Bisbee stairs

This date was Bill's idea earlier in the week.  We met at 6am at the Mine museum and took off at 6:15am.  I left the dogs at home but I probably could have taken Hansel.  There were many other stair walkers and dogs out today, and didn't get hot until later in the morning.

Bill was talkative today, starting with  "I'm getting me a cat!" but that turned out to be because his main squeeze, Deb, is officially moving in with him by the end of the month.

I was a little surprised.  Bill has always bragged about his prowess and is still very active sexually.  (He volunteered that information.)  When I asked Bill what he and Deb have in common, his first answer is  "She's a sex addict!"  Uh-oh.  I really don't like to pry into anyone's intimate life, and wasn't expecting that for an answer.   He was talking about being polyamorous just the last time we met for the Bisbee walk.  So what changed? 

Well, I'm happy for Bill. He met Deb on a dating website (didn't ask which one!) earlier this year.  Maybe I should try that, but my impression of other men my age looking for companionship isn't very positive.  Boomer boys are very sexist and want a caretaker/maid in a woman and I'm not good at either.  I would love to start out with a passionate companion who loves to explore the outdoors, so that leaves me considering men who hike and camp and appreciate pristine environments.

"I should try that" I replied to Bill about dating apps.  "Must like dogs!" I added.  Hahaha.  Must like the outdoors, enjoy weekend road trips, appreciate desert gardening and be frugal with money (ie no excessive spending on frivolous things) and not talk excessively about former wives or girlfriends.  And, while I didn't tell Bill this, must not be addicted to alcohol or cigarettes.

Bisbee was in bloom this time and we stopped a lot for photos.  Sunflowers were everywhere, as where the Arizona poppies, dahlias, zinnias.  In another month or so the seed pods for the trumpet vine will be ready for harvesting.  I picked up a few seeds for Birds of Paradise, pomegranate and a few seedheads of dried flowers I can't identify right now.  I hope in a year my front yard will have blue palo verde, mimosa, honey locust, and yellow and red Birds of Paradise.  All of these are native to this region

We chatted briefly with a local homeowner named Zin.  We spotted a coatimundi on his front porch a year ago but he said he's never seen one in his yard.  Originally from New Jersey, he's travelled all over the country before he and his partner Jill settled in Bisbee four years ago. 

He let us into his small front yard.  He and Jill are gardeners and have used every space in their yard for various blooms. He also gave me permission to pick the trumpet vine seed pods when they ripen in another six weeks.  I had a trumpet honeysuckle at my old place but never properly trellised it so it grew more prostate than vertical.

We walked around for 3.5 hours. It was just past 9:30am before we drove our separate ways.  I went home to rest and shower, and have a home lunch.

Weather forecast for Wednesday is calling for severe rains in the afternoon.  Bring it on! It's been five days since our last rain.  My backyard is full of Arizona poppies and pigweed.  I don't remember having either back there last summer.  Everything has popped up last week after the rains.

A good week for rain

 I haven't been walking the dogs much now that school has started, but I do try to get at least one dog walked in the morning for two miles.  Today it was Fritz's turn and we went west on our street to the end and then explored some dirt paths.  All the weeds that have popped up this month have made walking the path more colorful.

It was overcast and cool, with some rain clouds to the northeast.  Fritz was galloping along close to me as we turned briefly south on one road I had never been on.  An abandoned tractor stood along this path where the path curves east and toward a home.  We turned around here, as the sunlight poked out of the clouds to provide us a colorful start to the day.

A few heavy drops of rain also fell, but then stopped.  That rain was just at the boundary as most of the rain fell to our northwest into town.  I could tell by the fresh puddles in the school parking lot.  

It was a refreshing, albeit short, way to start the day.  This walk with Fritz was a mere 40 minutes.

Carr Peak for August with Bill, Monty, Hansel

Due to several rain storms and work schedules, Bill and I never managed to hike up Carr in July.  We did, however, managed to hike up Carr today with Monty McD (a retired SGM with whom I worked at the high school).  All three are passionate desert gardeners, so today's hike was more like a "Oh look, that's a Western Wallflower!"

Temperatures were forecasted to reach the mid 90s so we started early.  Bill picked me up at 5am, then Monty, and all three of us drove up to the trailhead in Bill's Yukon.

The sun rose at 5:40am as we were still on our drive up the road.  Turkeys were roosting in a tree right off the road, which prompted a short stop to photograph the scene.

We began at 5:45am.  I was upfront with Hansel and Bill and Monty were behind me.   We passed a young woman running up the road.  We later saw her at least three more times.  She ran up to Miller Peak and then Carr Peak for 23 miles.

I immediately noticed more wildflowers when compared to our June hike.  The four storms we had since that last hike (and a few more that were contained to the mountains) brought out so much new growth not only with the flowers, but the many saplings struggling to grow.

Sawmill springs, however, was barely trickling. I was hoping for flowing water, but the trickle was still better than completely dry like last time.  I had a gallon of water with me so I wasn't worried, but I knew a dry spring here meant no water higher up.  I was right.   We need so much more rain in the next two months to help alleviate our drought and refill our aquifers.

We hiked at a moderate-to-slow pace, looking at the flora and taking pictures. We all used Google lens to help us identify the many flowers along the trail.  Verbena and Western Wallflowers were in the lower elevation below 7000', along with the Indian Paintbrush and Common stargrass.  Common mullein, Golden Columbine, Firecracker penstemon, blue salvia were above the aspen grove.  One flower that was quite abundant was the sunflower, but there were so many varied yellow flowers that only differed by their leaf and petal arrangement.

We never suffered from the heat since we started early and hiked in the shade going up.  But even at the peak it was calm.  No wind, no cool breeze.  Just the panorama around us as we noticed smoke wafing in the north.  There were no ladybugs mating in the shrubs.  A good monsoon usually brings them to the high peaks to mate in July and then lay their eggs in the valley below.  This all means we still need much more rain. 

We snacked on the peak for a bit, then resumed our return hike going the same way we came. This is when we came across two groups of four people going up as we were descending.  Hansel was the only dog and he did well.

I enjoyed the company today.  Monty was very informative about the flora and a good hiking partner.  We may make Carr Peak a monthly endeavor.  September will have autumn colors, October raptor migration and November may bring the first freeze.  I will enjoy the camaraderie.