February in Arizona

The past couple of weeks have been busy and lots of fun. We spent several days near Tampa, Florida with Ron and Katy Ketcham. They rented a lovely home in Punta Gorda which had a pool. The weather was warm and all four of us enjoyed going to the beach, sightseeing, and the pool. Don and Ron even tried fishing in the canal behind the house. No luck, but fun anyway. When we got back to AZ, the Conleys (Laura, Bennett, and Maryn - Bill had to stay home and work!) came for a visit. We had a great time - Bennett's big wish was to do some golf ball hunting which he managed twice. B was pretty excited that they found about 18 balls the first night and 16 or so the second. The second time, Laura went along and Bennett was able to correctly identify several kinds of cactus that Don had shown him. Maryn wanted to swim and we accomplished that as well, utilizing the Indigo Sky pool in Johnson Ranch. The water was incredibly warm and nice - we all enjoyed the afternoon. One day we all drove up to Scottsdale to the McCormick Railroad Park. It featured a small train that we could ride around the park, a delightful carousel, and lots of play equipment. Laura's high school friend, Jenny Young, met us there with her kids and the children had a great time while Laura and Jenny caught up. It was pretty tough to see them leave for Wisconsin. Fortunately, we will see them and all the grandkids in a little over a month! Finally, just yesterday we returned from a wonderful mini-vacation (2 days) at the Grand Canyon. Our good neighbors, the Kramers, went with us and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We stayed overnight at Williams, AZ which is about 3 hours north of Phoenix. Early yesterday, we boarded a train that took us 65 miles into Grand Canyon National Park and there we went on a bus trip to see the canyon. There was still some snow up there in the shady places, but we lucked into beautiful weather in February. The train trip featured musicians playing Western music in the cars, a mock train robbery, and fantastic scenery. We were on the lookout for elk but saw javelinas, antelope, and the mules who carry visitors down into the canyon. Elk will have to wait for the next trip. We are back and enjoying wonderful weather in the 80's. Tomorrow we go to Mesa to spend the day with the Lencronies (Arizona chapter)....golf for the guys and shopping for the girls! Then Sunday, Minnesota friends, Ted and Cindi Anderson, arrive for a few days....hopefully we'll have more pictures and more to report then. Hasta la vista!

Arizona Botanical Garden

Our neighbors, Rick and Sandy Kramer and the two of us went to see the Chihuly exhibit on glass sculpture which was at the botanical garden for a stop on the national tour. It was amazing and we really enjoyed it. Here are a few examples.

Arizona "winter"

Arizona is recuperating slowly from the defeat of "their Cardinals" in the Super Bowl last weekend. It was a good game and the Cards almost pulled it off but the vaunted Steelers ended up with the win. We watched the game at Kramers' next door. it was a beautiful day and there had been lots of golfers going by all day and at 4 oclock - not a soul on the course! Our weather has been good since we have been back - we had about 10 days of cooler than average and cloudy days but mostly it has been in the mid to high 60's and sunny. The plants are pretty dormant but I noticed yesterday that several in the front are beginning to bloom. The bouganvilla which had looked pretty ratty are starting to put out lots of new leaves so flowers shouldn't be far behind. Bouganvilla are so showy and vibrant - they bloom all spring, summer and fall. Don has been adding to his agave collection - buying two last week - "potatorum" and "Queen Victoria" - he has his eye on a couple of different varieties in yards around the development. Since agave put out "pups" like cactus - Don has hopes of convincing the owners to let him have a pup......much less expensive than buying them! In fact, several friends are saving pups to place on the waste areas of the golf course and in the common areas of the development to fill in or replace dead plants. a good "green" idea, I think. Planning a trip next week to Florida to visit Ron and Katy Ketcham at the home they are renting there - also in the works is a train trip to the Grand Canyon with Kramers. We are looking forward to visits from Laura, Bennett and Maryn in a couple of weeks, the Andersons and possibly Albrechts around March 1. March is pretty open so far, so let us know if you plan to visit!!!! We do love company. Talked to all the kids and grandkids last night. It helps to hear their voices and sometimes see them via the webcam. We miss them all! We plan to play golf together today at Las Colinas. It will be my first time out this spring.....keep your fingers crossed. M