Catching Up

A lot of friends have noted that I haven't been keeping the blog up to date. Well, it has not been due to a lack of interest or because there has been nothing to report. I just have been having so many technical difficulties with Blogger that it wasn't worth the hassle. Supposedly, Blogger is now "new and improved." So, I will give it another try and let you know what we have been up since my last post in October.


Yesterday, Carolyn and I returned from camping in Tucson. We went south for a little warmer weather.


We spent as much time outdoors as possible. We hiked in the Sonoran desert one day and on the Pima Canyon Trail the next.

As you can see, Carolyn loves saguaros. We don't have them in Prescott. Our altitude is too high and the saguaros' nothern boundary is about 20 miles south of where we live.


We spent a day at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum . It's a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden. Exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert and display 300+ animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants on 21 acres of desert.


Just a week earlier the museum was blanketed by a very rare snowfall in Tucson.


By the time we arrived, however, the temperature was in the low 70's.

One of our favorite experiences was seeing the Harris's Hawk. This hawk is native to the area. Unlike other hawks, it lives in a family of 4-6 members. They hunt together and shows signs of genuine affections for one another.

Here three of them share a common roost (unusual for birds of prey).

We watched as the family of five hunted in coordination with each other and saw them allow the alpha female to take over the catch found by a junior member of the family.

We also enjoyed the hummingbird aviary, an enclosure where you can walk among different species of hummingbirds displaying little wariness of humans. We watched a female Costa's Hummingbird build her nest by snatching fiber from the sweater of a lady sitting nearby. Here you can see the hummingbird taking fiber directly from the woman's hand. Hummingbirds typically use spider webs.


I enjoy the endless variety of cacti, the desert has to offer. Here are just a few we saw.



This is the Organ Pipe cactus.

The Totem Pole cactus.

The Thurber Cholla.

The Devil's Club Cholla.


The Santa Rita Prickly Pear

The Teddy Bear Cholla.

Hecha

This Chollo provided a safe haven for an inventive and adventurous bird.

Prescott Opens New Senior Center

Since coming to Prescott, Carolyn and I have been active in the Meals On Wheels program that provides food to senior citizens throughout the community.

This month, our new Senior Center was dedicated. It houses the Meals On Wheels program as well as other services for the citizens of Prescott.

This is the dining room where seniors came come to the Center for lunch if they prefer.

Everyday at 7am, dining room volunteers begin packaging several hundred meals for the drivers who deliver them to homebound folks throughout the Prescott area.

The meals are prepared by the chef and his staff and are quite good.

While the drivers are on their routes, the volunteers prepare to serve meals in the dining room for anywhere from 150 to 300 people who come into eat each day.

The new Center hosts a number of programs for seniors.

There are meeting rooms where a variety of activities are offered from dance classes to arts and crafts.

There is a pool room.

There is a fitness room with state of the art exercise equipment.

Meals On Wheels is a wonderful program. Here in Prescott it is staffed by a lot of fantastic individuals. The new Center is icing on the cake.

Winter Hiking In Prescott

Long-timers in Prescott tell us this winter has been one of the coldest 30 years. That may be true, but a typical winter day here is like a late winter day in central Illinois when you can feel spring is on the way. We have some grey weather but usually the sun shines at least a portion of the day. When it does, it is comfortable to be outdoors. A few weeks ago, Carolyn and I hiked north of Thumb Butte.

Pine Lakes trail #316 slopes gently upward through scrub land and winds through pine forests.

We started out in light jackets but soon were down to our shirt sleeves.

We discovered a branch of Willow Creek. It was completely frozen because of the cold nights we have.

It afforded a great place to sit and have a picnic lunch in the sun before heading back home. All in all, another great winter's day here in Prescott.