Sunday, March 16, 2014

Coffee and Cactus

This morning we rode up to Starbucks at the UofA main gate.  It was a pleasant ride with perfect weather.  Yesterday's maelstrom appears to have moved east, and happy we are about that.  Notice the water in the fountain has been tinted blue.  The pigeons and sparrows drink and bathe there.  One wonders if we'll be seeing blue bird poop from this.


I do not know what this tree is.  It is one of the big allergy offenders, it's very fragrant and spreads pollen everywhere.


Cactus blooming season is upon us.  I'm a big fan of the cactus flower, so you may have many opportunities to see photos of them.  These are prickly pears growing in a traffic round-about on 18th street.  Every year the plants put forth a significant bloom.

 

 

Other than this puny recounting of our days in Tucson, I have not much to offer.  We're still riding ourselves back into shape, which I think might be getting better.  My climbing is faster, and I feel like my back is getting stronger on the bike.  The 6 weeks on the couch after foot surgery really let things lapse, and they're taking their own sweet time in returning.

6 comments:

  1. You are an inspiration for getting back on the "horse" and getting after it. I am still only taking baby steps to get back in shape--with no surgery to recover from. Please get how well you are actually doing in terms of most of the nation's population!

    I love the cactus flowers (no puny offering). It was my favorite part of living in Tucson for a year.

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  2. Oooh, I can see that we missed the prettiest time in Tucson -- those cactus flowers are gorgeous! We saw lots of buds when we were there, but not much flowering. I am curious about that tree as my allergies have really been bad while we've been in southern Arizona! I took a day off the bike today but my husband tells me the wind was much less menacing today -- thank goodness!

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    1. It's all of the steenking yellow trees. There are at least 3 species and they all flower. By the beginning of April all of the road sides will be covered in yellow.

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    2. Sounds pretty, but ahhhh-choo! There was some kind of pollen there even from the beginning of Feb. as I was needing to take allergy meds around the clock.

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  3. A ride to any Starbucks is a great ride!! We live at Starbucks but try to stick to our rule of either walking or biking to it. Have to work off the calories!!

    You can post all the cactus flowers you want! Last year was our first blooming cactus experience and I was in heaven. I must have taken a million photos! So snap away fro me!

    Isn't it amazing how quickly we fall out of shape and how very long it takes to get back in shape. I am dreading our first hikes this summer as we return west. Tough to stay in shape for elevation and length in FL.

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  4. Even though there's still snow on the ground here I started my allergy meds a few weeks ago to get my system ready. Tree pollen making itself known this week. Glad you got some rain to knock it down. This is the kind of thing I like to hear about when checking on what's going on in other parts of the country. I've noticed a few different bloggers mention the persistent spring winds down that way.

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