Still in Tucson

The painters completed the exterior of the house this morning.  Hooray!  I've been off the ranch
for over two weeks.  Seems too long.  In the meantime, I've rearranged some things and
hung new photography.  A few things from our Tucson house...

Tucson for a Few Days

I stayed in Tucson after we returned from Dallas on Tuesday afternoon.  We are having the exterior of the Tucson house painted, so I've been available to the painters when they had questions.  I was taped inside the house two days, when the doors and windows were papered and taped shut.  I watched five movies!  The paint job is moving along.

Papa went to the ranch to check on the horses.  He returned to Tucson on Saturday afternoon, in time to go to the Tucson Greek Festival.  We bought some baklava and left soon after, when we saw the dinner line.  We went to OPA for dinner, since we were in the mood for Greek.

We heard from Karla this week and she invited us to meet her and Meybelyn for gelato today.  We had fun hearing about college classes for Meybelyn and senior year for Karla.  

We're off to a guitar concert this evening at UA.  All good!

Trip to Dallas

Papa and I flew to Dallas on Thursday night and returned to Tucson yesterday.  Whitney's family moved from New Jersey to Dallas in August.  We stayed with them and did a bit of decorating.  We also spent time with Brian's family.  We enjoyed going to Greta's hockey practice and Toby's 

hockey game.  We had two dinners with Emily and Sarah.  I also had time for a couple of visits with my friend Linda.  We read to Toby and Greta and Papa played poker with Toby.  It was a good visit!

Clouds, Rain, and Rainbows

We've had rain or sprinkles for several days in a row, with big clouds and rainbows too.  Spectacular!

Old Friend Toad

Over the past several summers, we have had a large toad hopping about on our porch, after the rains begin.  Our old friend, Mr. Toad, has been visiting almost every night for the past few weeks.  He has grown! 

Hurricane Newton

From September 6-8, Tucson felt the effects of Hurricane Newton.  We were told by local weather stations that it was only the 5th time in recorded weather history that a hurricane passed over Tucson.  By the time it reached southern Arizona, the wind was no longer a factor, and the rain was welcome.  We were in Tucson and couldn't see much of the Santa Catalina Mountains for over 24 hours.  The view from our back patio...

Grass Still Growing!

We had 1.5" of rain on Wednesday of this past week.  The ranch is wet, from east to west, with some of our creeks still running.  The mountains are covered with grass, still growing in mid-September. Papa and I took a ride part way across the ranch this morning.  It's beautiful!

First Time Ranch Visitors

Rudy's family came to the ranch yesterday.  Everyone had a turn riding Oscar and Pablo.  

We had a late lunch and enjoyed the day.  We hope they will return!

Photo Art

Over the past week, I've ordered several sepia toned 16" x 20" prints, of photos 

I've taken over the past few years on the ranch.  I intend to frame and 

hang them in our Tucson house.  These are some of my favorites. 

Watching Rain

Yesterday and today, we watched rain move toward our house, as the sun was shining behind the rain.  We got over 1" of rain yesterday and just a trace today. 

Blankets of Flowers

Our summer rains have yielded blankets of flowers across the ranch.  Its a beautiful time!

Home Again!

Papa and I have been busy in Tucson for a few days.  We made some much needed repairs on our Tucson house and worked in the yard.  We returned to the ranch yesterday afternoon.  The temp was 20 degrees cooler than in Tucson.  The sky was full of clouds over the mountains as we approached.  And the sunset was magnificent.  We're happy to be home!