Saturday, October 4, 2008

Fall, Arizona Style

If your image of Fall is beautiful colored leaves and crisp air, you would have to go to the floral department of a craft store to visit, or drive three hours to Arizona higher elevations to see the trees turn color. Our Fall is a mix of Summer and Spring. The one thing that is similar in our house to other parts of the country is HUNTING SEASON. My great white hunter and our great white hunter son #2 are gearing up for a elk hunting trip to Colorado. Now when I say gearing up, I mean several weeks of putting all their gear together, food, maps and long conversations. They both have that far off look in their eyes. When I was younger, I fought it, but I am older and wiser and just tell myself it is just a few weeks out of the year, besides, I won't have to cook while they are gone!

This has hung in our house for many years and no truer words were ever spoken. All you wives of hunters will relate I am sure. Sorry for the glare from the flash.



This is our old pop up camper, all repaired and ready to roll. It is like me, old and needed some patching before it hits the road. This belongs to the kids now, we replaced it with the RV that we don't use because the gas prices are so high. The great white hunter did tell me if gas goes under $3 a gallon, we are going to celebrate with a fill up!





The great white hunter built a new frame for the shade cloth around the raised garden bed. We planted more of the Sweet 100 grape tomatoes that we had such luck with in the spring. We did this last year and lost them to frost so cross your fingers.


The grape fruit will start turning in month or so. They are good size but we don't have as many as we should. Julia and Colin had a great time this spring picking smaller ones off the tree........oh well, we just give them away anyway.



Lemons on our neighbors tree that falls over into our yard. There are lots and they are good sized this year.




When the temps start to fall, the roses start to bloom. The buds are tiny and sometimes not formed really well, but bless their stems, they give a effort. It is like they are saying, "We survived!" in spite of the blazing hot summer. They will bloom now until the weather turns colder.




The hibiscus is full of full sized blooms and I enjoy it so much. This one thrives on heat, we have lost several of these to frost though. I look out my kitchen window and see the two that we have in bloom and the day is good! Who needs fall leaves? (I do but that is another post).





Last but not least, the VERY best part of our Fall. This was taken last week about ten o'clock in the morning. It is supposed to be cooler this week with some small chance of rain.

8 comments:

ZONE F DG TEAM said...

Wow, what a drastic difference between your fall and ours in Canada. I could so much as put my woodstove on today if I had wanted. It's not bitterly cold, but cool.

I'm a suck for heat.

Thanx for posting the picture of the old pop up... how cool is that.

I hope they catch (is that a proper term) something.

I would love to try hunting but I think I'd scream in fear when I actually saw something causing them to run away.

Hunter said...

Our seasons are Spring and Summer. I must admit a twinge of missing Fall and Winter this year.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful Hibiscus pics. Your Hibiscus are actually prettier than a lot of them here!

Best regards and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Darilyn

Teresa said...

Thanks for sharing the pictures. I had never seen a lemon tree before. How need to be able to pick your own.

Amelia said...

Must agree your fall is different in the one we have here in Oklahoma. Still too early for the leaves to be changing color - but won't be long.

Love looking at your lemons and grapefruit just hanging there on the limbs...and to be able to just go out in the yard and grab one..now that would be exciting.

So what are you going to do with the elk meat? I don't care for the "foreign" meat like this very much.

Amelia

Lynn E said...

Hello Norma, yes I relate to your funny sign. DH has been out for geese and ducks every weekend but this one since the season opened. DH has also been chomping at the bit to go Far up north to get moose and cariboo. I would love to be in an area that I could have fresh citrus fruits growing in my yard.

Belvie said...

I do have some fall color in my area. How about I trade you some fall color for a little bit of that citrus. That's something we don't have here.

Please give my compliments to DH on those garden beds. Those really look nice. Mmmm! Sweet 100's...those are so good!

Your flowers are so pretty. Most of mine are getting ready to go to sleep for the winter.

Granny Lyn said...

As I read this post, we are dodgin raindrops and wearing jackets,,it is 49 degrees up here!! but oh, our colors are getting gorgeous!!

jovaliquilts said...

So neat to see your foliage from that part of the world. Roses that wait until fall to bloom??? Not here!!