Cleaning Out

JWise Photo of the Day

Navajo Loom in Phoenix, Arizona

What is it about springtime that kicks in the need to deep clean our nest? So it was once more as Caroline and I dug into the deepest recesses of our place and went to work in the closet. Consolidation and donation were this year’s theme as we organized Caroline’s extensive yarn and fiber stash and brought about 25 pounds of clothing and a bunch of other things to Goodwill. As for the loom above, it will be offered to the lady who taught us the techniques of Navajo weaving for her to sell or donate to someone who might benefit from it. The rug that still sits on the loom was one of my efforts from maybe ten years ago. Since I abandoned it, it has gathered dust.

The imperative to reorganize from time to time is essential as we are in a relatively small space. We have an outdoor storage space that is a small 40″ x 40″ in size, while our closet is probably about 6′ x 7′. So, within those confines are the things that might need to be accessed only a few times a year, such as empty suitcases, camping gear, and Caroline’s yarn supply, along with some dumb things like VHS tapes, cassettes, and CDs we are not ready to part with. Some of the yarn and fiber are stashed in our bookshelves that were bought with the intention of them acting exactly in that capacity, hence why some sections have doors for yarn storage while others don’t, allowing direct and immediate access to our on-paper artifacts.

We do not have a rented storage space or a garage; I’m pointing this out because we know people who have all of the above and a couple who are renting two garages. For the life of us, we cannot fathom what might be stored in a garage that’s worth $1200 a year in rental fees, while nearby storage units seem to cost about the same or more. Then, on our morning walks, we always pass garages stuffed to the rafters with a narrow path cut through the hoarded junk. The funny thing is that Caroline and I feel like we’ve fallen victim to excess consumption, and yet we are in a small apartment of a mere 874 square feet or 81 square meters. Should we ever move back to Europe, there’s a good chance we’ll be in something closer to 650 square feet, which means we’ll have to shrink our footprint even more.

Maybe spring cleaning should be a twice-yearly event in which “consolidate and donate” is always the theme.

Welcome Back, Vibrancy

JWise Photo of the Day

Springtime colors in Phoenix

I’m confused whether we are still in the midst of springtime or if we’ve jumped right into summer. The burst of color says spring, but the thermometer says something else. Approaching 100 degrees in early April and requiring us to turn on the air-conditioning is disheartening and portends a potentially super hot season on our horizon. Then again, I’m renowned for being incredibly wrong with my predictions of what the future holds.

This splash of vibrancy wasn’t meant to provide a place to vent about some minor atmospheric discomforts though. It is here to celebrate a side of life moving back to ecstasy. The birds are singing wildly, darting about looking to attract mates, while the mockingbirds return to leaping off their perches before fluttering back into place. Lizards are scurrying between shaded spots, bunnies dart across open spaces, and pollinating insects are checking in with the first saguaro blooms. Our skies are still a vibrant blue awaiting summer to officially arrive and wash them into faded shades of their former selves.

Then, just when you think the heat is here to stay, a break in the weather lets the midday temps drop back into the upper 70s. Mornings feel chilly at 60 degrees. With this potential last opportunity to feel the brisk fresh air, Caroline and I headed to a nearby frog pond for our morning walk. While there wasn’t any croaking going on out there, we did see a turtle and plenty of tadpoles plucking insects from the surface of the murky waters. It’s beautiful on this trail and surprisingly quiet. Maybe there could be a few more of these precious days before Phoenix turns into a blast furnace.

Vaccinated

JWise Photo of the Day

Vaccinated in Phoenix, Arizona

Wow, just a little more than a year later and Caroline and I are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. While masks around us are quickly disappearing due to an idiot governor more interested in political expediency than science and public health, we are willing to continue masking up until herd immunity is reached or the CDC signals that things are safe enough to do so. Now we need to hope that Europe hits the accelerator on getting its citizens vaccinated so the international travel market can reopen. Even if it does open this year and we’re cleared to not use masks, I’d venture that we’ll do that 11-hour haul across the United States and the Atlantic while covered up. I’ve already looked for an app where I could store copies of our vaccination records that might transition to an official vaccine passport but those are not easy to find, yet.

So how does life change? I’m not as worried about contracting a death sentence. Yes, it is my fault that I am obese which helped cause my diabetes and high blood pressure, but that still doesn’t mean that I should want to give up and sacrifice my life due to prior poor decision making. If that was a thing, many of us should have been thrown to the Soylent Green machine when we were teenagers or young adults. If we are lucky and enough fellow citizens follow suit or we get to vaccine passports quick enough, I’d like to get back to museums and concerts without worrying about the people around me. Hopefully, we’ll continue seeing millions of people vaccinated every day and can start to emerge safely from this ugly virus.

Early Riser Advantage

JWise Photo of the Day

Sunrise April 5, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona

There’s an advantage to heading out for an early morning walk before the sun appears; it is found in sunrise scenes such as this one. These moments are tiny fragments of the day, barely lasting 5 to 10 minutes before they fade from existence. Maybe our alarm clocks should be tied to color sensors placed outdoors that alert us when certain spectacular hues are being painted overhead. It happens relatively often that we’ll nearly miss a sunset before one of us catches a glimpse of radiant skies to the west that demand we run outside to witness the last glimmering beauty found in the sky from the setting sun.

Another Year – 58!

JWise Moments, Photo of the Day, Travels

Caroline Wise and John Wise driving to Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

Woke just before 5:00 a.m. without the assistance of an alarm and got to preparing a hot breakfast prior to a short walk. After a stop for a latte to go, we are heading south in the direction of Tucson. Our destination is Saguaro National Park. Along the way, we return to one of our favorite pastimes, reading out loud. Caroline is closing in on finishing The Greedy Queen: Eating with Victoria by Annie Gray, which is taking an inordinate amount of time due to us not being in the car all that often.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

The particular reason for this day out on the road is that it’s my birthday. Not only are we traveling, but Caroline baked me a cake; well, bread to be more specific although a dessert bread for sure. What kind is it, you ask? Almond, dried apricot, and orange, a yummy favorite of ours from the Moosewood Cookbook.

We were supposed to be heading into New Mexico back on Friday, but after weeks of dithering about where exactly we’d end up, I lost the enthusiasm to pick a place. So, at the last minute, as just this past Friday, we decided to drive to Saguaro National Park.

Caroline Wise at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

It’s been years since we stopped at the closest national park to the place we call home, though we’ve been meaning to do this for years so Caroline could collect a Junior Ranger badge from here. Today is the day. And it was also the day we forgot our park pass so instead of paying the entry fee, we just went ahead and bought another yearly pass, knowing that the money goes to one of our favorite causes, the preservation of America’s beautiful wildlands.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

After checking in at the visitors center and confirming that someone would be able to accept her workbook we printed at home, we took off for a loop drive down a dirt road so my wife could gather the depth of knowledge about this park that might qualify her as Senior Junior Ranger Woman.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

We intended to take two short walks from the road, but at the first small pullout, seven other cars were parked with absolutely nowhere else to park nearby, so we continued our slow eight mph crawl up the road. We didn’t drive that slow due to the poor conditions of the road, nor did we drive that slow to piss off the people coming up behind us on this narrow path; we drove this slow because under 12mph in our Kia Niro, we are only using electricity and with the windows open the quiet is more befitting the environment.

Caroline Wise and John Wise at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

I took five shots to get this one reasonable image, but what’s missing is the grand vista stretching for miles with a million cacti between us and the mountains in the distance. This could have been remedied by switching to my 10-22mm wide-angle lens, but I should know better than switching lenses on a dusty road. By the way, how do you like how I coordinated the color of my shirt with the color of my beard?

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

We don’t know which plant this skeleton is from, though it’s obviously not from one of the nearby saguaros but we thought it beautiful enough that it was worthy of snapping an image of. Maybe this will be the photo that propels me virally into social media fame, though that would mean I have to throw it up on Instagram, and well, I’m just about too lazy to even try that.

Caroline Wise at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

Truth in advertising admission, I’m standing behind Caroline, holding her purse while she goes ahead so I can snag a more “natural” image of her ascending the stairs on this short trail to view some petroglyphs. You might think that it’s no big deal that I’m holding a purse, but do some math regarding today’s birthday, and you’ll see I was born in 1963, and I obviously do not have the DNA to be comfortable holding a purse. As soon as I get the photo I want, I will yell at her to rush back to fetch her purse so I can maintain my illusion of what it means to be a man.

Petroglyphs at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

There were more approachable petroglyphs at the top of Signal Hill, but this abundance from below was more appealing to me, so here they are.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

I can’t help but wonder if Phoenix and Tucson once looked like this. Meaning a wide-open desert covered with cacti of a number of types but especially saguaro. These sentinels of the Southwest have been known to stand for up to 300 years with one particular now dead specimen having reached a height of over 40 feet with 52 arms. Evolution works by bringing ecosystems into harmony, and so I tend to believe that there’s likely a very good reason why these cacti have these characteristics, and while they are protected today, that doesn’t diminish that we’ve cleaned millions of them off lands where we built houses.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

Sure, it’s great that we at least have pockets of them on lands forbidden to be developed, but what have we lost in our efforts to replace nature with concrete, cinderblocks, and asphalt?

Caroline Wise becoming a Junior Ranger at Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

Poems, puzzles, drawings, and questions across ten pages are now complete and Caroline is being sworn in yet again and awarded a Junior Ranger badge, quite the honor.

Longhorn Grill in Amado, Arizona

For 20 years, we’ve meant to stop in here at the Longhorn Grill so we can claim our bragging rights to having eaten under the world’s largest fossilized steer skull ever found, and now, here on my 58th birthday, which is also the same day Caroline has earned her dozenth Junior Ranger badge, we’ve finally done it. Was it worth it? That depends. Was the food amazing? No way, but we didn’t expect it to be, considering it’s midway between Tucson and Mexico, meaning it’s in a relatively impoverished area of the state, and there isn’t anyone passing through these parts looking for gourmet food. Can I recommend it? Absolutely, because these cherished icons sitting roadside across America won’t be there forever, and often, you meet some amazing fellow travelers who contribute to making our days memorable.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona

Earlier, as we drove south out of the national park, I noticed on the GPS a northern section of this western branch of Saguaro that had a road passing through called Picture Rocks Road that we’d never been on. Seeing it had been so many years between visits, there’s the chance we may never pass through this area again, so I figured we should take the detour and check it out, just in case.

We arrived back in Phoenix before 5:30 p.m., which was a lot earlier than I thought we’d be home, but I don’t feel like we diminished our experience of being out for a Sunday drive on Easter during my birthday. As a matter of fact, I’d say this was a gloriously beautiful day that once again presses on my mind to come up with the superlatives that might convey a hint of how perfect this was for Caroline and me, but I guess the old saying, “You had to be there,” rings true and will have to suffice.

Fresh Citrus

JWise Moments

Pink Grapefruits locally grown here in our neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona

Yesterday, before my road trip down south, Caroline and I were on our morning walk when, lo and behold, four big brown paper bags of pink grapefruits were sitting curbside. We were not interested in leaving even one for anyone else; for all we knew, someone would abscond with as much of our treasure as they could carry and would be coming back for more. Taking possession of these heavy bags laden with 54 pounds or almost 25 kilos of these sweet, homegrown orbs of wowness, we turned around and darted back home. We hadn’t gotten far before the handles of one of the paper bags Caroline was carrying tore off. No problem in my mind; I’ll carry that bag up in my arm, and she can use the handles on two of the three good bags. But as I went to pick up my bag with a functioning paper handle, it was no longer in that functioning state. All we could do was leave Caroline on the street guarding the goods so I could speed walk home and fetch the car. Before long, our grapefruits were home and on their way to being juiced.

I’d like to point out that our fortunes have been incredible this year because back in January, another neighbor put out some rather large boxes of hundreds of grapefruits. We walked over as she was finishing up, allowing us to verify they were indeed free for the taking and not intended for someone special who would be by shortly to haul them off. We packed up as many bags as we could and dragged them home. Not satisfied, we turned around and went and took more. By the evening, we were on our third load and felt that the more than 120 pounds or so we’d collected were probably enough. It takes quite a while to juice so many grapefruits, but the opportunity to pour some local tree-ripened pink grapefruit juice into a glass and then top that off with sparkling water is a treat not wasted on us. While it was a sad day a few weeks ago when the last bottle of frozen juice was finally gone, we were thankful to have had this amazing indulgence. Then, like a miracle, the gods of citrus smiled down upon us once again, gifting the Wises with more of the sweet nectar of Mrs. Fruit’s bosom.