Since I knew I would be getting in late and wanted to adapt to the eight hour difference in time zones from Spain, I had scheduled a hike for Sunday morning, Feb. 8. Patty and I had a pleasant hike on the Gateway Mountain Loop and Levee Trail. I noted that Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (24 hours before) I was shoveling snow in 10° weather in Vermont but 24 hours later was out hiking in 70° weather in Arizona.
On the climb from the visitor center, we gained about 625 feet in elevation, enough to make us sweat but not so much that it stopped us.
From the Saddle, there were great views in all directions.
Back at the visitor center, I loved this poster. We need to get one for our condos.
In my role as a board member of our HOA, I am one of the sets of eyes that reports problems to the property management company so that things can be fixed. Monday morning, I noticed some broken bricks in our entrance drive way.
Monday morning, Patty and I went to the VIG (Volunteers In the Garden) monthly meeting at the Desert Botanical Garden. Dr. Joel McAuliffe, Director of Research at the DBG, gave an excellent and educational presentation about his sabbatical trip to the Karoo Desert in South Africa. After the meeting, we checked out the new display of woodturning - all articles are made from Arizona woods by the Moulthrop family of artists.
Here is a poster about the three generations of artists working with wood.
All items on display are made form Arizona woods and turned on lathes.
After seeing orange trees in bloom in Sevilla last week, I just had to take a photo of the oranges in bloom - I was out for a walk with Shadow.
Another problem for the condo property managers - they had a contractor remove the buildup of tree debris (leaves, twigs, seed pods, etc.) from the top of this carport but they did not have them repair the top. The other board members appreciate my efforts to photograph and report problems.
I had my regular docent shift on Tuesday at the DBG - the second Tuesday of the month is free Tuesday. With the good weather, we were mobbed, especially between 11 and 2. We are asked to count the guests we interact with. We have little counters that we can keep in our pockets. The problem is that when it gets busy, you can be showing something to five people and then look up and realize that twenty other people have stopped to see as well. I was able to count 254 people during my shift, but it clearly was more than that.
On Wednesday, Anne, Patty and I did one of our favorite hikes at Brown's Ranch trail head. Here we are approaching Cathedral Rock.
We came across several unusually shaped saguaros - arms twisted out and/or down. We were reminded of the old saying about the angle of the dangle is inversely proportional to the heat of the meat.
Thursday was a relaxing day. In the afternoon, Patty and I saw "Still Alice" starring Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin. An amazing movie about a very intelligent college professor who develops early onset Alzheimers disease. It makes me wonder what will happen to us as we age.
On the climb from the visitor center, we gained about 625 feet in elevation, enough to make us sweat but not so much that it stopped us.
From the Saddle, there were great views in all directions.
Back at the visitor center, I loved this poster. We need to get one for our condos.
In my role as a board member of our HOA, I am one of the sets of eyes that reports problems to the property management company so that things can be fixed. Monday morning, I noticed some broken bricks in our entrance drive way.
Monday morning, Patty and I went to the VIG (Volunteers In the Garden) monthly meeting at the Desert Botanical Garden. Dr. Joel McAuliffe, Director of Research at the DBG, gave an excellent and educational presentation about his sabbatical trip to the Karoo Desert in South Africa. After the meeting, we checked out the new display of woodturning - all articles are made from Arizona woods by the Moulthrop family of artists.
Here is a poster about the three generations of artists working with wood.
All items on display are made form Arizona woods and turned on lathes.
After seeing orange trees in bloom in Sevilla last week, I just had to take a photo of the oranges in bloom - I was out for a walk with Shadow.
Another problem for the condo property managers - they had a contractor remove the buildup of tree debris (leaves, twigs, seed pods, etc.) from the top of this carport but they did not have them repair the top. The other board members appreciate my efforts to photograph and report problems.
I had my regular docent shift on Tuesday at the DBG - the second Tuesday of the month is free Tuesday. With the good weather, we were mobbed, especially between 11 and 2. We are asked to count the guests we interact with. We have little counters that we can keep in our pockets. The problem is that when it gets busy, you can be showing something to five people and then look up and realize that twenty other people have stopped to see as well. I was able to count 254 people during my shift, but it clearly was more than that.
On Wednesday, Anne, Patty and I did one of our favorite hikes at Brown's Ranch trail head. Here we are approaching Cathedral Rock.
We came across several unusually shaped saguaros - arms twisted out and/or down. We were reminded of the old saying about the angle of the dangle is inversely proportional to the heat of the meat.
Later that afternoon, we had dinner at Anne and Shawn's home. Josef had climbed Cameback Mountain trail and joined us for a fine repast prepared by Shawn - Anne and I shared some of the Spanish wine I had discovered at Total Wine Store, and Patty left to go to her mahjong class.
Thursday was a relaxing day. In the afternoon, Patty and I saw "Still Alice" starring Julianne Moore and Alec Baldwin. An amazing movie about a very intelligent college professor who develops early onset Alzheimers disease. It makes me wonder what will happen to us as we age.
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