Adventure 834: Day 57/Tucson/2023

Today's events proved enlightening starting with the quote from American Actor, Zen priest, and beatnik activist, Peter Coyote, who said, 

"The idea of absolute freedom is fiction. It's based on the idea of an independent self. But in fact, there's no such thing. There's no self without other people. There's no self without sunlight. There's no self without dew. And water. And bees to pollinate the food that we eat...So the idea of behaving in a way that doesn't acknowledge those reciprocal relationships is not really freedom, it's indulgence." 

For example, every time I walk to the park for aTai Chi lesson I pass a house with a well fed, well kept, very green yard. It's the kind of yard you don't normally find in the desert. There's always standing water by the curb, and last week I watched the man of the house soaking his yard with a hose. I'm sure he feels that he has the right to take care of his yard any way he sees fit. He pays his bills. It's a free country. I'm just imagining what he thinks. To me, it seems indulgent. In other adventurous news, I freely channeled my Dave Ulmen today and fixed the wobbly arm on the toilet roll holder. Very satisfying after I  finally started listening to Dave's advice, "Slow down, relax, have some patience." I thought to myself as I tried to wiggle a tiny screw driver into a place holding screw that was upside down,  and in a tight space, "You're one to talk!". My final enlightened moment came during Tai Chi class when Sifu pointed out a fine point in the form. It was the kind of advice that cannot be unheard. I'll try to incorporate the action from this day forward. Enlightenment is like that. It's visceral, internal, and primal. It enters the whole body. It's the kind of feeling that makes life good, especially today.

Selfie of the day: Go Zags!

Thin gruel: Salmon patties, roasted brussel sprouts, beets, and sliced apple.

The sky to the east at sunset.

Would you like to be enlightened, my son?

Sunset never tasted so sweet.

Freedom or indulgence?

Adventure 833: Day 56/Tucson/2023

Today we wandered out in the desert for awhile, frolicking as it were with cacti older than our country. We were in search of the picture rocks. It felt a bit fey (giving the impression of vague unworldliness) to slosh along a rock strewn sandy wash following a mishmash of foot prints. I can only imagine what this part of the world looked like when the inhabitants spent many of their days chiseling figures into the face of the rocks. The best petroglyphs we've come across were outside of White Sands near Las Cruces, New Mexico. There, literally hundreds of images are etched on stone. In my mind's eye I can see those men scratching their visions into the stone. I'm sure it was the men because likely the women were back home doing most of the work. I wonder if the artists who carved the petroglyphs knew they were leaving a mysterious legacy. Maybe it was just a way to communicate, sort of like a newspaper (if you're old enough), or a tik-tok story (if you're hip enough). I wonder if anything was off limits. Maybe cancel culture existed fifteen hundred years ago. Or maybe they had comedians like Stephen Colbert who said, "This would be really damaging if anything mattered anymore." And I wonder what mattered back then, especially in light of how long it takes to scratch a figure into stone. I mean wasn't survival paramount? I can't imagine a Kroeger's, a Piggily Wiggily, or a Walmart popping up among the Chollas. I do know this. As an artist, if I got to make art without constraint, life was certainly good, especially that day.

Notice how green the desert is right now.

Maybe the indigenous artists doubled as look outs as they scratched their pictures up on the rocks.

I wonder if my own digital petroglyphs will last, and if so, will anyone be able to decipher the mysteries?

This poor guy has seen his last picture show.

Many of his brethren will live to witness another day.

Really?

I wonder if that multi-armed saguaro in the back is really an astral communication device. It's just as likely as Tucker Carlson's latest interpretation of January 6.

A wash by definition suggests water at some point. We walked three miles along this wash today. The only evidence of water is the amazing green of the dessert.

Since today we all are as young as we'll ever be as well as old as we'll ever be, we must all be works in progress.

Ask the old guy on the right. He knows.

Adventure 832: Day 55/Tucson/2023

Speaking of deep thoughts. Pastor Harrington asked this question in her sermon today: "What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?" And to break the silence she made some joke I can't remember, but her basic message had each of us who claim to be Christians asking, "What is your relationship with Jesus? Who do you say he is? How does He fit into he context of my life?"  Pretty deep stuff, which most of us deflect with smaller, less serious stuff like paying off last month's cribbage debt. The Wiley Cager had to pull out her credit card at the Locale Bakery where we had a couple of pastries and a mocha. I think we both felt like winners. In the afternoon, we went down to the U of A campus to take in the book fair, a colossal event where we mingled with four or five thousand like minded folks. It reminded me of a bicycle trip we took a few years back. We rode the Underground Railroad trail from Mobile, Alabama some fifteen hundred miles up North to Archbold, Ohio where Kelvin (Kelbabe) Friesen lives. On the way, in some tiny rural town in Alabama, Judy and Deb went into a local grocery store looking for a book to read. On the way in Judy and Deb asked two young high school girls if they had any books. They replied, "No, Ma'am." On the way out, Deb overheard the girls mutter, "Books, Hoo!" as if it was the height of certain insanity to read. Those two girls may have held a poor opinion of books, but the people we mingled with today hold a different opinion. In fact, I saw one caption on a T-shirt that read: "So many books, so little time." After the book fair, we toured one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tucson, the Barrio Viejo, which is a few blocks Southeast of downtown. I wish I could go back in time to experience it as a vibrant neighborhood. As it is, it's slowly being gentrified, which is very cool. I guess my deep thought for today is that as I age I tend to see more value in the past. It still doesn't answer the deepest questions, but one thing is sure: Life is good, especially today.

Deb and Ed Drouin found this  pleasant spot. 

Winning tastes so good.

Besides authors talking about their books, the entire campus was filled with activity. Everything from music to food, and of course a score of tents full of all kinds of books.

Dancers all of kinds performed. There were cultural performances that ranged from Mexican traditional dances to Irish clogging.

This girl, who hid in plain sight, may have been from the rural South.

We walked several blocks that featured fabulous metallic art.

This is an example of the the housing in the Barrio Viejo.

And of course, there were books.

Hooo!
 

Adventure 831: Day 54/Tucson/2023

Today the weather added warmth to the deep blue sky, and the rest of the week promises to hover in the seventies. You won't hear me saying it's too hot, but I did break my short pants back out. After a morning in which three significant gems were handed to me during Tai Chi class, I spent nearly the rest of the day waiting at Discount Tire for the removal and repair of a pesky screw in the left rear tire. In total, the car spent four hours waiting its turn to be fixed. In the meantime I walked four miles through the local neighborhoods adding to what Bill Bradley called, "A Sense of Where You Are". Of course he was talking about basketball for the most part, but as not only a great player but a deep thinker, he was also speaking to his sense of place. For me, not necessarily a great player or a deep thinker, I was mostly trying to find back roads from point A to point B. Speaking of basketball, the madness is beginning. Many of the favorites lost today. Frenzy as fierce as a school of piranha has begun. As they say, "Buckle up, Bubba, the ride is about to be wild." For fans that means life is good, especially today.

My new art paradigm: Rock heart air planters.

This old guy is taking the symbiotic relationship with his host palo verde a little far.

Quail art.

 Buckle up, Poppy.

I wonder where I'm at?

Among other things, we practiced bouncing today. Here Russ is bouncing Jake who is about to be launched up off his feet and back into the mattress. 
 

Adventure 830: Day 53/Tucson/2023

High adventure came our way today. We had a conference call with our realtors. Selling the house we've lived in for 33 years seems quite adventurous. We chatted for a half hour or so, answering questions, laying down some ground work. There's more to be done, but we've cast our ball onto the roulette wheel. Round and round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows. For the activity of the day, we did a four mile hike in the Sweet Water Preserve, which has become our favorite hiking destination not only because it's so close, but also because of the plethora of fine saguaros living there. Today we took a loop we hadn't been on, so new terrain is always exciting. Afterward, we lounged the afternoon away. Judy began knitting Falcon's Christmas stocking. I practiced the form, bent some wire, soaked in the hot tub, sipped a little whisky, and generally enjoyed the afternoon, which was as far away from yesterday's snow as you could imagine. Nothing but blue sky, bright sun, and light wind today. It's all good because you know our motto: Life is good, especially today.

Yesterday.

Today.

Notes from our conference call with the realtors. No wooden nickels please. Still hoping for the first number to be seven; however, the realtors kept coming back to $699,999. We'll see what happens.

You can take the gardener out of the garden, but you can't take the garden out of the gardener. Judy plucking weeds.

Why don't you barrel me over?

We did the Black Rock loop today.

We saw this twisty guy.

The snow seems to be gone.

Selfie of the day: Just the same old us.

Bunny hiding in plain sight pretending to be a cactus.

 Could be a Christian cactus, or a college cheer gymnast.

Adventure 829: Day 52/Tucson/2023

I thought I had transported myself back to Spokane when I woke up to a blanket of snow this morning. The cacti were topped with snow cones; the eaves were dripping like the spillway at Grand Coulee Dam, and it was 34 degrees. Yikes! Unlike Spokane, the snow was a damp memory by the time I met Sifu Misner for my Tai Chi lesson at eleven. It had warmed to 42 degrees and the sun made it feel warmer. Amazing! I hope some warm weather will follow this moisture so maybe we'll catch the desert flower bloom. Likely we'll miss it, but hope springs eternal. We were so elated by the afternoon sun, we decided to try an East side Mexican restaurant called El Sur. The place, filled with everyday folk, welcomed us. The wait staff was efficient and the food was delicious. We took the long way home, stopping at Frost's for gelato, and tucked Herbie Joe (our car) into the garage safe and sound. It was a good date, and good dates make life good, especially today.

Patio Buddha seems unperturbed.

No frills. Just good home cooking.

Snow cones.

The majestic Catalina Mountains dropped with a rare coat of snow.

 

Adventure 828: Day 51/Tucson/2023

Good day for an impromptu adventure with the Kral's. We decided to take a two hour hike up Pima Canyon. It was a scouting trip for us since the trail head is so close. The hike, which starts among very high value homes, provides scenic views of Tucson as well as a steady climb to higher elevations. We went as afar as the creek bed, probably one third of the way to the top. The climb out of the creek bed looked to be steadily up, rocky, and classically rugged. It would be a good hike on a full day. Preparations would be paramount. In other news, I ended the month $.34 cents ahead of the Wiley Cager. She'll have to spring for the chocolate eclair very soon. Tonight we're expecting strong winds, cold temperatures, a possibility of snow, and at the very least quite a bit of precipitation. We'll see what tomorrow brings. In other house keeping news, our realtors made a preliminary walk through of our house in Spokane, and it seems like the first number in our sale price will be a seven. That makes us happy. In not so happy news, our land lady in this house in Tucson will be selling out after our stay next year which means we'll have to find another place suited to our needs. Such is life, which is good, especially today.

This was our turn around spot today. It's all up hill from here.

The trail meanders up to that big bump in the distance.

Here we are descending to the water. What goes down must go up.

Ginny, babbling beside the brook.

I picked up a thorn in the front right tire, which afforded me a trip to the Discount Tire Store. While I waited, I enjoyed a small strawberry delight.

This evening from our patio. Weather building in the distance.

Look at this hiker babe go!

Selfie of the day: Say, "Cheese".