There's something in the air

Wherever we walk these days we can smell the sweet scent of orange blossoms. It's a smell that neither one of us have experienced before. Very pleasant. 

 What's strange, to me anyway, is the fruit is still on the tree.

Sunset a couple nights ago. Vapour trails from jet airplanes flying

at altitudes of around 30,000 ft.  Although it was 20 degrees C at 

ground level, it's a gentle reminder that we are never far from extreme cold. 

Minus 56C up there! Yikes!

Foursday at Filly's and Hitching Post

Foursday lives on and Tito's choice today did not disappoint. We drove out into the country on a dark and lonely road until we arrived at Filly's Eatin & Drinkin Place on Hiway 88. 

We ate and drank and then....

we listened to a genuine South-West country band and then....

later we left Filly's and drove to the Hitching Post Karaoke Bar
where Sandi was serenaded by some guy and then....

Tito got into it with a chicken with
Sandi egging him on.

Yep...  It's gonna be hard to top this one Yvonne said.

Daily Walk

Every day we try to walk a mile or two. Today, with no particular destination in mind, we found ourselves  in the oldest section of our gated community where there is a mix of cactus, grassed yards and lakes.

We are starting to see more flowers as we head into Spring in Arizona.

This particular plant is a Beavertail Prickly Pear Cactus

Cormorants and Egrets line the shore of this man-made lake.  Plenty of activity in the water. The black cormorants dive for their lunch while the long legged egrets spear at the water with their beaks while flying over. In Leisure World it's best to be a bird, not a fish.

Very patriotic these Americans. President's Day yesterday. 

Flags flying everywhere honouring the National Holiday.

I wonder how a Prime Minister's Day or Premier's Day would be received in Canada?

Just a thought.

Citrus Harvest

The citrus harvest is in high gear at this time of the year. Lucky for us we have neighbours like Perry and Dan who have an abundance of oranges and grapefruit. Dan's trees are nearly picked clean by now. Perry, who doesn't eat citrus, has been offering his oranges and grapefruit for the last month. They end up as rabbit food when they fall to the ground. When the oranges over-ripen on the tree certain birds will poke holes in them to drink the juice.

For Atti's benefit. (Left to right). Grapefruit - Gramma Yvonne -  Tangelo orange. 

All very sweet.

Mouth-watering

These are the last of the grapefruits on our tree. We only had 6 on the tree

 this year but apparently the tree produces dozens and dozens 

according to Perry. We'll see how it does next year.

 This is one of Dan's grapefruits. I'm not sure about the variety but it's similar
to ours in shape and rind thickness. When the outside colour turns from
yellow to pink, it's time to eat.

I've never been a huge fan of grapefruit but now that we have ready access
 and they're as fresh as you can get, I've acquired a taste for them.
Thanks for the knife, Doris.

Perry's Tangelo tree. Tangelos are known for their seeds but 

these have very few, only one or two per orange.

No point in picking more than you can eat. They last longer and 

ripen better on the tree. 

We are sharing these with Sandi and Tito.

Pool Hall

Yvonne and I played some pool today. Normally we play Pickleball in the afternoon but today the court was booked by a large group. We found ourselves looking for something else to do. The billiard room has eleven tables so I thought I'd teach Yvonne a little bit about 8 ball.

 I missed this shot.

After sinking a double combination shot, Yvonne dropped this one into
the corner pocket. Suppertime!!
Thank God we weren't playing for money.

Doris and Amy visit

Doris and Amy both spent time with us in February. Lucky for Amy, this time the weather cooperated.

 The golf cart got a good workout ferrying people to the pools, pickle ball court, 

zumba classes and various other activities.

 Amy brightened up the pool with her diamond studded sunglasses
 while the rest of us terrorized the Pickleball court.

Lunch at Cien Agaves Restaurant in Old Scottsdale.

 Essentials to quench a desert thirst.
Blue Moon Belgian White Beer.

Fish, Beef and Shrimp Tacos were delicious.

 Hot sauces make the day even hotter.

A drive in the country and a stop along the road to check out 

the cactus and pose for pictures.

 The girls had to be careful walking in the desert with their "city shoes".

Those prickly cactus alongside the trail make for dangerous walking conditions.

Can-Can girl in the can-can at
Tortilla Flats

Gunfight on the streets of Goldfield. Lots of gunfire and smoke.

After the show the actors pass the hat.

Fashion Square shopping expedition into downtown Phoenix.

$$$ Neiman Marcus, Barney's-New York, Nordstroms $$$

Amy loading up on perfume at Sephora.

Amy's favourite bridge in Leisure World. 

She met another golf cart while crossing this single-lane bridge.

Pickleball

We started playing Pickleball a couple months ago. The game is a cross between tennis, badminton, and ping pong. It can be played by two or four players. It's played slowly by beginners who are just trying to keep the ball in the court. The game gets fast and furious when the players learn a few tricks about serving and volleying. The lines on this court are confusing because it doubles as a basketball court. Leisure World is building 8 new PB courts because of the gaining popularity of the sport. 

Boys against girls. Partnering with Tito will guarantee a win.

We mix it up a bit too.

Yvonne retrieving a ball.

After a few minutes of coaching, Doris was whacking the ball around like a pro.

A man can work up a mighty big thirst playing Pickleball.

Robert & Yvonne's paddles and ball.

White Tank Mountain Park

When our friend and "lake" neighbour Joan called and asked if we were interested in walking the Waterfall Trail at White Tank Mountain South West of Phoenix, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. She and her sister Mary had been hiking the trails around Phoenix almost every day for the past week and were planning one last outing before heading back to Alberta. We decided to tag along.

 Trailhead sign.

 Yvonne, Mary and Joan.

 Joan's nephew William and niece Susan met us on the trail. 

We covered around 3.8 miles today.

We spotted these unusual makings on the granite rocks near the trail. 

The petroglyphs were scratched out by the Hohokam Indian tribe thousands of years ago and can still be seen on numerous boulders along trail.

 This section of the trail is relatively easy to navigate. 

Note the steps just ahead of Joan and Yvonne.

 The waterfall only flows after heavy rainfall, however thousands of years of rainfall and resulting floodwaters have washed out depressions or "tanks" in the white granite rocks, thus the name of the mountains and the waterfall canyon.

Another day trip comes to an end.

Desert Belle Cruise, Saguaro Lake

Tuesday was another blue-sky day in Arizona so, being Robert's turn to plan the Foursday activity, we drove to Saguaro Lake, a half hour drive North of Mesa. It was 23 degrees C, a perfect day to sit and relax on a slow moving pontoon boat and enjoy the scenery.

 We boarded the Desert Belle for a 1.5 hr narrated cruise of Saguaro Lake.

We chose the upper deck.

 Now use your imagination. Can you see the Elephant? 

 Not hard to see why they call this Saguaro Lake.
Apparently a Saguaro cactus develops it's "arms" at around 60 years of age
 and most live well over 150 years. Typical for Mesa, everybody is well over 60 in this crowd.

Saguaro Lake is very busy during the summer months. Shipwreck Rock located is several hundred feet from shore and got it's name from numerous encounters with various forms of watercraft. Despite being well marked with lighted buoys, some boaters still manage to run into this large immovable object, especially after dark.
The locals call it the "Budwiser Effect"

 After the cruise we checked out the local park and public beach access to the lake.
This reminds me of Lac La Nonne says Yvonne!
Let's have another Margarita says Sandi.

 Not much left of the Salt River downstream of the Stewart Mountain Dam.
Awesome views.

 Today's adventure ends at the Black Angus with a Black & Tan,
Caesar Salad and Prime Rib for four.

Can it get any better than this?

We'll see next Foursday!!