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What's going on with all the kayaks in front of our house.  Did we put in a lake?

No they belong to our WIN friends who we had over for a happy hour event.

What fun!

Also we took a hike with blogger friends John and Carol.  We began our adventure at the Peralta trailhead (east of Gold Canyon, turn north off of US60 between MM 204 and 205, following Peralta signs.)  The Peralta trail is one of the most popular trails in the area and the views begin in the parking lot.

But today we decided to take the Dutchman's Trail, which also begins at this location, and leave the crowds behind.

There are a couple of stream crossings which are always a surprise in the desert.

And plenty of nice scenery along the way.

We went about 2 1/2 miles before turning around.  It was a gorgeous day made even better with good friends.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

We took Jim with us to the Desert Museum.  It's a great place, but I still don't know why they call it a museum.  It's more of a zoo/botanical garden highlighting the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.  I hear they're adding an aquarium.  I'm kind of confused about an aquarium in the desert.

We went to the snake/lizard show and learned all about this gorgeous rattlesnake.

We admired this majestic Desert Bighorn.

The Javelina were easy to spot.

And the Bobcats were just toooo cute.

I loved the Mexican gray wolf.

And the mountain lion came out to say hello.

We spotted this rare creature perched in a tree.

But the highlight of the day was the raptor show where the hawks buzzed the crowd.  This Harris hawk was one of the stars of the show.

It was a great day.

Oh, and remember that tree that we're removing.  Well, it's turning into a bigger project than I expected.

Uh-oh . . .

No worries.  Ron says with a little rest, he'll be good as new (or at least good as before fighting with the tree.)

Finally, a Hike

Ron's son Jim took the time to pay us a visit which inspired us to get out and go on a hike.  We really need to get back in the hiking habit now that the weather is so wonderful.

We took Jim out to the base of the Superstition Mountains where he noticed this group of saguaros.

It looks like they're having a meeting.

Recently we had some heavy rains and the desert has turned green.

I can't wait until the poppies are blooming.

We stayed far away from the 'jumping' cholla cactus.  Just look at all the pieces that jumped off the plant and missed their targets.  Scary.

I decided that I need to come back in the afternoon next time for a good shot of the mountains.

You can see why I don't take many people pictures.  Here Jim and Ron look like they're in a police line up.

BTW, we had a wicked winter this year - I think the worst four days since we've been here.  It got down to the 20's for four straight nights.  Wreaked havoc on all the less-than hardy plants like these trees.

For several days, it looked like a ghost town around here with all the sheets covering the tender plants.

We've been working on taking down one of the orange trees.  With fruit from a grapefruit, a lemon, and two orange trees, the logistics of getting rid of the fruit is difficult.  This year I was proactive and packed up a couple of boxes a week before the food banks became too deluged and turned down citrus donations.

It took four loads of our giant trash can to take out the tree, but now I'm planning a garden to replace it.

Harper Walks!

Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I posted anything and once again it's about little Harper.  But this is a milestone.