The Burrow

Miss Vicki organized a trip to Desert Survivors last week.  The Happy Ladies Club Gardening Group is a fluid bunch; those who were regulars have disappeared and new members have joined and I've been absent for much too long.  I forgot how inspiring it is to be surrounded by others who share a passion; the plants looked much different after hearing how they grew in this one's front yard, in that one's courtyard, in a pot by another's poolside. After three hours of garden gossip, I was energized.... and so was my credit card.  Shopping for plants is the gardener's joy and abyss... there is really no reason to stop, it seems, since everything looks so luscious.  I was good - I bought only this leopard succulent... whose name escapes me.   But, I'm getting ahead of the story.   Desert Survivors is a human service organization with a botanic twist. Set on 3.8 acres at the base of A Mountain it carries 550 species of native plants. T...

I had nothing scheduled this morning.  I was free to do all the errands which have piled up on the front seat of my car.  SIR has a birthday coming up, and shopping was required.  In the midst of our six week planting season, the garden store beckoned.  I woke up without an alarm or an ache or a pain. It was shaping up to be a great day. Then, I left the house.  There was a person in an SUV parked south-facing on the north-driving side of my little road.  There were no blinkers, no turn signals, no indication that she was doing anything but hanging out in exactly the wrong place.  I sighed, and drove by.  Turning left across six lanes is easy; there's not a lot of traffic on what was once a sleepy two lane road.  This morning, though, every oncoming vehicle seemed determined to travel in the fast lane while proceeding at a lower-than-the-limit rate of speed.  This messes up the flow.  The spaces between blocks of cars are dimi...

I am tired of reading my friends' complaints. There is snow where there should be crocus blossoms. The bunnies are hopping through drifts, seeking sustenance. We have no such problems here in the desert Southwest. This volunteer desert marigold ( Baileya multiradiata ) is nestled comfortable beside these rocks. The bunnies sniff but don't seem to be that interested. The ground squirrels are clambering up the barrel cacti, pulling out the tuna and sucking the juices. They often leave their trash behind; do you see the empty tuna on the top of his brothers? This golden barrel cactus provided protection for the bluebells.  Old friends are returning, too. These clusters were planted the first year we arrived. For the next five summers, I watched and waited and nothing happened. Suddenly, this year, these appeared. I'll post pictures if they turn out to be more than these green leaves. The prickly pear cacti (Opuntia) are getting ready to ...

Brenda Starr and I walked a new neighborhood on Sunday. The Mercado is built at the western-most terminus of Tucson's new Modern Streetcar. It channels The Old Barrio, where Brenda Starr will take me on our next perambulation. On Sunday, we walked and were amazed.   There were flowers and artistic plantings and bright colors on a gloomy day. The doorways were welcoming and interesting and the colorful houses made us smile.   The windows had detailed ironwork from which rastra chains or cacti peered.   The gorgeous metal work was evident on more than window boxes and grates.  This trellis will maintain the sanctity of the structure while displaying the flora and will look elegant until it's covered with vines.  The corrugated metal fencing is a delightful shade of green.   There is neighborhood greenery and water reclamation systems to maintain the personal greenery....

I was wrong.  I didn't pay attention to the paperwork.  I made a mistake.  I'm happy to admit it.  I just wish someone had brought it to my attention in a less distasteful fashion. BlueCross/BlueShield/Arizona raised our premiums by about 11%.  I received a letter notifying me of the change last Fall. I was stunned by the amount and the rate and I never got further down the page. The date at which the change became effective eluded me.  I assumed they were telling me in October to give me a chance to examine my other options under the ACA before the price went up in my birthday month, February.  I would turn 62 then; I assumed that was a magic number for my insurer. Nothing else could justify such an egregious increase in monthly premiums. I groused and I investigated but it seems that this is what it costs to insure two relatively healthy older adults in Tucson these days.  In February, I edited the automatic payment function at C...

Miss Goldman, P.E. instructor extraordinaire, had the whole school out on the playground this morning......    including the principal.  It was the Annual Jump Rope for Heart Field Day. As Prince's Official Adopted Grandmother, I was an honored guest.   There were non-competitive games on the grass, but this year I stayed on the cement, watching, along with those astonished boys,  as a teacher showed her stuff.   She wasn't the only one having a good time. Some held one end of the rope for those in line   watching as amazing things happened The kid really had hops Yes, he's on his fingertips.   And this one is inches off the ground while flipping the rope and jumping. Other girls were jumping, too, even if their clothing was often less than hospitable to the activity She didn't let tradition get in the way of fun. She jump-walked all around the concrete.   ...