Over it in Tucson
February 23, 2017

Ankle surgery done and recovery complete - check!
Eye surgery done and recovery complete - check!

It’s now back to life as we conceive it.  A kamikaze drive from our current roosting spot in Tucson to Mesa netted the all-clear signal from the surgeon.  In fact, Dr. Graff seemed inordinately tickled with what he saw while perusing the images of Lefty’s nether side.

He explained the pictures the techs took of my eye’s inner workings (this really is miraculous stuff here, folks!) that showed the macular hole completely healed with only a tiny cyst residing there that will resolve itself in short order.

The doc was practically gleeful in announcing Lefty’s recovery.  Upon hearing the good news, I was compelled to ask him whether I had actually questioned during the procedure if he was doing the surgery with a q-tip, and sure enough, folks, I really did do that - was kinda hoping I had imagined it in the foggy twilight.  “It was adorable”, he laughingly said, and he truly did seem to mean it.

My other burning question was whether I could have actually seen the vitreous being drained from my eye, or if I might have imagined that.  Sure enough, because the optic nerve remains in working order while the orb itself is chemically stilled, I could, and did, witness the fluid in my eye being drained away.  A sight I will never forget, it contained dark streaks that I presume were the multitude of floaters departing within the vitreous.  Admittedly, I was fascinated with the sight, even in my somnambulant state.

Rincon Country West, trains and planes . . .

Our first time in Rincon Country West RV Resort, so aptly named, we are finding much to appreciate.  We were scarcely in our space before we were invited to happy hour at a neighboring RV.  Everyone at the large outdoor circle welcomed us and a good time was had by all as we imbibed our adult beverages and feasted on potluck appetizers.

Chris’ keyboard playing on subsequent evenings garnered lots of appreciative listeners and allowed us to get acquainted with even more folks, interesting and experienced RVers who shared memories and recommendations for places to visit and stay.

Extensive facilities for sports and activities of every imaginable ilk abound here and there are clubs, gatherings and games constantly, not to mention the largest garden railroad (who knew that was a thing???) in Arizona is here.  My pics of the layout do not do it justice, unfortunately.

The railroaders are a bunch of fun enthusiastic fellers that have done a bang-up job with the large intricate lines and incredibly detailed scenes - everything from Barney Fife at the diner to an Indian village with a woman hard at work at rug weaving to an outdoor dance pavilion, a pink jeep and rock climbers to a rural setting complete with appropriate barnyard sounds and so much more!  In response to my excitement about the layout, I got the VIP tour that didn’t miss a single detail.

One of the model railroaders hard at "work".  The layout requires a good bit of maintenance, some of it interestingly due to javelinas that arrive of an evening for refreshment from the model's running waterways.  I was astounded that they don't do more damage to the sets.

Railroad aside, the planes part of being here is not nearly as fun, but seems to go with the territory in Tucson.  Civilian airliners and military jets are often overhead and make their presence noisily apparent.  It seems very odd to be hiking on a trail in the serene quiet of the desert mountains, only to have the solitude broken regularly by large accelerating and decelerating aircraft.

And about that hiking:  we had a marvelous day of it with cousins Barb & Jim.  Barb planned a primo day for us: a rocky trail into the Tucson Mountains culminating at a roofless stone house followed by a to-die-for late lunch at Starr Pass Resort, and a nice birding finale at Sweetwater Wetlands Park.

In addition to the phenomenal sights and views in the mountains - impressive numbers of saguaros rising majestically above varied abundant desert vegetation - we were surprised to hear the call of a great horned owl.  So unexpected that we were rooted to the spot as we scanned the surrounding mountainsides trying to spy the bird.  Finally, he called again, allowing us to zero in to his location.  Once we spotted him in a palo verde tree, we were even more astounded to see that it was a pair of owls calling to us from across the canyon.  Too distant to get a good photo, we gave it a try anyway.

There really is a pair of great horned owls in this picture.

The trip bird list grew on the hike with the addition of black-throated sparrow, black-tailed gnatcatcher and canyon towhee.

The stone cabin is a popular trail terminus; a small group of people were there when we arrived.  Evidently, enough trekkers have visited there and left crumbs from their snacks that the neighborhood avian life bops in to try out the tidbits left behind.

The house was built in the 1930s by Sherry Bowen, ostensibly as a suitable place for his wife to regain her health.  The couple returned to New York from their very isolated perch after the birth of their only child to resume their vocations of writing and reporting for the Associated Press.

At Sweetwater, we identified common gallinule, gadwall and gray hawk to add to the trip list. . .

. . . and there were turtles by the gazillions, which always makes me go a little snap-happy.

In addition to our welcome time with Barb & Jim, we had a lovely evening with dear friends Norma & George and a lunchtime get-together with Walter & Paulette, who have relocated back to Arizona from their long-time home in Washington.  For some reason, they did not heed my admonition to move to Prescott and are now ensconced in Tucson.  I dropped the photographic ball and forgot to get a shot of us with Walter & Paulette, but we managed to get a restaurant staffer to shoot us with Norma & George.

I dropped said ball again when I was too involved laughing with the “princesses”, a small group of school chums from one of the Dakotas, all of whom were sporting tiaras for their reunion and having the best time ribbing each other about their respective roles way, way back in elementary school days.

Agua Caliente . . .

One final foray prior to departing Tucson, Chris & I drove alllll the way across the city for a short look-around at Agua Caliente Park (the expanses of pavement and traffic filling it, everyone vying for their own spot at a speed far too rapid for safety are just about my undoing).  Although normally a fine birding locale, our mid-afternoon stop on a chilly windy day was not conducive to seeking nor finding, with one exceptional exception.

We had scarcely arrived when I heard a distant call of a great horned owl.  We began to follow the sound, although we heard it only seldom and despite the fact that the bird was surely hidden within the depths of the very bushy unshorn palms.  Our only clue besides the occasional sporadic vocalization was the approximate area we had seen a great horned on our only previous visit several years prior.  Despite the seeming impossibility of spying the owl, we located him in short order and were able to share our exciting find with a birder from Chicago who was appropriately impressed with our good fortune - skill, he called it; plain dumb luck seemed more like it.  And I even got a nice shot of of the magnificent bird during one of the times he poked his head out of his hidey hole far up in the tree.

This was our first glimpse of the owl.

Imagine finding that tiny speck 30-or-so feet up somewhere in this mass.

This cactus wren was relentless in warning us away; perhaps we were encroaching too near to her nest.

The señor finds the oddest things sometimes, like this millipede exoskeleton.

Speaking of odd: whilst lunching on the terrace, we witnessed verdins industriously worrying at sugar packets.  Of course my curiosity required satisfaction, thus we inquired of the staff and discovered that the birds have developed a taste for the natural sweets and distinguish between the real thing and artificial sweeteners identified by their colors.  More discerning than their human counterparts, they eat only natural sugar.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."  That sentiment was artistically chalked onto the floor of the stone cabin.