Saying Goodbye to Arizona

Everyone I know seems to have gone on a vacation lately.  One good friend spent a week in Florida, while another friend, my Tai Chi/lunch buddy, spent last week lounging on the beach in the Bahamas.  And Daughter and her husband just came back from a week in paradise, i.e., Hawaii.  As for me, a couple of trips to the grocery store were the highlights of my week:)

Yes, I admit to being just a wee bit jealous.  Usually I get to travel somewhere between the end of January and mid-March, but not this year. Mr. P and I had tentatively planned to visit Daughter and Son-in-Law this March as we often do, taking in some Cubs' spring training games and soaking up some Arizona sun.  But it was not meant to be.  Just before Christmas, Daughter received a promotion and was being transferred. By mid-January they had packed their belongings and headed--with the two granddogs in the car--to Houston, Texas. Since the move, Daughter has been so busy settling in and traveling for her new job that a visit from us just didn't make sense this spring.

Looking back, I am so glad now that I made the decision to visit Daughter and Son-in-law back in November.  It gave me a  chance to spend some time with them, especially since I hadn't seen them since their wedding reception last June, and to meet my new granddog Eddie.

That's Ed trailing behind his big brother Bear after a hike through Papago Park on the southern edge of Phoenix.  Ed is a much livelier pug compared to the late Odie, who was more laid-back.   Both Ed and Bear have lived all their lives in Arizona, so they're used to the heat, but I'm not sure how they will adjust to Houston's much more humid climate.

A trip to Arizona is never complete, of course, without a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Having toured the garden on every visit to Daughter over the past four years, it's become a familiar place to me--I know where to find the Butterfly Pavilion, the Wildflower Trail, and, of course, the gift shop without any guidance.  I remember my first trip here: the desert flora seemed like alien life forms to me.  But my tours of the DBG have helped me to understand much more about the environment of the Sonoran Desert and to recognize many of the plants.

Thanks to the DBG, I can now distinguish between the iconic Saguaro . . .

. . .  and the equally huge Cardon cactus.

Nor do I need a tag to identify the lovely Baja Fairy Duster, which always seems to be in bloom no matter the time of year I visit.

Still, there is always something new to be learned; this time I was on a mission to find the name of some plants growing in Daughter's backyard.  It didn't take me long to find several specimens of the plant, an Ocotillo, a cactus indigenous to the Sonoran desert and commonly seen from California to western Texas. It's a deciduous cactus, so it wasn't particularly attractive during this November visit, but later research informed me that in spring it produces beautiful red blooms that are especially attractive to hummingbirds.

Plant specimens may be the main attraction at the Desert Botanical Garden, but they're not the only interesting things to see. I knew something was up when I walked in the entrance and saw this huge praying mantis standing guard. The Garden often hosts art exhibits, particularly sculptures on display throughout the garden.  My favorite from the past was "The Nature of Glass," an exhibit during the winter of  '08-09 which featured the works of  Dale Chihuly,  which you can read about here, if you wish.
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This time the Garden was hosting the exhibit "Big Bugs," a collection of larger than life insects crafted from all natural materials. 

This lady beetle, for example, was made primarily from bent willow with black walnut used for its head and spots.  A mere 150 pounds, it wasn't quite as imposing as the mantis in the earlier photo which was 17 feet tall and weighed in at 1,200 pounds!

One of my favorite areas to visit within the garden is the Butterfly Pavilion.  Usually, it doesn't open until March, but I was lucky this time--a guide informed me that the Pavilion would be open because a shipment of Monarchs had just arrived.  The butterflies are flown in from a supplier in Florida, encased in waxed-paper-like envelopes kept at a cool temperature.  I arrived just in time to be handed a paper envelope, along with other eager participants.  We opened the envelopes carefully . . .

Once the butterflies felt the warm air, they revived and made their escape!

It was truly a breathtaking sight to see dozens of them flying about.

Eventually, they found plenty of bright blossoms to provide some nourishment after their long trip.

Cacti, art, butterflies--the Desert Botanical Garden is the perfect place to spend a delightful morning in Phoenix.  Little did I know at the time that this might very well have been my last visit there, so I'm glad I had the chance to see it again.  I'll miss visiting Arizona every year, but I'm sure Houston, Texas must have some interesting gardens as well--I'm already looking forward to discovering new places to see next fall!

ABC Wednesday . . . Again!

I know, I know . . . last week I said I wouldn't be able to participate in ABC Wednesdays this round, but with such a beautiful A in front of me each day, I couldn't resist . . .

Amaryllis, aptly named "Appleblossom"
(thanks dear readers for identifying it)

The sunny but frigid days of last week have turned warmer but grayer and gloomier. My thoughts are naturally turning toward spring and . . .

. . . planting Annuals.

Some seeds were collected last fall from various plants with hopes of having another year of blooms from some of the favorites from last year's garden, including the electric blue Bachelor Buttons pictured above. The new Butterfly & Friends garden was a riot of color last summer, thanks in part to seeds sent from fellow garden blogging friends. I am excited about getting more seeds again in a few weeks from friends through Monica's seed swap.

One way I get through the long winter is to spend hours looking through seed catalogs. Although some seeds were collected from the pink cosmos above, an order has been placed for more, a "Double Click" mix, to ensure I have enough of these lovelies. Many other varieties will soon be ordered, too, including some Agastache and Alyssum.

Cold winter days make me long to visit Arizona where it is sunny and warm--although not this week, according to the Weather Channel. I had hoped to travel there in February to visit my daughter, but Husband's schedule won't allow us to leave until March.

But that's all right, too: the Cubs will be in town for spring training, and the cacti should be in bloom. I hope to visit one of my favorite places again, the Desert Botanic Gardens, where I will see some magnificent Agaves.

No doubt everyone has seen this familiar logo countless times in the past week. If you are like me, you have watched the scenes of the devastation in Haiti and the tragic aftermath and have felt helpless. The one thing that all of us can do is to donate to the relief efforts sponsored by organizations across the world. The American Red Cross has made it very easy for Americans to donate by phone, online, texting, or mail--check out their website for details. There are other organizations helping in the relief effort as well, but before you donate to a charity you are not familiar with, it would be wise to check them out on a site such as this. It will take the efforts of many to restore some kind of normalcy to the people of Haiti.

For more contributions on the letter A, check out other ABC posts here.

ABC Wednesday: Enjoying Nature

It is ABC Wednesday once again, and I almost didn't make it. Besides having to work today,a painful, weird hand cramp last night made it difficult for me to type last evening. All is better now so I bring to you this week's letter N . . .

. . . Nest

It's that time of year: the robins, cardinals, and other birds here at the Prairie's garden are all busy making nests. However, I had to travel to Arizona to get an actual photograph of a bird's nest. And you'll notice it's not just "any" bird, but a hummingbird! Last summer I tried countless times to photograph a hummingbird in my garden, finally getting one rather far-away shot.

But the hummingbirds at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum were anything but shy. Housed in the hummingbird aviary at the Museum, these hummers were obviously used to human company, sitting placidly on a nest while cameras clicked all around them. Other exhibits at the museum included a raptor display and a reptile exhibit; native wildlife roamed the trails.

However, other than the reptiles, which we viewed behind glass enclosures--thankfully--the only wildlife we saw in Arizona were these metal art pieces for sale at the Botanical Gardens . . .

. . . and, of course, the gentle giant Bear.

While visiting my Daughter, most of my sightings of wildlife were much closer to home. A daily walk from her apartment took me to a nearby small lake.

Apparently, the ducks remembered me from my visit last December, as they eagerly came ashore and walked up to me without any fear. Or maybe it was that leftover sub roll I brought with me . . .

"Hey, lady, you brought only one roll for all of us?? "

I wish I had had a copy of Birds of Arizona, to identify some of the creatures seen here. This guy was seen accompanying a mourning dove, but I have no idea what kind of bird he is.

Nor can I identify this bird. He wasn't as trusting as the ducks or doves; even the enticement of some bread crumbs wasn't enough to let me get closer.

The swans were camera-shy as well and usually flew

to the farther bank to avoid human ogling. This little lake is just one sight on a long walkway/bike trail that winds through Phoenix and Scottsdale.



I walked for only a short part of the trail, but it is a wonderful place for residents and visitors alike to walk or bike and enjoy viewing some other denizens of the city.

Whether in Arizona or Illinois, there's nothing quite so uplifting and calming

as taking a walk and enjoying the simple joys of Nature.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

"Every day is Earth Day."

--Author Unknown

ABC Wednesday is sponsored by Mrs. Nesbitt: more posts can be seen here.

ABC Wednesday: Coconut's View of L

Good morning, everyone! It's Wednesday, which means another ABC post. My choice today should probably be LATE, since most of the ABC bloggers in the UK and across the world have long since posted. But we arrived home late last night after a wonderful week spent with Older Daughter in Arizona, and now I need to unpack, do laundry, run errands--all those post-vacation chores that make you wish you were still on vacation. So I'm going to turn today's post over to someone who's been wanting to have his say here. L is also for Lonely . . .

Hi, everybody; I'm Coconut. I'm so excited--Grandma Rose said she was too busy to write something today, so she asked me to. I've never even been allowed to get on the keyboard before; this is fun! I am so glad Grandma is home. Sophie and me have been very lonely the last week.

Grandma and Grandpa went to some place called Arizona to visit my Mommy's sister. I'm not sure where Arizona is, but Grandma says I probably wouldn't like it. It's very hot and has lots of plants called cactuses that have sharp sticker things all over them.

Grandma also went to visit Mommy's sister's family. She has two dogs--Odie, my friend who used to live here, and a big dog named Bear I've never seen. But in Grandma's pictures he looks ginormous! I think I'm glad he doesn't live here.

But sometimes I miss Odie. He used to play with me and almost always let me win our games. Now this little puppy who's not so little anymore lives with me. Her name is Sophie, and sometimes she's fun, but mostly she's kind of a pain. I let her play with my toys, but she isn't very good at sharing, and whatever I have, she wants, too. But I draw the line at letting her have my blankie!

I know she looks sweet and innocent, but trust me, she can be real ornery! While Grandpa and Grandma were gone, Mommy was here. I love my mom, especially when she takes me on rides to McDonald's and Dairy Queen or to go play with her boyfriend's dog, LuLu. But she is gone a lot during the day, so it gets kind of boring . And I have to put up with Sophie. I try to get her to behave but while Grandma was gone, Sophie ate an even bigger hole in the hallway carpet. Boy, is she in trouble!

Tomorrow Grandma says she is taking Sophie to get spaded. I don't know what that is, but I hope it means she's going to learn some manners--she needs some! All the cats are my friends, and I am trying to teach Sophie how to play nice with them, but sometimes she gets too rambuncshousious. Tarzan is teaching her that cats can't be bossed around.

Grandma says she had a good time in Arizona, but she's happy to be home to see her flowers. I am glad, too, because it means in the morning we get to walk around a lot and look at the garden and check everything out, like these pretty purple flowers that started to bloom while Grandma was gone. I help her a lot in the garden--and I know better than to dig in it, like Sophie does.

Grandma says today is supposed to be about the letter L, and she would have had the perfect L if she had had time to go through all her vacation pictures. I think she said the word leopardordapata . . . or something like that. She said it means butterflies. She will probably show some pictures of them some time soon. She also told me to tell you that she would try to visit everybody during the next couple of days and to remind you that ABC Wednesday is brought to you by a nice lady named Mrs. Nesbitt.

It was nice to meet all of you. I would tell you more about me, but I think I hear Sophie eating the carpet again. I'd better go . . . Bye!

ABC Wednesday: "How I Spent My Winter Vacation"

I hadn't planned on participating in ABC Wednesday today, but I couldn't resist--V is the perfect letter for telling you about . . .

. . .My Vacation!

As most of you know, I returned last week from spending a little over a week with my daughter in Phoenix, Arizona. On one of my last days there, Daughter took the day off from work so we could do a little sight-seeing. We travelled east of Phoenix to the Superstition Mountains in Tonto National Forest, where the photo above and the one below were taken.

On my first visit to Arizona last January, Daughter and her boyfriend took me to Sedona, about a two-hour drive north of Phoenix, which is a very scenic area full of the red-rocked mountains that could easily have been the backdrop for many an old Western. The Superstition Mountains near Phoenix are not nearly as colorful, but they are picturesque nonetheless. To a girl from the flat lands of Central Illinois, I was awed by the mountains, but our drive followed a sometimes steep road with winding curves and sheer drop-offs that had me clinging tensely to the armrests--and sometimes Daughter's arm (which she didn't appreciate).


Along the way there were some interesting spots, including a restored ghost town where gold was purportedly discovered in the 1800's. Daughter also stopped at a famous spot, unmarked by signs, where the old TV western "The Rifleman" was shot; I took photos of the barn and small jail for Husband to entice him to accompany me on my next trip. After several miles of me clenching my teeth, we finally stopped for lunch at an authentic-looking restaurant called Tortilla Flats, complete with saddles for seats at the bar. (We opted for a booth.)



What sensible person takes a vacation in December? You probably think a very well-organized one with all her Christmas presents purchased and placed in their wrappings under the tree and with all her Christmas cards sent and holiday baking finished. Hardly. Most of those tasks are still waiting to be done as I write this post. But Daughter is not coming home for Christmas, and since this will be the first year I haven't had all four children here for the holidays, I couldn't wait until January to visit her. It was a wonderful week with lots of quality time with Daughter, her boyfriend, and the granddogs; hopefully, now I won't get too misty-eyed on Christmas Eve.


It was a little difficult to get in the Christmas spirit while there despite the holiday decorations everywhere. Somehow garlands and red bows just don't look the same without a little snow beside them.

Instead of a full moon rising over a blanket of snow, a cloudless sky provided the perfect, if not wintery, backdrop for the moon above a palm tree.


Daughter and I took several shopping excursions, including my introduction to Nordstrom's Rack (!!) and some Christmas shopping. But she also had to work several days while I was there, so I had plenty of time to explore on my own and just relax. Of course, the plant life was something that fascinated me. Besides the cacti and the palm trees, there were many other plants I was unaccustomed to seeing. I spied several orange and lemon trees in the grassy area behind her apartment building.

Even walking around the apartment complex, which was well-landscaped, gave me the opportunity to indulge in my gardener's curiosity. These fuschia flowers were blooming on a rather large tree, but I have no idea what they are. Any ideas?

And everywhere I looked were these flowering shrubs. They looked so familiar to me, but I couldn't think of their name, and non-gardening Daughter wasn't any help.

Finally, thanks to Chandramouli, who pictured one of these just recently on his blog, and to Gail, I realized these were oleander!

Another lovely flower in bloom everywhere--and I do mean everywhere--were these bright red shrubs/vines. Again, no one could identify them for me until I finally asked at a nursery where I purchased some agaves. Those of you from the South probably recognize these immediately--they're bougainvillea! They were simply stunning, but if I were to add to last Wednesday's post about ubiquitous plants, I would definitely have to add the bougainvillea and the oleander to that list for Arizona.

While the arid conditions of this part of Arizona make it difficult to grow many plants, even grass, without irrigation, that doesn't stop gardeners from trying. This apartment resident had a balcony full of blooming lantana.

It was easy to get back into the routine of walking when the skies were clear and the weather warm. Walking behind the apartment complex, I found a bike path that led to a small lake inhabited by ducks and occasionally other waterfowl.

The ducks were obviously used to human visits and seemed disappointed when I didn't have any bread crumbs for them.

Still on Central time, I often awoke before anyone else in the household and found myself drawn to the lake and the ducks most mornings. It certainly was a peaceful way to start the day.

When I wasn't relaxing with the ducks or checking out the local landscape, I did manage to fit in several shopping trips and some sightseeing on my own.

Old Town Scottsdale is an interesting place to visit for a few hours. Shops with old Western shopfronts run along Fifth Avenue for several blocks, selling everything from authentic-looking Southwestern jewelry to Native Indian artifacts to typical tacky tourist souvenirs. Daughter and I also went to nearby Tempe one afternoon where they were celebrating their annual Arts Festival. Unfortunately, none of my pictures of it turned out that well, but no matter. Block after block had lines of booths selling all kinds of wares. I bought only a few items, although I was very tempted by some garden sculptures until I realized the impossibility of taking them home on the plane!

But my favorite place during the trip was the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. I had visited the Gardens in January, but this time I was lucky to be here for the beginning of an exhibit by glass artist Chihuly.

This sculpture entitled "Float Boat" was just one of so many placed strategically about the gardens. The exhibit runs through May 2009, so if you are in the Phoenix area during the next several months, definitely take the time to visit the Gardens. I took so many pictures that I'm going to wait to do a separate post just on the Gardens, probably in January when green plants and vibrant colors will be a welcome relief from the snow.

On the plane ride over, I struck up a conversation with a woman seated next to me who was from Phoenix. She recommended several places I might like to visit, and when we discovered a mutual interest in mysteries, she suggested I visit a little book store called "The Poisoned Pen." As it turned out, it was only a few blocks from Daughter's office, so she took me there one evening after I picked her up from work.

What a treat for any mystery lover! This is not your typical "big box" bookstore. Only mysteries and related genre can be found here, and hanging from the walls are photos of all the authors who have visited the store for book signings. The salesperson was a young man who was more than willing to help and recognized the names of every author I mentioned. All my favorites--Martha Grimes, Elizabeth George, Patricia Cornwell, and Sara Paretsky, just to name a few--have been here at one time or another, and the store has many copies of signed novels, including first editions. Although I passed on buying any books for myself, I did buy a signed copy of a fantasy novel for my granddaughter and couldn't resist a tote bag for myself. I also signed up for their e-mail newsletter, which means I can order a signed, personalized edition of a book in the future. I can't wait to see who might be appearing there next! For any mystery fans, this store is a real gem.

Finally, my stay came to an end. Before I left, I said goodbye to my feathered friends . . .

. . . and watched one last Arizona sunset.

The next morning, presents were left under the tree, and I exchanged big hugs with Daughter, Boyfriend, and the "boys" Odie and Bear. I think I needed this vacation, but most of all I needed to share a little Christmas with Daughter and her family.

For more ABC Wednesday posts, visit Mrs. Nesbitt or the ABC Anthology.