EMPS: Arizona Does Its Spring Thing

It's always tricky when I try to cover a meme topic like Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #82: Goodbye Winter/ Hello Spring. The transition between winter and spring in Tucson, to the extent that those seasons exist at all, is subtle, erratic and seldom very visual. The coming of Spring in Tucson means more 83 degree days and fewer 78 degree ones, perhaps a little more sun and fewer clouds, and the end of the occasional chance of snow on the mountains. And if we're very lucky, and the winter has been unusually wet in our drought-ridden desert, we may get some wildflowers.

So what can I show you of this year's transition? As it happens, the last day of rain to date was this past Tuesday, but I didn't have my camera with me that afternoon and my cell phone didn't get a very good shot. The sky had been overcast for much of the previous week or so, as you can see below:



This is Acme Sand and Gravel - and believe me, they are aware of the association with the schemes of Wile E Coyote. I captured this on my cell phone back on March 19th, when John was pricing sand to go under a walkway in the back yard. You can see the clouds over the Catalinas that day. I've always been curious about this place, which is next to the Pantano River. I was less pleased to discover that the river is where they harvest their sand. But I suppose more of the stuff washes down from the mountains to replace it. They have a rather poetic quote on their web site:

“Stones are primordial matter. Sand is matter ground by the infinity of time. It makes one mindful of eternity. Sand is matter, which has been transformed and has almost become liquid and spiritual.” - Unknown Author

We have had an unusually wet winter, so there is a certain amount of bloomage going on. I noticed this flowering shrub on the median in the middle of Kolb Road as I made my way back from my Round Robin photo shoot on Friday.



John has been in gardening mode this year as winter turns into spring. He's been buying plants for the front and side yards, mostly, the one he planted in back having been immediately dug up by Pepper. The tall red one here, which repeatedly blew over in the March wind, is a bougainvillea. Or is it an oleander? John and I both keep forgetting which is which. He also tried to transplant a few wildflowers he found near where he works, but so far they haven't taken well to being uprooted.



And here, on Palm Sunday afternoon, the sun is brighter and the wind has died down. John's newest purchases are standing tall.

Be sure to check Carly's blog Ellipsis each week for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot. And don't forget the Weekend Assignment, which this week is asking for your Culinary Review!

Karen