Classes have ended, final grades submitted, now it is time to relax

Not really, now I need to get things together for my spring classes and start planning for summer and fall 2015 classes.  The semester at JSC officially ended at midnight Friday, Dec. 19 and I submitted final grades on Sunday morning.  That was just some of the past week.

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, I did my usual day as a volunteer docent at the Desert Botanical Garden - it was one of the slowest days any of us docents could remember.  Since it was our monthly potluck lunch, everyone stayed for lunch but then most everyone (including me) left after lunch.

 On Wednesday, Patty and I picked up Anne at 8:00 and went for a nice hike from Sunnyslope Park to the North Mountain Visitor Center - about 50 minutes in each direction.

Look at the thick smog as we looked south at downtown Phoenix - you can hardly see the tall buildings for the smog

On Saturday, Patty and I volunteered with Welcome to America Project.  Phoenix is one of the two dozen cities that are under contract with the US Department of state for the resettlement with the 70,000 or so refugees the USA accepts each year.  Along with about 20 other volunteers, we visited three families who recently immigrated to the USA, two from the Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Iraq (the husband had been a translator for the US Army).  We delivered household goods and furniture, helped clean and assemble things, and visited with the families.  One of the families from the DRC had spent 10 years in a UN refugee camp in Burundi where all four children were born.

On Sunday, Patty and I were part of the team of volunteers and staff that make Luminaria work at the Desert Botanical Garden.   Between 3:45 and 5:15 each day, there some 5,000 candles which are lit, then monitored for any that blow out, and starting at 9:30, are snuffed out. There are several hundred battery powered lights that are individually turned on and off. On top of buildings, there are another several thousand electric lights which are controlled by switches. And then there are many thousands of lights on the trees. There are twelve different music groups performing, five wine/beer bars, two cafes and a large buffet dinner for those who wish. All this for the 4,000 guests who visit every night.

On Monday,  Patty and I spent a bit more than three hours hiking about seven miles from the Browns Ranch trailhead in the northwest part of the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We covered Hackamore, Cone Mountain, Upper Ranch, Browns Ranch Road and Wrangler trails. Beautiful places to hike. Check out the descriptions on the photos.

One of many balanced rocks we saw.

Cone Mountain trail

Cone Mountain trail

Never saw a barrel cactus like this

Browns Ranch mountain

Enjoying our snack of cheese and crackers on my new stool

Beautiful, healthy teddy bear chollas

We saw lots of jojoba bushes, both male and female bushes

Bootlegger Trail and Granite Mountain Loop

Leslie, a Tuesday Docent, had talked about the new trail head at Granite Mountain in the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve and the interesting rock formations.  When we arrived, we looked at the map and decided to go out on the Bootlegger Trail to the Granite Mountain Loop and the last mile back on Powerline Road.  Many interesting rock formations and fascinating flora.  The trail is in great shape and is well marked.  There are signs at all the intersections and with detailed directions telling the distance to the next intersection.

We saw the ribcages of many dead or dying saguaros.

 We came across this saguaro that had a tertiary arm - primary arms off the trunk, secondary arms off the primary arms and a tertiary arm off a secondary arm.

There are great views east and north from this overlook.

The bees were busy on these flowers - I need to figure out what they are.

We came across many places like this where there were rocks that were balanced on top of others, so I zoomed in to see this one.

A very nice hike, at a leisurely pace, covering a little more than six miles in about two hours and forty five minutes.  We will be back.

First half of December 2014

To start the month, I had jury duty at the Phoenix Municipal Court.  After checking in, they have a nice intro and welcome, including one of the judges coming to speak with us.  There were seven cases on the docket - but over the course of the day, they all ended.  This could have been by settlement in civil cases or guilty plea in criminal cases, dismissed on motion before trial or by a decision to be tried by judge alone without a jury.  In any event, an interesting day.  I cannot be called again for 18 months.  I wonder when Patty will be called.

On the first Tuesday, I did my usual day at the Desert Botanical Garden.  My morning stations were the cactus station and "What is a Desert?" station.

One of the guest guides asked me about this tree.  After investigating the small ID tag (most of the large plants at the DBG have small metal tags that look like military dog tags), I found that this is a colophospermum mopane tree, commonly known as an African butterfly tree.

At first, another docent and I thought the name came from the shape of the leaves.

I subsequently learned that it had to do with the mopane worms (actually caterpillars) that live in the trees.



A friend who has spent time in Africa told me about eating mopane worms, where the caterpillars are fried and then eaten.

We have been having issues with finding an acceptable way to give things away at the Carlyle Condos.  Against the rules, people sometimes leave usable items near the trash and recycling dumpsters - but that does not work because the dumpsters are emptied by the large trucks and the items get in the way.  Other people leave small things by the mailboxes - that is against the rules, but no one complains.  We need to find an acceptable way to do this.

We also are having problems with pigeons and mourning doves - I believe that someone is feeding the birds, which is why they want to stay in our condos.

On Friday, Patty and I went to the Tempe Arts Festival for the day.  Many vendors and a few street performers.

In a moment of nostalgia, I sent Ben and Megan photos of some old photo collections that hang on my bedroom wall.

Patty went out to buy an artificial Christmas tree, but came back with a real one.  After we got it in a stand, she decorated it.  We now turn on the lights every night.

On Monday, Anne and I hiked part way up Shaw Butte as far as the "Christmas Tree" on the trail.

The problems with the birds are becoming worse.

The ones on the third floor are leaving their droppings on our window sill and the wall around our patio.

Shadow had developed an infection that caused a large swelling on the left side of his mouth.  First he went through ten days of antibiotics to get over the infection.  Then he returned to have a full mouth xray, removal of dental plaque and most importantly, removal of the problem tooth.  After a day at the vet with IV and anesthesia, he is home and doing well.

On Saturday the 13th, I had a quick trip to San Francisco.  I needed 1200 miles to reach Mileage Plus Gold with United Airlines, and I found a cheap flight.  So I flew to San Fran in the morning, where I found an interesting art display of Korean ceramics.

I flew home in the afternoon, and on the ride back to our condo, we first saw a beautiful rainbow, and then a double rainbow.

Patty and I went out out to eat at Spinato's, and we saw this car with a wreath on the front and if you look closely, you can see the seat covers with Tinkerbelle.