Since I’m not going to discuss the Super Bowl in this blog posting, I believe I’ll take Professor Higgins’s mother’s advice and stick to the weather and my health. My health is fine, thank you very much, so that pretty much leaves us with nothing but the weather.
This posting will not come as welcome news for people who are still having to shovel snow and who are looking down the barrel at six more weeks of winter. I’m not good at doing winter which is one of the reasons we’re snowbirds.
This past weekend it was dreary in Tucson. We had four days of rain—a lot like Seattle weather only wetter. Those four days of rainfall amounted to 2.5 inches of rain right here in our neighborhood. It was a soaking rain that came in bursts and one that will make for gorgeous spring time flowers out in the desert. Unfortunately some of the streets in town–most notably Tucson Boulevard– were built along the routes of what were once and on occasion still are washes. Last weekend was one of those times when unwary drivers needed to heed flash flood warnings on Tucson Boulevard.
But then, Monday morning dawned clear and bright. The sun came out. I’m told that by the end of the week the weather will be in the eighties. And what do people in Tucson do in that kind of weather in February? They bring out the bedding plants, of course—brand new petunias, geraniums, and snap dragons.
Our plants came home from the nursery yesterday afternoon in several colorful flats where they stayed overnight before going into the patio pots today. Within ten minutes of those bright red geraniums showing up, two butterflies did, too. Obviously they’ve been prowling the neighborhood scanning for flowers. And, within half an hour of the first butterflies, our first hummingbird of the season showed up as well.
I know there are Pacific Northwest specific hummers who don’t migrate. In fact, we have a pair of them living in our Bellevue neighborhood who visit our feeder every day. When the big freeze came in early January, we had to bring the feeder into the house every night to keep it from turning into a gigantic ice cube. While we’re down here being snowbirds, one of our house sitter’s regular duties includes making sure the feeder doesn’t run dry.
Right now it’s sunny outside. I’m going to turn my computer screen to full bright and go outside to work. By the way, I’ll also be barefoot.
Neener, neener!
Sorry, folks. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.
Actually you just put a big smile on my face! You reminded of what Spring actually looks like…and it will be back!
Thanks for the morning grin!
Usually I am in Tucson in sometime in the summer months (yes, summer!) but this year I was able to spend some time here in the winter. I don’t miss the snow and cold of the North. Snow is pretty in pictures, not so much if you are trying to live with it 24/7. Last weekend, I talked to loved ones in the snow belt and told them it was cold and wet here in Tucson, and very gray. My premise (shaky at best) was “misery loves company.” They were not comforted by hearing how cold it was with temps in the 50s. And so this lovely sunny week…well I just won’t mention weather to them at all!
Thank you for the beautiful vision of springtime! Our travel plans take us to Arizona in March and April, so we hope to see some of those lovely desert flowers. These visions are helping us cope with the ice and snow here in Michigan today!
Thanks for the lovely descriptions! We are having a very warm winter here in the Pacific Northwest. Upper 50’s for us. Going to be extremely wet this week end and no snow in the mountains could be bad this summer.
Keep on writing!!
While I would have preferred snow, we had rain here in Payson, too. The sun returned the same day here, as it did in Tucson. The forecast high for today – 68. I won’t be barefoot, but I will be wearing sandals.
Enjoy your day!
A fan,
Susan Grubba
Oops! That should be Grubbs.
Good morning, One of the reasons I love Dixon California is the weather. Yesterday We were in shirt sleeves today we are going to get long awaited RAIN! ! I live in Federal way for do long that I came away with a dislike of rain. It’s with great Surprise that I want rain.
This morning the wind is blowing it’s overcast and yes yes RAIN. The best part is in two days I’ll be back in shirt sleeves and barefoot. ..
Have a wonderful week… I am going to.
Oh by the way I will say no matter the outcome (( which I hated go hawks) it was still one of the BEST Supper Bowls I’ve seen. Later Jan
Glad to hear you are enjoying the warm weather! It sounds delightful and I can look forward to some of the same soon so I’m not TOO jealous!
I’m not jealous of anyone because of the weather where they live. I’ve traveled around the US and parts of Northern Europe and have dealt with the weather no matter what it was. The knowledge that it will change is what I like. Each place has its advantages and disadvantages. That’s just the way it was meant to be.
Hey Ms. Jance. I haven’t written in a while but I wanted to share a story with you that really has nothing to do with your post except the word butterfly. This April will be two years since my mother died. She always associated butterflies with me, I guess being a free spirit and flitting and fluttering about aimlessly, I’m not sure. From time to time she gave me a butterfly pin or whatever. Well, on the day of her funeral, at the cemetery when the family gets up and lays a rose on the casket, we stood back, away from the awning so others could pay their respects. I let my head fall, I guess not wanting to watch, and there, right beside my foot was a butterfly. I felt lonely and isolated from my family, but I didn’t feel alone at that moment. I believe my mom knew I needed her, one more time.
I believe she was there with you, too.
Diane,
When I read your comment, I knew I had to reply and share about butterflies.
A few years ago, I read a book called ‘Her Fearful Symmetry’, by Andrey Niffnegger (who also wrote the book turned into movie ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’. (I saw the movie but did not read the book.) http://audreyniffenegger.com/books/novels/her-fearful-symmetry/ Goodreads readers seem to either really like it or really not like it. I am on the ‘really like’ side, and her book is one of the many ‘expanding horizons’ books I have read in the past few years, and one of the few that I can still tell someone what it was about. The description refers to it as a ghost story, though I would not myself, just unique and interesting, and the story takes place next to, and in, a real cemetery in London, England, called Highgate http://highgatecemetery.org/ , very old and where many famous people have been buried since it opened in 1839. Getting to butterflies . . . they are in the book, in the cemetery . . . and though it is at the end of the book, it is not a spoiler to tell you what the butterflies were – they were giving rides to the souls of those buried in the cemetery. I thought this was such a wonderful idea – perhaps it is not a unique one to this book but not one I have seen before. So when you see butterflies, you can just imagine they are bringing people you knew for a visit. I like to think that, anyway. Later, on looking at sympathy cards in stores, I have been surprised to see how many actually have butterflies on them, so perhaps others (artists) have seen a connection also.
Usually, in Oklahoma in February, we would be looking at sunshine, but very cold weather. But I can not be jealous of you, because we have had TWO count them TWO weekends in fairly close proximity of 70 degree days. And today begins another 3 days of 70 plus degree days!! Spring is coming!!
Sunny and 80 on vacation in Maui from rainy Seattle
You have to see it to believe it, but there is nothing in the world more beautiful than the Arizona “desert” when it springs into life after the first rainfall of the season.
So much fun reading about your preparations for your springtime garden in AZ…especially having just had the 1st day in more than 2weeks when the temp actually got above 0…instead of the -20 to-40 degree days we’ve just had! The only foretaste of Spring for me has been looking thru “Johnny’s Seed Catalogue”!
I just finished reading my 1st J.P. Beaumont book–Second Watch. I had read the Sheriff Brady series years ago when I was also a flight attendant. Don’t know how I missed the Beaumont books, especially since I was living in Seattle in the 70s-90s. I enjoyed knowing the places he talked about, even the views he was seeing looking out at the ferries and the Olympics!
Thanks for an enjoyable read…and the ones in the future as I get to know Beau better!!
Mary Rafte.
February in Oklahoma is warm one day, cold the next, windy, and at least one guaranteed snow. All while the trees are budding out, daffodils are blooming, and wildlife is stirring.
Love your books. Have read all of the Ali Reynolds except for A Last Goodbye, have not been able to get it here yet. I have read most of the J P Beaumont, and Sheriff Brady books, and all of the Walker family books. My sister in law and I trade off and have some of them more than once.
We like them because they are like watching your favorite tv show. Another reason is I don’t feel like I have to take a bath and go to confession after I read them.
Thanks for good reads.