Left in Tucson

It seems that I am no longer the lone voice crying in the wilderness when it comes to harvesting olives from our local Tucson olive trees.  Now, the University of Arizona has gotten into the act. The   historic olive trees  that line the walkways of the campus are not just a nuisance soiling students' shoes anymore.   

http://cqrcengage.com/azcdl/UBC Background checks and their implications for your gun rights.

Jim and I had our first hike of the fall season, as our desert temperatures have begun to drop.  With humidity practically gone and temperatures now hovering in the 80's, we can finally get back on the trails.  Yesterday, was my first time back on my favorite hiking trail, Desert Springs Trail at the east end of Speedway Blvd. We hiked for an hour in the late afternoon, when the sun is lower on the horizon, creating a lovely glow on all the cacti and grasses. As we headed out onto the trail, we were engulfed in a sea of little brown and flecked butterflies. We continued to encounter swarms of butterflies all along the trail.  Just a lucky coincidence that we happened to be there when the butterflies were doing their thing. With a crystal clear sky, the Catalina Mountains were at their loveliest. Sorry, no pictures. We decided to forgo cameras on this trip in order to totally enjoy and be in the moment.

A memorable moment for a memorable athlete and gentleman. JETER!

Eat Local - Sockeye Salmon Here's the background:  I just finished reading "American Catch" by Paul Greenberg, also the the author of "Four Fish."   Living here in AZ, a state without a coastline, my access to fresh fish is pretty limited.  As a result, I have become quite an advocate for fresh and as local as possible fish for our table.  Most of the available fish found in Tucson, is frozen, farmed and from Asia.  NOT ON MY PLATE, Thank you!   I now only buy fresh, wild caught USA fish, although I can't always be 100% sure the labeling is true.  My choices are rather limited, but whenever I see a grocery store flyer advertising fresh, wild caught Sockeye Salmon, I am immediately in pursuit.    Last winter, when Jim and I dreamed of fresh, Maine Lobsters, we were rewarded with a shipment at at doorstep, courtesy of my Brother and Sister-in-Law at Christmas.  Options are out there.  Here is one that I invite you to consider.  I only wish I had this option

Well… it’s finally here… We had our first 100 degree F day of 2014 on the 16 th of May. It’s been over 100 degrees for weeks now, the daily high averaging about 103 – 105 this month… and, we're ready for a break... thankfully, relief is on its way... Today is officially the first day of the 2014 monsoon season. As moist air is swept up from the Pacific, west of Mexico, across the peninsula, and into the high Sonoran Desert where Tucson lies 2600 feet above sea level the moisture condenses out, and forms tremendous thunderheads that will dump about 70% of the entire year’s rainfall in just a hand-full of often deadly storms capable of creating devastating, fire-starting lightening, and, sudden flash-floods capable of washing cars off roads and into ravines. Today, the sky began its yearly transformation into the overcast and ominously foreboding character... JHB6/12/2014

Recently, we reconnected with an old friend from New Jersey.  He voiced his concern for our safety and well being living here in the "wilds" of southern Arizona.  This prompted a rather colorful response from Jim, which I thought I should share here with my followers.  ------------- As my good friend George Bryan would say, “Don’t believe the hype!” And, in the words of Robert A. Heinlein, “ An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” While the FBI Uniform Crime Report, and the much-exploited Gabrielle Giffords shooting reflected poorly on Arizona in-general, and Tucson more specifically, things aren't as bad as they might seem.  The Violent Crime Rate for the US in 2012 averaged 386.9/100k; whereas Arizona’s was 428.9/100k… or about 11% above the national average.  But, this is still a statistically small number, and even more, it is surprising.   Considering that Tucson is a city of near