We love visitors......

It is such a treat for us to have visitors and today we welcomed Uncle Loyd and Aunt Muriel. We had lunch together and reminisced about our family and previous times together. I got out my genealogy and we discussed relationships - and I even got to add a person and make a correction on another. Also got to add some birth dates and wedding dates!! So fun to visit with them and make new memories. They are now on their way to Yuma.

Gardening Arizona Style......

Today we became Arizona gardeners! I was surprised to see how many people turned out for this from our Church! The first part of the land (behind the vehicle) is the community garden site. Over 6,000 lbs were harvested last year and donated to the local food bank. The planting began at 8 a.m. this morning but Larry & I couldn't get there until about 9:30 a.m. and there were still a lot of people working on their plots. Our garden site is about 10'X12'. I think we could get more but for this year we'll do the smaller site.



Notice the irrigation setup. Irrigation will take place on Tuesdays which gives the soil a couple of days to dry before we go tend it on the weekend. The tubing coming out of the irrigation ditch waters each row.

We planted carrots, green onions, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, yellow squash (from seeds) and tomatoes (cherry & Early Girl) & zucchini from starts.


Larry planting carrots.

We're done for now. We will go back often to weed and help with the community plot.

The Santa Rosa Wash is flowing.....

Rain has been frequenting our area for the past few weeks - mostly on Sundays for some reason. Unlike other areas, the water does not seep into the soil quickly. Instead it sits there for weeks at a time. This bridge was constructed and opened about a year ago - just in the nick of time. The second picture was taken in December 2008 and shows the wash from the other side and how we crossed the wash before the bridge. When the rains came we would have to detour around - you can see why! Duchess and I took a little bike trip down to the wash to see the water up close. I was amazed at the current! Usually the water is so shallow it just sits there! This time it actually looked like a small river. Even the rivers around here (which are normally dry) are now running and posing some problems. Just yesterday four horseback riders trying to cross the water were swept away. Gratefully all the riders were rescued but sadly one horse had to be put down from injuries suffered. One horse was still stranded on a sandbar last night. They say still waters run deep and this was the case here. The experienced riders had been crossing at the same place many times but this time the water was too much for them. One of the newscasters said that no where else is a dry river bed common and when filled with water is considered a flood. Because of flooding throughout the valley years ago the dam and Lake Roosevelt were created and now water flows into the canals and is used for the needs of the people.