May 15, 2016

“This is getting hot enough!” my husband, Mark, declared early last week. He was referring to the 106° temps we experienced the day before in the Phoenix area. So we loaded up the car and headed north for Dakota to our other home: the “apple house” as my grandson calls it since we have an apple orchard.

A cold front beat us there. “It’s not cold. You just think it is,” Mark said as I checked the outside temperature as we pulled into the driveway. “46° is cold,” I informed him. In my defense, I was still dressed in capris, a short sleeve shirt, and Birkenstocks.The truth of the matter is that I’ve become acclimated to the warm temps found at our “orange house”: our Arizona house affectionately labeled by that same grandson since we have an orange tree in our yard.

This spring in Arizona we witnessed a large variety of cactus flowers come to life and then fade. As we drove out of town on our way north, we happened upon this 25 foot tall Saguaro with its crown heavily ladened with buds and blooms.

I shall miss seeing the Saguaro cactus. Since I first set eyes upon them over 20 years ago, they have intrigued me: looking like sentinels standing and patiently waiting for their marching orders.

The Sonoran Desert (Phoenix is located in the upper part of it) is the only place on earth where these giants can be found.

What I learned today:

1. Home is where your heart is and where you keep your stuff: this stuff still gets mighty dusty when no one is around for 6 months.
2. Dorothy∗ was right: there is no place like home.

∗in the Wizard of Oz