The past few days the mother owl at Valley Presbyterian Church has been leaving her chicks in the nest. They are getting quite big and they need room to walk about. But she doesn't go far--just to the fire sprinkler pipe overhead. I went outside this morning and used my zoom to get this photo of her.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thistle Blossom with orange bug
On our hike Saturday up to Atascosas Peak we saw hundreds of thistles blooming. Inside every blossom were all kinds of interesting bugs. Most of them were literally buried deep in the heart of the blossom, but occasionally we would see one emerge head first, like this little orange bug.
I have a deep philosophical difference with Jenni when it comes to hiking. I want to go slow and look at all the interesting things underfoot and overhead. She wants to get exercise. She's always frustrated by my frequent stops. I'm always huffing and puffing to keep up with her frenetic pace. Well, that's life, I guess.
But if I pushed on too fast, I wouldn't see little bugs climbing out of thistle blossoms.
I have a deep philosophical difference with Jenni when it comes to hiking. I want to go slow and look at all the interesting things underfoot and overhead. She wants to get exercise. She's always frustrated by my frequent stops. I'm always huffing and puffing to keep up with her frenetic pace. Well, that's life, I guess.
But if I pushed on too fast, I wouldn't see little bugs climbing out of thistle blossoms.
Waiting patiently for the straggler
Here is our destination at the top of Atascosas Peak. This is an old fire lookout station. It's at 6,200 feet above sea level, with commanding views for 100 miles in every direction. You can perhaps sense the look of irritation on the faces of Jenni, Karl, Deborah, Kervens, Carlos and Vicki. They had been waiting for more than 30 minutes for me to arrive (huffing and puffing, I might add). Their lunch was finished and they were ready to head back down. I thought I might have to call in a helicopter rescue for me! But I made it.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Western Grace
We had dinner last Friday night with friends from church. They live an hour southwest of Green Valley, in Arivaca. They own 20 acres in Arivaca. Sam works for the U.S. State Department, and is currently stationed in Vienna, Austria. They are here on vacation. They bought their home in Arizona two years ago and lived here for a year while he was on sabbatical. They have plans to retire here because they love living in the western U.S. (horses, cowboy boots, wide open spaces, Stetson hats, etc.). With our weather now going up into the low 90s it is appropriate to have dinner outdoors where we can take in the panoramic views.
Atascosas hikers
On the way up to Atascosas Peak we stopped for a group photo. The kids did much better than their old Uncle Ken. The round trip to the top of the mountain is about 5 miles. There is 1,800 feet of elevation gain on this hike--it is definitely uphill all the way to the top. Normal people can do this hike in about 4 hours up and back. It took me 6 hours. Karl was very kind and stayed with me on the way down as I stopped to let my heart rate recover every 200 steps or so. I wore a heart monitor and used it to tell me when I should take a break. At the end of the 6 hours the monitor said I had consumed 5,500 calories! Not bad for a day's work. So, having burned off a bit of fat, we proceeded to Wendy's after the hike for well-deserved Frosties. Yum.
Feeling completely safe with this guard rail
We hiked to the top of Atascosas peak on Saturday with Karl & his family. The top of this mountain is 6,200 feet above sea level. There is an old fire lookout station at the top. Here Carlos is proving how brave he is!
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