Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The textures of Arivaca Arizona...

Beautiful watercolor of Larry and his dog, Paddy and a small girl on his ranch..painted by a good friend.

When I say this place is remote...it's rEMoTe! About 15 miles from the Mexican border, we can actually sit on Gerri's front porch and see the mountains of Mexico..and not too far away.


It's unlike the lower, more flat desserts I am used to living in- this is the high grasslands.. ..rocky, sometimes muddy..not a lot of cactus, lots pf mesquite trees and scrub brush..


The colors of the rocks are impressive. Purple, pinks blue and indigo.

The trees are the regular brown trunks but the foliage is a soft, rich green.


There are remnants of cholla cactus - cholla (pronounced 'choya') some high-dollar western-themed furniture is made from it now, but I remember as a child, hating (!) that dumb cactus-stuff.


Theirs...$1072.00Ours.. $3.98


Prickly-pear.. the jelly is fantastic..and if you leave the thorns, you can floss at the same time :-)

Prickly Pear and Mesquite tree..

Barbed wire..meant to keep cattle in and intruders out - even that hard, pointy stuff can be made into things of beauty...


The earth is red..and the wetter it gets.. the redder it gets. The mornings are cool (relatively) and the days are hot (non-relatively- it's just plain H.O.T.) but the very early mornings? Ahh, magnificent. That's why you could find us walking at 5 am..to beat the heat and smell the smells. They were wonderful.

even muddy reflections become a thing of beauty..


One morning I awoke facing the front windows, which, when you're out in the wilds, you can leave open and uncovered, I saw the horses just getting around, shaking and whinnying. Like something out of a movie..


When we drove to Cilla & Larry's for dinner, going up their hillside road, a coyote came out and meandered across the road right in front of us..at first I thought it was a dog..yeeeeah..here Puppy Puppy..

It stopped and I fumbled for my camera..he walked away. Gerri put the car in reverse...there he was again..camera ready? Yep.

Coyote... gone? Yep.

Back-up again..couldn't catch up with him but what an entrance to Larry's ranch. I could just see Larry up there, watching, saying,
"Okay, que the coyote.."

Birds. Many many birds. Seems they are on the migratory path of all sorts of great birds. Just fun to sit and try to distinguish who was who..

{to the best of my knowledge, these two could be George & Gracie...}

This birdie-Momma was smart - nesting in the bottom of a roll of wire so the hawks don't see her nest..

And, yes, he has a couple of Candy Bouncers - those retro metal chairs I love so much?


A terrific storm came through - wind, then thunder, with rain and lightening soon to follow. Within minutes it had cooled to 58 degrees..imagine..


Dinner with candlelight - something they do every night - isn't that just wonderful??


A heart- in the place mat {accidentally..or not..} just a random piece of the material..

Lookie at these teensy tiny mushrooms! And, do you see another heart??

Hearts are everywhere :-)

So, have a heart, give your heart, open your heart, heartfelt wishes and fishy-kisses ..

-me

13 comments:

diane b said...

The water colour is fabulous and your pictures are like water colours too. It looks a harsh interesting place. Watching the horses gallop in the open paddocks must have been relaxing.

Pat @ My Tattered Elegance said...

This was an awsome post. So many beautiful things to look at. I love the shape of the mesquite trees. And the rocks are beautiful. My mother was a rock lover. She had rocks from every where. Enjoy, looks like a fun place! Sure wish we had the cool mornings to go with our H.O.T. afternoons.
Have a blessed day!
Smiles,
Pat

Lori R. said...

Ohh my, your pics are just beautiful. I love the one with the softness of the bird's nest and eggs along with the industrial look of the fencing. The pic of the coyote is excellent! I listen to them every night but have NEVER seen one in such a majestic pic. Love it! I'm glad you had such a wonderful time.....

A Wild Thing said...

I too love the desert and as you say, you can find the 'heart' everywhere in your wonderful photos...no wonder he loves it so much, he truly lives in paradise!!!

Thanks for the tour!!!

s

RoeH said...

What I love best about Arizona is that you can get up, take a ride and find a whole different terrain of the earth from where you left. It is the most interesting, diverse state I've ever been in. And I've been in about all of them. Just from here to Safford you leave desert, go in to canyons, hit mountains, travel the Apache lands and enter the agricultural lands of the Gila Valley while looking at 10, 270 feet of immediate height. All of that in three hours. Arizona is really incredible.

RoeH said...

10,270 feet meaning Mt. Graham overlooking the Gila valley. My fingers type faster that the brain thinks.

Vee said...

"Theirs...Ours" ROFL! John and I had such fun with that one. You also sent me scurrying for a map of Arizona because your view of the Mexican mountains looked so familiar to me. What I discovered is that I was in Cochise County, but still very close to the border when my first husband was stationed at Fort Huachuca. I very much enjoyed seeing all the pictures you shared. I do love the dinner-by- candlelight-every-night idea.

Oh and that watercolor of your brother looks like a treasure. Just wonderful.

I know that this trip meant a lot to you all. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Little Penpen said...

Beautiful! Thanks for the tour! I would have freaked at the "puppy puppy"!

June said...

You have a gift for bringing your friends along with just a few images and words. Thank you for sharing this special journey with us. That painting struck my heart like lightning.

Jan said...

What lovely photos! I LIVE in AZ and just don't see it that way anymore. And the Northwest corner of the state is just so different from, well, any other corner! LOL! Arizona does have alot to see! Thanks for sharing!

Jan

Betty said...

Say, I know that cactus! It jumped out and bit me once. Well, maybe it was another one...they all look alike to me.

I love your photos of the mud puddle reflections.

I agree with those who commented before..the painting of Larry, his horse, his dog and his little friend is just beautiful!

Laurie said...

Thanks for all the wonderful pictures and the tour of Arizona, though I do have to admit at first glance I thought the wire art said "Boob" Guess it's time for new glasses!
Beautiful!

Neabear said...

Boy am I relieved when I saw Laurie's comment. I could have sworn the wire art said "Boob" too. I was worried that people would wonder where the heck my head was at today. But like Laurie, it must be the glasses! Oh, and I asked hubby what he saw in that picture, and he said "ducks in a row". I have to admit I was relieved he saw ducks in a row and not "Boob"!

Wanna see what I've been up to ??

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