed and steamy was part of the plots. Personally, I think it was good for women to read such books where healthy sexuality was a part of a serious romance (well, some weren't probably so healthy back then). 

My first historical western where the hero was a marshal was Book 2 in the Arizona series. The marshal had been in book 1 as had the future heroine. How to make their story challenging led to a lot of research as to what being a US Marshal meant back in those days. Many towns, like Tucson, had a marshal and a sheriff. The marshal's job was more federally political while the sheriff was run more by local partisan politics. But, both were political.

The Marshal's Lady (original titled Tucson Moon) dealt with a man and woman with very opposite ideas on guns for instance. He used one as part of his responsibilities. She despised them. What really brought them together, to work past this, was the arrival of his estranged nine year-old daughter when he had no idea how to be a father. The heroine stepped in with her sympathy for the girl and from there romance grew.

Unlike Gunsmoke, I had no compunction against bringing these two together sexually, but it had to make sense that it could happen and it had to take into account the nature of the times politically and culturally. Because it was set in Southern Arizona, I enjoyed writing it as it moved outside of Tucson and involved characters from my first Arizona book.

If you are interested in such a story, politics was very much part of it, as it  is of our world today, it's at Amazon and other eBook sites. 

One other thing: I got a notice from Blogger that they will no longer be notifying those, who signed up for RSS, as of July 21st this year. I don't know how most of you find your blogs but if you counted on an email or phone announcement, you might want to reconsider and do what I do (I never signed up for this service). When I have blogs I want to read I bookmark them and check when I know a new one is likely. In the case of Rainy Day Thought, that would be Wednesdays for Diane as she weaves her way through widowhood and her career as a painter and Saturdays when I write about whatever has struck my mind that week. Always new entries on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

 

Oh, and don't forget The Marshal's Lady for a taste of what life was like back in the 1880s and a book where a happily ever after is going to happen-- even after many struggles (of course). Although the link is just for Amazon, the book is at Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, etc.

The Marshal's Lady

Choices

 by Rain Trueax

 

From the time Covid-19 hit American shores, we've been bombarded by information-- often contradictory. People have had to make choices whether to isolate, wear masks, wash hands, stay out of crowds, etc. etc. Some have gone one way. Some another. Those in care centers didn't get to make choices as they were made for them-- and not always to their benefit.

Then after the election was over, we were told the vaccines were going to be ready before the end of the year. We watched our leaders get the shot, like President Biden, and knew eventually we'd have to decide for ourselves. Yes or no for a shot that had only recently come out of testing.

To begin, I wasn't sure. We can isolate being retired, but still would the vaccination be a good idea? To begin, Moderna or Pfizer were our main options. We began to read all we could get our hands on. Because Ranch Boss is a chemist, he went to professional journals. We basically decided if we chose to be vaccinated, it would be Moderna. 

At a certain point, we decided we wanted to do it and then got an opportunity almost immediately with the early part of February. It was perfect with a "drive-through". I think I wrote about it here. We, neither one, had a reaction and were eager to get our second. Ranch Boss his got second on schedule, but I had been sick with the nightshade intolerance and depressingly had to cancel, then hoped I could get it later. That worked out at 6 weeks after the first one, I also got the second-- again with no reaction other than some redness at the vaccination site. My arm wasn't even sore as had been Ranch Boss'. 

Since then, we have been learning more . Like that the morphing of the virus has about 25% of the current cases in Arizona being that California variant. Will the vaccine protect from the dire results of getting Covid when it's a variant? So few answers for now. 

Another thing we read is it might be better to wait up to 3 months to get the second dose, to be more effective. Also that it might be better to have it be Moderna for one and Pfizer for two. Those aren't easy options to take given you usually get it through the same source.

I felt it was important that people who could, would get the vaccinations. The disease morphs in animal bodies. The less opportunity(cases) it has , the less chance it'll become a bigger and bigger problem.

Some believe the vaccine isn't helpful. Well, it does not necessarily promise you won't get it. It promises you have less chance (94%) of it being serious if you do. Still, everyone has to decide and for some, it might be too risky based on other things they already have.

For Covid and the vaccine, I have a personal story and it's why you saw that picture at the top of this blog.

My husband made a friend when he went to the Oro Valley Library writer group. He and Helmut Seifert met a few times at restaurants and then began regularly talking on the phone often for Paul to help Helmut with his book, which he had published and which was very important to his life, but they had a lot of other things in common, interest in each other's lives. They could talk hours but usually once a week.

March 2021 came along and Ranch Boss realized Helmut hadn't replied to his last text and hadn't called in longer than usual. When he went off to get his second shot (me ... stuck at home), I looked in the paper for obituaries and there was Helmut's. It was a shock as he wasn't yet 65. I had never met him due to the virus but I cried. Later that day when my husband talked to his wife, he learned the cause of death had been Covid-19. 

The story goes like this. They had had Helmut's parents living with them. His mother had fallen, could no longer do things by herself, and it was decided she needed more care than they could provide. The idea was getting his parents both into a good assisted living place. That ended up with health aides coming into their home-- quite a few. Before that, since the whole virus thing hit us, Helmut had been very careful to isolate but there no isolating from this.

Helmut's wife said when their family showed symptoms, three tested positive but she did not as she had had the vaccine (she was in the health care profession). She had tried to get the shots for Helmut but protocol denied him because he was a few months shy of turning 65. As his illness worsened, he and his dad were hospitalized. His mother had tested positive also but with a light case. Helmut and his father, hospitalized on the same floor of the hospital, passed within 2 weeks of being tested positive. His wife, even though vaccinated, was not allowed to be with him.

Was there a logical reason his wife didn't get sick other than she had had the vaccine? 

While it's true that for some getting the vaccination could be risky, for most it's not. Will it prove effective enough? Time will tell. We all need to think it through-- what will be our choice? I read that 30% of Republican men say they will not get the shot. I hope they don't find themselves exposed to the disease as Helmut did. He had more books to write...

The book Helmut had published was his dream. It encompassed a story but also what he had learned about life and wished to pass on to others. If you have ever had such a story inside you, you can understand what it meant to him when he finally saw it in print, his desire he perfect and make it all he could. It is not a romance but more allegorical science fiction. It was a book difficult to put into genres. He was working on a second when he died. One was all there was to be and here is its link. Check it out. (be sure, if you go there, to read not just the Blurb but the reviews. They help to tell more what this unusual book is about.)

Nobody's Coming

 

August

by Rain Trueax

I went online Thursday morning with no idea what to write about for Saturday's blog. My head was spinning with ideas-- so many of them negative. I like to be positive, but how is that possible when my nation is so divided filled with people who see what should be done diametrically opposed to each other. Soon they will be voting, me too, and it could send the country spiraling in a totally different direction where it comes to taxes (try a 39+% capital gains tax); environment; packing the Supreme Court; Green New Deal and how much fuel we can use: immigration; adding new states; legal system; ending the Electoral College; no more filibuster; etc. etc. Or we might be staying the course (which some see as the road to hell) and finding more rioting in the streets because it didn't turn out right... or rather left.

It's not enough these days to disagree on what is right to do or for whom to vote, the one

voting wrong must also be condemned.

Of course, then there was the explosion in Beirut. More upset. The newspaper was full of it, but since you also likely read papers, no need for me to repeat it all here. Just more heartbreak.

When I got to Blogger-- things had changed. After hearing about it for over a month, I now had the new version. Like so many have said, I don't like it as well. It seems awkward; and so far I haven't been able to find all I want, but it should be manageable... Maybe. I guess we can go back to the original but not sure for how long. I wonder why computer gurus want to change things in a time where there is already so much chaos...

So instead of trying to pretend all is hunky-dory, I figured I'd go with the standby-- the desert. The barrel cactus were not planted by us. They could be natural or planted by a former owner. They aren't attracting the bees like the saguaro blossoms did, but their fruit is loved by the javelina and rodents.

The Texas Ranger (many photos below) is our contribution to bring xeriscape plantings around the pool and house, leaving the rest of our land natural to the desert terrain in which it sets.The bees love it. We aren't sure where the hive is but any bees in Tucson are the ones called killer bees. They don't seem that aggressive so far...

As far as monsoon storms go, which I had been looking forward to being here to experience, they haven't happened much. Rain in early June was good; but since then it's been mostly sprinkles. The storms I used to watch march north up the valley have clung more to the mountain behind us. Rains have been heavy in a few places but not here. There have been some beautiful clouds sail by, but they saved their moisture for elsewhere.

Saguaros

by Rain Trueax


Coincidentally, my blog is on July 4th. That will doubtless be a holiday with mixed messages today in our times. I had already decided to write about the saguaros and their importance to the desert community. I see no reason to change my mind. But, happy Fourth of July if it's an important holiday in your life.

There is a lot to learn about saguaros. I think some see them as just interesting for the landscape. Their shapes vary so much that they are beautiful in photographs. When we bought our desert home, it had three in the space below the house. We were thrilled. They take a long time to get to this size and longer to produce blossoms and fruit. They can live to be over 200 years if something doesn't come along to kill them.

They have been important to the denizens of the desert. The birds  and insects find food from the blossoms and the later fruit.

Birds also create holes in them to raise their young.

The Native people find many products from them from the fruit but also later, when they die, their ribs that they can use for ramadas. The fruit makes tasty jelly or so I am told.  

Harvesting Saguaro Fruit

So we have enjoyed them since we bought this property over 21 years ago. We have never harvested the fruit. Mostly, that's been because with the farm to run, we had to leave here before it happened. This year with the pandemic and our son taking over the cattle and sheep operation, we were here to see their display.

 We have a lot of concern that so many, in the Catalina Mountains, may have been destroyed. My lifetime will not see their return if so.  They will be missed by the birds even more.

It comes from the skies

by Rain Trueax

looking toward the Strawberry full moon

As with last Saturday's blog, I had a plan for this one. Then, things changed. Instead I'll relate what's been going on at Casa Espiritu, our desert home. It was unexpected, but what hasn't been this last year. 

Tucson has entered the monsoon season. A week earlier, we'd had our first good storm. It hit us with all you can ask for with such storms-- wind, driving rain, thunder, and lightning. Storms that come with rain are the best as there is another kind-- dry lightning storms. Because this storm was intense, Ranch Boss filmed it and it's below. Such a giving storm means life to the land.

From Casa Espiritu May 29th

After that storm, they were spaced a few days apart. Most missed us. Sometimes, we'd see them travel up the Tucson Mountains, but we got nothing. Friday night, the 5th, the night of that full moon, we heard some rumblings of thunder, but they didn't seem close. We got a couple of sprinkles before bedtime.

Saturday morning, June 6th, we were sitting in our backyard, talking. It was our son's birthday and his present was it was the day the shearer could do the sheep. Not much of a birthday present, but he seemed okay with it. It's more troubling to us not to be there for what's been our life for over 40 years. Unplanned as this at this time due to life changes and the pandemic, we felt disturbed and yet understanding. One generation lets go and another takes over. We were lucky we had a son who can take over.

That afternoon, the temperature was about 96ºF, perfect for the patio misting cooling system to make it pleasant enough to be outside. As we watched the birds, good for de-stressing (and who doesn't need that these days), we saw jets fly surprisingly low. We thought they were headed to the airport. Never had we seen ones so big so low. Two of them. We watched to see where they went but lost them. I remember how blue the sky was, so pure of color.  Often, it's that way above Pusch Ridge, the mountain range that is part of the Catalinas and not many miles, as a crow flies, from our house.

Later that afternoon, Ranch Boss saw the smoke. That's when we realized the plane we'd seen was a fire fighting jet and had been dropping fire retardant to try to put an inflammable barrier between the fires and homes in a development called La Reserve. We looked for information on it and found the fire, called the Bighorn,  because this is part of their habitat was maybe 10 acres to begin but growing. That dry lightning storm had started two others, in the hills ringing Tucson.

Many photos followed, along with some videos as Ranch Boss took them that afternoon, after it got dark, and then again the next morning. We were happy that it was being fought but learned that the powers seemed to think letting it grow some was good for the mountain. Seeing the fire fighting plane reminded us how wonderful it was that there are those who are trained to help the rest of us. They give up their free time, face danger, and we count on them. I grew up in a time that was less true.

Living a rural life most of my years, wildfires are always a concern when it's been too dry, for too long. As a little girl, a fire came down over the mountain toward our farm. I remember walking down the farm road to catch the school bus and seeing that red glow on the horizon-- wondering what I'd come home to see. That fire got as far as my parents' back acres before my father and other local men set a backfire that turned it from homes back toward the wilderness. In those days, the kinds of crews and equipment that we take for granted today didn't exist.

Our farm in Oregon has twice had fires too close. One time we took our family photo albums, the Hopi pottery and our Navajo rugs into town to be at our daughter's in case we had to evacuate. Fortunately, fire crews put it out before that happened. When I've been away for a time, I always scan the horizon for that telltale red glow or smoke. 

One more firefighting story. It involves what has been called by numerous names but among them, the South Canyon or Storm King fire. It's been memorialized in a book Fire on the Mountain. It's important in my memory because I knew one of the girls killed in it. She had gone to school with my kids, went onto college as more acquaintances than close friends, but I had her in my car more than once to school events. Terri Hagen was in track, a strong girl and summers fighting fires as a hot shot to pay for college was a logical thing for her. There is also a memorial above Bear Creek in Montana put there by Don Mackey's father. I have a photo of that, but it's unfortunately in Oregon. These people, and many more, have given their lives for the good of the forest and the rest of us. I am reminded of it all with this newest fire to enter my life.

Well, back to my story, in the case of The Bighorn, as I said above, the firemen  concentrated on dropping fire retardant as well as water to suppress but not put it out since they felt it can be healthy for such rocky terrain by reducing cover for the predators that hunt the bighorns. In the beginning, they concentrated on protecting nearby homes. 

As the week went on, that decision seemed less wise as it grew to 7000+ acres. It got into Pima Canyon, a beautiful place for hiking and threatens the homes below as they changed the area that people might have to evacuate. This is one of Tucson's older and nicer neighborhoods with homes beautifully set into the desert around them. 

A second warning to prepare to evacuate is on the side of the mountain toward our home, but we are not at risk from it at this point. The thing could change if it gets into the big wash that comes down from the mountain. Hopefully, they are aware of that and will stop it before it gets that far. If it did, it could still be stopped back in the canyons with what they drop from the sky. It would be bad news for a lot of businesses if they can't get it under control at least there-- not to mention Catalina State Park. Today part of the area you see on the map is under mandatory evacuation now and part is to be ready-- called set.

map of potential evacuation area on the other side of Pusch Ridge from us

When those in charge realized the situation, they brought in more fire fighters, more professionals to run the operation, but if they had been more aggressive earlier, it would have been put out. Now, with the extreme heat and off and on winds, it's hard to say how long it'll take, and the smoke is leading to warnings to stay inside throughout at least this area of Tucson. These rugged hills aren't easy for fire fighting; so much has to come from the air. Catalina State Park closed as have most hiking trails on the south side of the Catalinas. 

One good thing is the homes asked to evacuate were told they could return home but still be ready. I had read that the hotshots were setting backfires, which consume the fuel before a fire can reach that region. Maybe that worked.

Still, there is the other concern that if it heads toward Mt. Lemmon, there are tall trees up there. It suffered a bad fire a few years ago. Fire, like storms and the sun, is part of the desert life.

So, about what i planned to write-- Maybe next blog what I had in mind will come again or maybe something new... Several ideas surface, claiming it should be them; then they disappear as another arises. I have strong opinions, but what I don't want to do is insult readers who come here-- from either side. I have seen too much of that from blogs I used to enjoy. People don't need lectures right now, but I think a reminder of life being about more than momentary hysteria (you know where we must do something anything, and right now). I believe that people need hope that there can be a better tomorrow, but it might take work to get there. Ranch living tends to teach that lesson as it's full of tragedies and rebuilding. 

Still, how can one ignore what's beyond ourselves??? For me, it's a time for having squirrels on my mental wheel, each trying for prominence. Too bad one isn't for the book I should be working on...

The photos above were all from our home here earlier in the week. The map came from KGUN 9. The photos below were taken when Ranch Boss had to go out to pick up an order. That's the smoke that is impacting the area and gives you an idea of the rugged country where they have to fight this fire.