Vibrant Arizona spring colours

We've been back in our home town of Niagara Falls, Canada for two days now. We did the return journey of 34 driving hours in four days. Although yesterday was sunny and bright, today was not so pleasant. With a high of 12ºC (53ºF), the main topic of conversation I heard at stores was people grumbling about the cold weather. That's not something I had heard for quite some time!

Although I've seen some spring bulbs in Niagara, the trees are either bare of leaves or just in bud. I thought I'd bring you some cheery spring colour from Green Valley, Arizona, while we wait for Niagara to burst into flower.

Some cereus cactus-watching!

In my previous post I mentioned we'd been to a neighbour's house for a party on Saturday, and were to return on Sunday for leftovers and more. Someone also suggested we should go out for our final meal on the Monday, so off we went for burgers and beer.

Unfortunately, two couples couldn't make it Monday, one of them being the homeowners who had the party. So they suggested the six of us should get together for wine and appetizers on Tuesday, as a last farewell. Do you see a pattern here? Socializing Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday ... and we were leaving Wednesday. We did more socializing in three weeks at this house sit than we probably do in six months in Niagara!

Our excitement for Tuesday night (remember, we're all young seniors) was that a cactus was expected to bloom. Not just any cactus though ... a night blooming cereus cactus. As this website link will show, this cactus supposedly only blooms one midsummer night each year, and the flower then dies off the next day. Well, it wasn't a midsummer night, but they had two ready to bloom that evening. That was our excitement!

6:32 pm

Dessert in the desert

In an earlier post I mentioned we're living on a street where the families are very social with each other. Today we went to a party at a neighbouring home, which I understood to be a farewell-to-snowbirds party. I was surprised by the reason, given that most on this street are full-time residents. However, I later found out it was a surprise celebration of a lady's upcoming 90th birthday.

Part of our street's progressive Christmas dinner party

How do snowbirds decide when to return home?

Snowbirds come in many varieties, and how they decide when to return home varies with each one, or each couple, as is the case with us.

After our one day of rain here, part of a double rainbow

And then there was one!

Greg and I have again been falling behind on our "have sheep, will travel" project. However, yesterday he added three more to the flock.

A rainbow of "lamb chops"

Why is this an exceptional house sit?

It's said that for every general rule, there is an exception. Before our current homeowners left, I was explaining that a downside of house sitting, in my opinion, is it makes it difficult for us to socialize with others. Ironically, we've developed friendships with our homeowners, which I didn't expect, but most of the time they're travelling so it returns to just each other - and the pets - for company. However, the homeowners assured me this sit would be the exception.

Greg getting ready for a nap with the girls

Surrounded by nuts in Green Valley

We're enjoying our time in Green Valley, Arizona, USA. Before we arrived, I questioned how anywhere in the desert could be thought of as a green valley. As I was curious about the name, I asked our homeowner.

Green Valley and its neighbouring town, Saguarita, are known for their production of pecans, and when the pecan trees are in leaf they create a green valley at the foot of the Santa Rita mountain range. The trees are not in full leaf yet, but the photo below does show somewhat of a green band already forming below the mountains. Although, there is also a golf course, so one of them could be that!

When life gives you lemons ...

We have a vehicle that's almost two years old and has about 22,000 miles (35,000 km) on it. It's a four-cylinder engine, but yesterday it seemed to be running on two or three cylinders at the most, and was hiccuping along. The dash didn't show any lit up trouble lights though. Thankfully Greg is a General Motors retiree and knows a lot about cars. After speaking with the closest GM dealership, about 25 minutes drive away, we took it in early this morning. Thankfully, we made it there too! Let's hope it's not the lemon in my story! 

2015 - after driving after the rain on sand roads in Mexico