Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats

[pixychick]

Some pictures of Art's concrete work below. He has been doing forms on the upper tier. Then topping with rocks to try and keep the wall from getting undermined. Lower wall has footing with block on top. We have been adding stone under seed feeders to keep soil in place. There also has been some transplanting. We moved a big agave the other day. Hope it makes it. They are pretty tough. Actually, most things out here are tough and can handle drought. We also added some more flowering cactus and bushes. The moree roots into the hillside, the better.

Being that this walkway is below the patio height, there seems to be a slightly different perspective of hummingbird activity. Other animals love hanging in the underbrush down there too. We have gambrel quail, thrashers, wrens and antelope squirrels.

 

[serviceguy]

Some pictures of Art's concrete work below. He has been doing forms on the upper tier. Then topping with rocks to try and keep the wall from getting undermined. Lower wall has footing with block on top. We have been adding stone under seed feeders to keep soil in place. There also has been some transplanting. We moved a big agave the other day. Hope it makes it. They are pretty tough. Actually, most things out here are tough and can handle drought. We also added some more flowering cactus and bushes. The moree roots into the hillside, the better.

Being that this walkway is below the patio height, there seems to be a slightly different perspective of hummingbird activity. Other animals love hanging in the underbrush down there too. We have gambrel quail, thrashers, wrens and antelope squirrels.


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Looking good! I think that when you are back to sunny NJ your next project should be the walkway around my house...it's in Ringwood after all!

 

[pixychick]

This is a bit of a photo dump from the last week, but most from today. Weather has been awesome and I did a bunch of riding over the past few weeks, but today was rainy. There was a break in the rain and we walked to the mail box and saw some mistletoe, a hobo hangout, a bull and an assortment of dramatic clouds.

Merry Christmas all!

 

[pooriggy]

Merry Christmas!
Is that a desert Christmas tree?

 

[pixychick]

Merry Christmas!
Is that a desert Christmas tree?

LOL, well it is the top of a spent agave stalk. It feels more local to me.

 

[pixychick]

We had another round of winter weather roll in leaving close to an inch of rain, snow above 5000 feet and chilly temps. Tonight is expected to drop below freezing. I hope to get back out on the bike soon. In the mean time, dramatic scenery and wearing coats.

 

[pixychick]

Temps were only supposed to get up to 45 today so at 10:30 we went out for a ride in 39 degrees. That may sound warm in NJ terms, but in Az terms, that is COLD! We do not have all our winter clothing with us, so we just doubled up with what we had. Super blue skies today and pictures do not show those true colors. The snow covered mountains made for fantastic scenery today. I was super stoked to just get out after a few days in the house.

The junior broadbills were posing for me today. They may have been just too cold to chase each other away and just happy that I brought their feeders in last night so they did not freeze. I had to set my alarm and get them outside before dawn. I make sure to bring them out dry so their little feet and tongues do not get frozen to the metal. Freeze does not hit at our house every day, so I do not mind the occasional fuss to keep them healthy and alive. Broadbills usually migrate, and they have been full time since we started feeding them. This is the first year I have noticed many little ones in winter. Not sure if the breed is shrinking or they are adolescents. They are very talkative and chirp a lot. More so than the other types.

 

[pixychick]

We jumped on a local group ride today. Ride starts in the morning have been chilly. I found an insulated undershirt in one of my clothes tubs, which made todays start much easier. The ride took us up to cowboy slick rock and high 50. I very rarely do high 50 because it is too techy for me, like hard to even walk if you decide riding is not a good idea. However, today it went really good. Just a great time today riding cool stuff to end the year, and met some new people.

Happy New Year all!

cold temps not doing much for my tan

Madonna in the rock.

\

 

[pixychick]

Had to wear a few extra layers, but riding was awesome yesterday! We went around the mountain clockwise which is opposite our usual direction. Pushing bikes up the first section of the National Forest was not that great, but after that is was fun the whole way. I rode a few gnar sections for the first time, and oddly got a QOM. The sun felt great! The sun is really appreciated on a cool day, as opposed to seeking for shade in triple digits in summer temps.

Topped off the evening with music at Monterey Court. Baba Marimba was playing. They are my favorite local band. Yes, mostly white haired hippie looking folk, but they know how to rock the house. They had a new trombone player and added a violin. So not just world beat, but had some gypsy, jazz and ska sound as well. Although they played out doors, the heaters were cranked and I had a down coat just incase. Nights out here still get cold. .....Retirement does not suck.

 

[pixychick]

Art has been plugging away on his terracing. He had 2 tons of stone delivered to our house, so we have been playing puzzle with stone. He burned out his grinder and a circular saw blade, but replaced them both to get this job complete. ....Any day now.

 

[pixychick]

Some more pictures:

 

[pixychick]

 

[pixychick]

We have had a run of really nice weather: not too hot and not too cold. Flowers are starting to pop up in my garden and the sun warms things up enough to have my last cup of morning coffee on the patio. We have been riding a bit of the high terrain behind our house which is more technical and just enjoying the outdoors. Today we did some adventure stuff following a new found trail.

 

[pixychick]

We have been having a little cold snap in Arizona. This little hummingbird is all puffed up trying to keep warm. Art saw a female flying by with a down feather in her mouth. Trying to warm her nest I suppose. Three nights in a row we have been covering gardens with frost cloth and have all our potted plants indoors. Sugar feeders come inside to avoid freezing and alarm set to get them out before sunrise. I have been off the bike for three days. It certainly is not too cold to ride, but I just did not feel like getting out the winter clothes when warmer days are only a few days away. Instead I have been catching up on some indoor stuff. Tomorrow I will probably ride whatever the temps gets to.

Looking forward to getting back to my nap in the sun schedule.

 

[pixychick]

Some shots from yesterdays ride at Starr Pass. We did all the the best stuff without all the mileage filler. We even did an out and back on explorer trail which is a one mile technical climb. Not many people ride it, but it is a nice challenge now and then. Nice thing about an out and back is we get to go down it. I wish I could say it is technically easier descending, but I walk just as much in both directions. I just do not breath as hard when riding down. While riding down the trail, I keep thinking, wow I rode up this?

All our plants survived the last freeze. It actually was not as bad as predicted. A few penstemon and aloe are blooming, which the hummingbirds like. So now they have an additional food source. Arizona springtime is around the corner.

 

[pixychick]

Just pictures Today:

 

[Robin]

Catching up on posts. Love seeing and reading about your AZ life!

 

[pixychick]

Riding photos from my last post were on Ridgeline Trail. My friend Marianne was out to visit last few weeks and we did some great riding and hiking while she was here. Doing the Ridgeline Trail was on my agenda while she was here as she had not done the whole loop in past visits. I had not done this loop yet this winter as it is pretty long, and in reality, probably over my limit for my current fitness and health. The actual Ridgeline wild Burro loop is not all that long, but getting to the loop adds about 20 miles to the ride. The ride is epic, scenic and awesome! I just tell myself, I've done it before, so I can do it again, and I always make it through. The ride was awesome, but I did end up walking some of the steep eroded fire road climb to get over there and back. Bad news is that I burned my butt cheeks with what I thought was a dependable pair of shorts ? . I will spare you any pictures of my angry a$$. So, 4 days off the bike when my best riding buddy was in town.?

Good news is that it prompted us to do a hike at Ventana Canyon. It was exceptional! We hiked up about 1000 ft vertical above the city following a stream up a tight canyon. The views were breathtaking. Three days later and I am still sore from using muscles, I do not use on a bike.

There have been a few warm days and the flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and the sun is with us a little longer each day. Art and I are setting up for a few short projects in the yard. I will post up some pictures when that gets going. For now, here are some flowers in my garden.

 

[pooriggy]

Nice pids. No selfies with Marianne?

 

[pixychick]

Here are some photos from this past weeks riding. Flowers are starting to bloom along the trails and some days are getting warmer. Todays ride was almost 22 miles and I am pretty tired right now.