Arizona

I recently traveled to Arizona. A friend of mine owns a house about an hour from Phoenix. We went for a week at the end of June. It was hot.. and yes, while I kept hearing it was a "dry heat" (that became a bit of a joke!) once you hit the 40's (100's for my American readers) it is just plain hot. I was surprised how quickly I acclimated to the heat .. but yes, it still was hot lol. That just gave us an excuse to lounge in my friends wonderful pool.

Knowing I had never been to Arizona, my friend went out of her way to take me places and show me the sights. I was floored with the beauty I found everywhere. It was a different kind of beauty than I was used too on the west coast of Canada.. but, just the same.. it was very pretty. I loved the saguaro cactus I saw everywhere. Some were huge and gnarled.. you could see they had been through many years of weather. Some cactus we saw had fruit on it.. that was pretty cool.

We took a drive to the Superstition Mountains... they are amazing. I would love to go in a cooler season and have the chance to hike out there.

We had a wonderful experience one day while driving on one of the highways.. a way off to the side, on a cliff we could see the silhouette of some wild horses. We pulled over and found a road that led us out to where they were. These horses were amazing.. most were in remarkably good condition. They almost looked like they had been brushed and let out for the day.. but then you would see some of the stallions and see how beat up they were. Scars covered most of their bodies. Beautiful untamed animals. For yes we did try and get closer to some of them.. they were having none of us lol.. the stallion would quickly rush them off.

We went to Scottsdale and walked around one evening.. it is a really quaint place. Lots of statues and very unique stores.

I enjoyed my time in Arizona.. and can't wait to go again!

Growing

I really enjoy growing things. I say "things" because, if it has a seed I will try and grow it!
Sometime ago I came across a clearance bin of tins that had been for Mothers day. It was Mothers day message plant. I bought it because it was cheap, lol and because I wanted to see what it would grow. Well when I opened the tin, there was the HUGE bean in it. I don't know what it is but I have never seen a bean this big. (If anyone reading this know, please let me know)I added water as instructed and it very quickly grew. It would be nice to know what it is going to be, but I guess that would take some of the surprise from it. Maybe it is Jacks bean! In case you can't see it closely, it has "trust" engraved in the side of the seed.

Kristin and I were in a dollar type store recently and she asked if she could get something. She picked out a egg that was supposed to grow. I was hesitant, but it was cheap enough, so I let her. We added the water and after a few hours the egg started cracking. Eventually the top had all cracked off and lo and behold there is another HUGE bean inside. It too quickly started sprouting. This one had, "I love Canada" on the side of it. I was surprised to see that it was put together by a local business. I plan on buying a few of these to give to my nieces.

I had never had tamarind until recently. I can't say I am partial to it, however, it had seeds :) It is a seed pod and from what I have read the insides are used more often in baking or candy making. So perhaps I am not eating it correctly and I would like it if cooked. Its kind of odd looking,


SO I threw a few into a container of water and they got all yucky and gelatinous.

I cleaned them off and put them back in some water, I am hoping to get the chance to plant them this week. I also have a pomegranate in the fridge I will plant. I have grown those seeds and they make a lovely plant. Then there is the mandarin oranges coming, I have grown lots of citrus plants. They have the most wonderful shiny leaves.