March 1, 2019  Friday

All the "ary" months are behind us and it is finally March.  Spring is just around the corner at home, although snow is once again in the forecast for this weekend. I think winter is reluctant to let go this year.

Spring has sprung here in the desert this week.  The poppies and several other wild flowers are in bloom and the pollen count is on the rise. Temperatures have been consistently in the mid to upper seventies so we have been out and about a little bit.

I guess the biggest news from here is that the snow last weekend was all the way down to the 2500 foot level in the mountains. I spoke to a man who has lived here all his life and he told me he had never seen the snow that low on the Superstition Mountains.

Superstition with snow to 2500'

Superstition to the south from my bedroom window

 

We stopped at Paul's house last weekend and while we were there, the clouds came up and the thunder clapped (unusual) and we had a "graupel" event. It covered his back yard. That was my first experience with graupel.

Paul Jr.

 

Paul Jr.'s back yard covered in Graupel

 

Snow pelts from the sky, accompanied by thunder and lightning. As well as snow, hail and graupel fall from the sky. For those unacquainted with graupel, it is a frozen pellet not unlike hail formed when snow flakes are impregnated with super-cooled water droplets under particular atmospheric conditions.

There is something seriously wrong with this picture

Graupel on the chair and palm trees do not go together.

On Saturday the 23rd we traveled down to Tucson.  I say down to Tucson, but it is actually up as the altitude is over three thousand feet there. We met with Lela's former Nurse Practioner, Jeannie and her husband Dennis. (forgot to get a picture). We met them at Harvest Restaurant in their neighborhood of Oro Valley, AZ.  https://www.harvestov.com/  We ate on the patio.

Catalina Mountains near Tucson with snow cover

After seeing Jeannie, we were already within fifteen miles of Lela's cousin Glenn and his wife Andrea's home in Saddlebrook, AZ, so we hopped over there and spent a great afternoon with them.  They were preparing to leave for their home in Alaska as they had committed to helping a friend who is entered in the Iditarod race.  https://iditarod.com/  Glenn actually ran and won this race on snow machines (no dogs) several years ago.

Glenn and Andrea

We continue to be faithful at Desert Sands Church of Christ, Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.  We have some very good friends there who are like minded Christians and want to follow Jesus' teachings.

I finally got to play some golf at a course different from my league. Bruce, John and his brother Earl took me to Bear Creek Golf course on Tuesday. It is a Jack Nicklaus design, in Chandler, AZ
https://www.bearcreekaz.com/
I played pretty well with 42/41 for a total 83.  I think my game is coming around a little bit.

My regular league Wednesday at Western Skies golf course was a tale of two golfers.  I shot 45 on the front nine which included four double bogeys ( six over on three par threes). On the back side I shot 39 (par is 37) with seven pars and two bogeys. Total 84.

Lela is evidently allergic to something here as she is suffering the sinus thing again.  She has been cooking hors d'oeuvres all day as we are hosting our first happy hour of the year.  Temperature is 77 degrees as we prepare. She is hanging in there.