Life on the High Plains

Our time in the Valley of the Sun is coming to an end and there are so many things I haven't blogged about so I'm going to try to catch up. For Christmas my hubby received two tickets to the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale.  Now, I'm not a golf fan or follower at all, but I was more than happy to spend the day outside in the sun on a beautiful golf course. When we arrived we realized we were there on ProAm day.  One pro was grouped with "celebrities".  Now most of these celebrities were CEOs of financial companies or places like Chipotle or Golf companies, but there were some celebs I'd actually heard of. At the first hole we stopped at we really didn't recognize anyone until we saw the mullet.  Yep, that's Aaron Rodgers. He was there with his armed sheriffs for protection.  I wanted to yell out "you're a big fat liar", but I'm not really that person.  His inability to tell the truth about his vaccination status shows his ...

 I don't really do book reviews, but I just finished one that touched my soul. Nomadland is written by a woman who not only interviewed and wrote about the book's characters, but also embraced the lifestyle of the houseless (not homeless) workers who travel the country in search of  work.  At times she camped alongside her subjects and even purchased a van to fully immerse herself in the experience. Many of these people are senior citizens who don't have the resources to enjoy what should be their retirement years.  Many lost their homes in the 2008 recession.  Many don't want to be a burden to their families so instead they've joined communities who support them and watch out for each other.  In the winter months thousands congregate in Quartzite, Arizona where they can camp for free and congregate with their friends who arrive from all over the country. From Amazon warehouse jobs in places like Tennessee and Kentucky to camp host jobs in the Forest Servic...

We made a late afternoon trip to the Salt River yesterday in hopes of spotting some of the Salt River wild horses. We were not disappointed! There were horses everywhere and more kept arriving and making their way into the water. The temps have been in the mid 80s this week which is quite warm for this Colorado girl.  Everyone was taking a nice long drink and cooling down. There were multiple bands of horses scattered up and down the river.  For the most part they were all getting along and were calm and cool even with all the people viewing them from across the river. Some chose to stand along the rocky river bank. There were a couple disagreements that arose.  I love it when the camera is set and focused in the right direction at just the right time.  I love how this guys has his mouth open and is ready for battle.  Luckily, the tussle only went on for a few seconds. And they just kept coming. A shot down the river. Lots of red (sorrel horses) in the herds... ...

A couple weeks ago we went to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden to view the Chihully exhibt which was wonderful.  An added bonus was that we were there on the opening day of the Butterfly Pavilion. After masking up they let a few people in at a time.  The guide said there were about 1,500 butterflies on the loose so we needed to watch our step.  The Zebra Longwing (pictured above) was by far he most populous butterfly. Another Zebra Longwing, but this time on a pink flower. I've done my best to identify the butterflies we saw.  I believe this is a Great Southern White. Another Zebra Longwing. Yes, another Zebra Longwing but this time on a yellow bloom. Zebra Longwing on some sort of daisy. Here's one I'm not too sure about.  I think it's a Common Buckeye.  All I know is that it's beautiful and this particular breed chose to hang out on the mesh walls of the pavilion rather than on the many flowers.  If anyone know if I'm correct in its identification...

We made a visit to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden this week.  The garden is a great place to visit anytime, but even more so when there's a Dale Chihuly exhibit.  Above is the Fiori Boat, the first piece of the collection you encounter after entering the garden. These are the Blue Birch Reeds.  I love the blue mixed with the green cacti. The Lime and Lava Red tower is a freestanding sculpture.    The above is named Sororan Neon.  It looks like they light up at night...hmmm, maybe a night visit is in our future. This chandelier is the Aqua Blue and Amber Chandelier.  Multiple glass pieces are assembled and mounted to a steel stand.  Again, I enjoy the blue and green combination. Not sure what this one was called.  All I know is that it's amazing and colorful. This is Sol Del Citron.  It's composed of 1500+ pieces of glass.  It represents the sun and is perfect for the Sonoran Desert. These are called the Red Reeds.  How the...