Nurse Plants

For the second weekend in a row we took a morning and went on a family outing. Last weekend we drove out to the desert museum, and this weekend we visited Tohono Chul park. Both of these sites feature desert vegetation and wildlife, which everyone is enjoying learning about.

One of the interesting things we learned is that the saguaro cactus requires a "nurse plant," typically a mesquite tree or a palo verde bush (remarkable for their green photosynthesizing bark), to provide shade when it is young. Thus, when you see young saguaro, they are very commonly growing up into the bows of a low desert tree. After about 50 years, they grow up through the tree, and eventually the tree dies--some theorize because the cactus broad surface root system steals the trees water, but others believe that the relatively short lived desert trees just reach the end of their natural lifespan (about 70 years) and die of old age.

Desert Feast #1

Last night we had a family BBQ in honor of Greg's birthday, with the addition of our friends Meghan and Cassandra. We were able to eat outside in comfort without any bugs bothing us.
The meal was a wonderful success: salmon with apricot sauce, linguine in a garlic cream sauce and green beans.

A few notes: when served as a side dish, 1 lb of linguine goes much farther than advertised, serving at least 10 people instead of the 4-6 that were advertised. Also, a large pot of water took nearly 20 minutes to boil--important to keep in mind when you're trying to get everything to the table at the same time.

Today I watched the sun rise over the mountains for the first time. It came up at about 0620. It was nice, but I must say that sunset is definitely better than (at least that) sunrise. Unfortunately, sunset is obscured by foliage around our house and I'm going to have to build a platform of some kind to get a better view. I'll add it to the list of projects.

The rest of the day will be spent continuing to unpack. We're making good progress, and if we push, we may be able to be out of boxes today. School doesn't start for me until August 21, so I have some time to put order to the chaos of possessions piling up around the house as they emerge from boxes.

Family Reunion in the Desert

Julie and I have moved to a beautiful desert. The mountains seem so close you could hit them with a stone and everywhere are cacti, mesquite trees, and palo verde bushes. Quail and rabbits run in the front yard, and neighbors report seeing javelina, bobcats, and even a mountain lion.

The kids arrive today, along with Julie's family George, Nanny, Les, and Greg. I'm excited to see my kids. They've been away with their grandparents for over two weeks. I don't think we've ever been apart so long. I'm also excited for them to see our new house, especially the pool!