Things I See As I Run

I took some pictures the last time Alan and I went walking between the ballet studio and the piano teacher's house. My newest running route goes from our house through our neighborhood, down to the ballet studio, and back.

I think this is a palo verde tree, but it must be pruned differently than others I've seen.

Prickly pear cactus - although after walking through the nursery in the same neighborhood, I did learn that there are many plants that look like this and not all have prickles and there were many different varieties.

I don't know what this is, but I liked the flowers. It was a big bush growing in the median of one of the streets - that Alan and Julia call "The Jungle" and like to go chasing rabbits through.

This cactus grows outside the wall of our house. I think it's a kind of cholla.

As I went for my run yesterday, I passed a few pieces of cactus that looked like fuzzy green balls full of toothpicks on the sidewalk. I was glad I didn't step on them. (Once in Alaska I stepped on a toothpick one of the kids dropped in the carpet after eating a homemade popsicle - it stuck in my foot and a piece was left in for 2 weeks - it really really hurt.)

I also passed about 5 rabbits. They are never in a big hurry to get away as I go past. In one spot I've seen a roadrunner on more than one occasion - enough to think there might be a nest somewhere nearby. I don't remember seeing a coyote on a run - but I know there are some out in the desert beyond the neighborhood. Once driving home from somewhere I could swear I saw a big cat of some wild type - the size of a coyote, but not the right shape and the tail was not a coyote tail.

Just outside my neighborhood, the path goes through a more naturally landscaped stretch. The maintenance guys trim the trees and such, but they let the wild grass grow, too. I wondered if I'd like the landscaping better if the HOA allowed that wild grass to grow in the yard. It's a kind of grass that sticks in your hand if you try to pull it out, so it's not the kind you want to walk barefoot through or lay back and watch clouds in, but it's green. And it seems more natural to me than the gravel.

The mountains that surround Tucson make a nice backdrop for a run. Once there was a woman painting by the side of the path - the moon was just above the mountain in the distance and it looked just like a postcard would. Last night the clouds and sun made beautiful light and shadows on them.

I can appreciate the beauty of the desert. I haven't been too shy in saying I'm not crazy about living in the desert. I think it's a great place to visit. Maybe for a week or two. Maybe, if I'm lucky, the friends we have in the neighborhood will keep in touch once we're gone. Maybe one day we'll be able to come back and find a spot to sleep on their floor while we revisit old friends and old favorite places.