Just a Little Explanation

Some of our friends from up north have wondered why we go away for awhile in winter.  They point out how beautiful the fresh white snow is on everything after a blizzard... and another... and another...and....

And how even new artwork appears when you open the back door. 

It is so fun climbing over drifts that are waist deep.  Let alone moving it off the sidewalk.

The back yards take on a tundra look which is sort of cool... really cool.

It is hard to explain to convinced North Dakotans why we would leave such a home in winter to enjoy a color other than white.

Having heard of their nearly a half dozen blizzards and temperatures in the negative 30's, I'm not sure if anything I say would convince them that there is somewhere a bit nicer to spend January and February. 

The common complaint is that the desert is not very pretty compared to the frosting white of Dakota.

But we do have a lot of white too.

And you don't have to scoop it.

And mostly the white stays up in the clouds where it belongs. 

Shoot, some people have even said that we look younger when we get back from a winter in Arizona... what do you think?

More Days in the Desert

It was fun to have our cousin and wife from California visit Scottsdale.  They attended a wedding of a friend and spent a few days with us.  So good to keep in touch even though we are a long ways apart and they are Californians for life. 

These palm trees made me dizzy shooting upward from the ground on the Arizona Biltmore grounds.  I can't imagine the forces that are on the trunk to keep this tall tree upright when the winds blow.

We have enjoyed walking everyday in the sunshine while the Polar Vortex was sending record low temps back home. 

Some time ago I remember learning how old a Saguaro Cactus has to be before it gets an arm.  I thought it was decades.  If that is the case, this guy must be an old timer like me...maybe even older... can it be?

We do have other Grand Forks people visiting the valley.  This friend has discovered he has a Hummingbird nest in his back yard.  He is a photographer and has the equipment to get some great shots of the nest being built and we'll be able to see the progress of the Hummingbird family after we leave. 

There are a lot of Canadians in the area.  They know a good thing when they see (or feel) it, eh?

This the chapel on the grounds of Scottsdale Bible Church where we attend church on Sundays.  We enjoy the traditional worship service and then each location has the live video broadcast from the pastor who is in another location on the campus.  This week I visited with the Campus Pastor of the traditional service.  He attended Winnipeg Bible College (Now Providence Bible College).  It was fun finding out we had so many mutual friends in our past.  Evangelical circles are indeed small.

I don't know my desert flora, and this blossom survived the frosts that the desert has had while many other plants look nipped.  It may look huge, but is actually very small.

In pursuit of the many hummingbirds of Arizona, I spotted this Anna's Hummingbird and was fortunate to catch the sun's reflection off the beautiful neck and head feathers.  Most of the time those feathers appear dark and only when the sun hits them just right, can the color be seen.  

This shot makes it appear as if he is a bomber with his stabilizers out ready for take off.

I've noticed that the Hummingbirds will fly away from a perch, only to return to the same one moments later, time and time again.  These pictures were taken the next day, and though the bush he is in was different and a little taller, it was in the same area as yesterday.

The sky was clear and the sun caught the colors easier, though the distance was more than yesterday.  Oh, to have color on my head (or even hair) like this guy.  I'm sure he must drive the girls wild! Click on the picture to get a larger view.