The Mountains are Pink

Same owls.  Same location.  It's so nice to be able to count on this pair to be where we expect them each evening before dinnertime.  They have been really active with their hooting.  I don't know if that has anything to do with breeding.  It would be nice to see some fledglings one day.

The other nightly ritual is hearing someone say - "Oh, the mountains are pink!  Time to drink!"  Everyone is Saddlebrooke must know this poem, and they are all happy to repeat it, all the time.

Deer Camp Hike and Owl in the Morning

Here in a Great Horned Owl on top of the chimney of our neighbor, two doors down.  It was hooting quite actively at 7am.  A few minutes later it joined it's mate in a tree across the street.  Then a golf cart scared them off.

Tons of cows!  We came upon these guys during our 6 mile hike to Deer Camp.  

I'd never seen so many cows on a hike before.  We also had the good luck of seeing a Coatimundi.  But once he saw us he quickly took off.  I wasn't quick enough to get a photo of him but here is a photo I found on the internet - just to get an idea of what we saw.  He was larger than a raccoon.

January Bingo

Bingo is only held once a month, so it's a big deal.  Usually close to 200 people show up.  And the ratio of women to men is about what you'd expect - 25:1.  My aunt and I still have not won a Bingo in three plus seasons of playing.

Most of the players have gray hair.  No one under 18 allowed!

My aunt and friend busily getting our cards ready for the games.

96th Birthdays Don't Come Around Too Often!

We went to Red Lobster in Oro Valley, per request by the birthday boy, for dinner with "the gang".  After much confusion figuring out the menu (with everyone who was over 75) they finally ordered and enjoyed their meals.

Going from left to right, here are everyone's ages:  86, 85, 96, 60, 85, 82, 88, 77, 82.  Only three of those people no longer drive.  Pretty impressive group!

Weaver's Needle

Our first 2018 hike with the Hiking Club proved to be an exhausting one.  We made it without anyone falling but it was a lot of elevation gain.  This is the iconic shot of Weaver's Needle which is in the Superstition mountains.

Dave taking a break with Bernie, an almost 80 year old hiker.

More views from the top.

My favorite shots always include the Saguaro cactus.

Saguaro Lake

We took a field trip up to Mesa and had a narrated "cruise" on the Desert Belle boat.  There were over 100 people on this 90 minute ride.  It's a beautiful, man made lake and full of bass.  It looked like a great place to fish.

Is it a car or a boat?  Looks like fun!

Funny things you see

If you look closely you will notice the garage door, askew.  Also, notice the duck tape on the back of the car.

It appears, based on the evidence, that the car wasn't all the way in the garage when the door came crashing down on the rear of the car.  It was funny only because it hasn't happened to us, yet!