Loma Verde Trail on 3-December – Gorgeous Day!Another hike nearby on Garwood Trail on 19-December shows snow on Mt Lemmon.The color of the blue sky was hard to resist!Early morning back lighting on the grass and the Opuntias on the Garwood TrailDon’t fall into the spines! This is an unusual clump of 13 saguaros growing close together on the Garwood Trail.
On Finger Rock Hike in the Catalina Mountains we saw this scarecrow.So we started looking for more and saw this one in Sagauro NP East on the Garwood Trail.Howdy partner!Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
This is a young saguaro that is probably about 30 years old. We took a sunset hike with a ranger led group on 5 December.Amazing these plants can grow out of the rocks. The wavy pattern on this barrel cactus caught my eye.A wavy sunset too! The almost full moon rose to guide us back to Sus picnic area.We went back on December 18th for a really great geography presentation. We took our own sunset hike after a rainy morning.Great lighting. We took the Hugh Norris Trail about a mile up to the large boulders and overlook.Our friends – they have so much personality!So nice to have this saguaro pose just right there in front of the sunset!Such a beautiful place to watch the sunset. Wish it was a closer drive to the condo.
Try to hold that pose! We took a 4-mile or so loop as our introduction to this area north of Saguaro National Park East.A large concentration of saguaros!This looks out of a western movie where an iconic saguaro was stuck on the hillside for a good silhouette.Line ’em up…barrel, cholla, saguaro.We went back on Dec 15th to do the 7 Falls trail which was very lush after the Saturday rain. This contrail seemed to make the falls continue upwards.Little Gumby says this is his favorite trail…there are 7 stream crossing which adds some excitement but you follow the stream all the way to and from the falls.Back to the condo for this sunset view.
The moon is still hovering in the sky when we start this hike at 8:30. We joined a Sabino Canyon hiking group for this hike that starts at Loewe’s Ventana Canyon Resort.This seemed like a perfect saguaro in a perfect setting!The views looking back on Tucson were pretty amazing! We hiked over a 1,100 feet elevation gain…definitely ready for a hot tub after this!Polished rocks and pools of water glisten in the sun.On our way down, this puffy little cloud seemed to want its picture taken…it is like a dot on an i.We went back to the Loews Resort to enjoy an evening with hot cider and a dance performance. We caught this sunset on the drive over.
This Saguaro has supposedly over 30 arms – it was quite the condo for birds and you can see one perched on the top.We had a great hike to Romero Pools and then hung out for the second Saturday concert in the park which was good music.The setting sun took our attention away from the music.Majestic!Colors in every direction – these are the Catalinas!It kept getting better and better! The full moon kept us company on our drive back to the condo.
Plant Select delosperma John Profit ice plants were blooming in this photo taken June 18. This dry-land garden features Plant Select cultivators as well as many native plants that flourish in our Steppe climate.Plant Select’s coveted annual Golden Shovel Award goes to an outstanding public demonstration garden. This is indeed wonderful recognition for the vision, implementation, and dedication to keep it maintained by Adams County Colorado Master Gardeners.We also planted boulders to give the demonstration garden a very native Colorado plateau feeling. First boulders were planted in 2009 with the plants following.The Architect and the Master Gardener consult the plan to determine where to install the rock mulch. This is summer of 2010 – a small group of us led the design efforts. We were thankful for all that helped with the labor!Another June view of penstemons blooming along another pathway.Many cuttings were supplied by Denver Botanic Garden to start our amazing cactus collection. Other plants supplied by Mountain States Nursery in Phoenix, Timberline Garden in Arvada, and Little Valley Nursery in Brighton.This is the reason we garden – gorgeous blooms for us and the pollinators.
Standing near an amazing and large opuntia cactus at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – a very nice break for us from family on a rather cool February day.What a little paradise!Beautiful blooms soften the spines.These are large trees that dominate the island of CubaThis Chapungu sculpture was one of my favorites when it was at the Denver Botanic Gardens. These Zimbabwe Stone Sculptures are quite magnificent. There is a permanent home to some of them in Loveland, Colorado at the Chapungu Sculpture Park.
