We checked out a hike in somewhat nearby Sabino Canyon. The sky was beautiful, the walk hot!

Saguaro cactus like to start growing in the shade and protection of other bushes. When they get bigger, they compete for water supply, sometimes (usually?) killing the “nurse plant.” Here the saguaro seems to be armwrestling a tree… who’s gonna win this slow motion fight?

I’m posing with a friend I’ve known since I was a little kid.

You can tell it’s been a slow news week when I post pictures like the following:

The other day it was VERY windy. As I sat safely inside on my recliner, listening to the wind howl, I heard a very loud CLUMP! It sounded like a small plane had crashed on our roof. I could see nothing from outside, so I waited till morning when the world was calmer. Sure enough, a frond from our palm tree had fallen on the roof. They don’t weigh much, but the heavy end is very hard, and when hitting the ground (or our roof) it makes a surprisingly loud CLUMP.

So that’s why I’m on the roof taking a pano of our winter site. This picture makes it look huge! Ok, it really is huge.

There is one rig in this park that might not have noticed being attacked by a palm frond. With an RV as macho as this one, I wonder why he is at a civilized park? Maybe he should be out scaling the Grand Canyon walls or something.

We went out for Ice Cream to celebrate something (maybe surviving a windy day?) We ended up at a cute place called Screamery. Very nice!

Another trip to the Sweetwater area gave us no new birds, but nice skies and a great walk.