Why am I starting this post with this photo? Let me at least explain that it was taken at a house sit of ours in Phoenix, Arizona, USA in February of 2015. I'll get back to the reason it's here, later.
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| Our home in Canada |
We've now been back in Canada for about seven weeks. Although it is certainly still our home, we are away from it more than we're here. At Costco a cashier recently asked me if I'd looked into upgrading our membership. Without thinking of how it might sound, I told her it's difficult for us to buy in bulk as we live much of the year out of our car. She looked a little uncomfortable with my answer, so I did go on to explain, and gave her one of our business cards. Then it made more sense to her!
We've now had time to settle back in, catch up on appointments, do some things around the house and yard, and visit with friends. One of our warm-weather pleasures here is the pond Greg built and cares for. Today we're enjoying a flower on a water hyacinth, as well as two buds on the water lilies. I've marked the smaller bud with an arrow in the photo, as it's difficult to see.
Although it's nice to be home, I do also miss most of the homeowners, and the neighbours in Green Valley (can't forget them!), and the pets of course. An unanticipated pleasure of house sitting has been the relationships we've developed with the homeowners. Given that they leave when we arrive, we had thought we wouldn't get to know them very well. However, we keep in contact with most of them, and have done return sits for most.
Yesterday we received photos from the homeowner of the house in the first photo you see today. So, this will be one of those "compare the photos" quizzes. Here's that same entrance today.
Like those commercials comparing clothes detergents ... "Can you see the difference?" The pictures taken just a short while before this one will tell it all.
This photo was taken, standing at the front door looking out to the street.
And of course this one is taken from the street, looking at the front of the house.
You'll see from the first photo, the saguaro cactus that was on the far right now lies in pieces on the ground. How did it happen, I asked? Was there a big windstorm, or was it from the stretch of extreme heat they had recently? No, they think it was from a slow leak in the irrigation system, with the ground getting soaked and not being able to handle the weight of the saguaro cactus.
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| Before (L) and After (R) |
The cactus that toppled over was about 30 feet high. Checking with the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, a 25-foot saguaro is estimated to be 100 years old. This home was originally about the size of ours, but was extended years ago, with one extension being built around the cactuses (or cacti, whichever you prefer). Up close, the cactuses have quite a few birds' nests, as you can see from the hole showing in the last photo here. They certainly have character.
I'm so sad to see it go, but so glad I'm not around for the clean-up; those cactus have long sharp spines!
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Location: Niagara Falls, Canada
Weather: High 21ºC (71ºF) low 12ºC (53ºF)
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