Summer Photos--Camping, a Farm Visit, Weaving, Backyard Visitors, and Quilting

On our 4th of July camping trip to Rustler Park, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. 

It's still seriously summer here in southern Arizona, so I'm hoping to get some more great summer photos in 2010.  For now . . .

Apple Annie's produce farm near Willcox, Arizona. 

We spent part of a morning at Apple Annie's, a you-pick or they-pick produce farm and orchard. 

I'm not so good at this farming stuff and I don't like squash, but I think this is a squash plant of some kind.  The flower and greenery are pretty.  And it was cooler there than here at home.  Could it be all the water and plants?

And then I treated myself to this loom.

I made this checkerboard looking piece of woven "fabric."  I haven't decided what to make with it yet.  Perhaps a bag.  I'm making another "panel" just like this one.  This came from Jennifer at CraftSanity.  Her loom shop is here. 

I also made this dress for my Mom.

And this quilt for a friend and customer.

* * *

Living out in the desert means we get some other desert dwellers stopping by for a visit.  Before our monsoon rains really got going, I think they stopped by our gray water tank overflow to get a drink and checked around our house for small wild animal hiding places.  Um . . . you can have ALL the pack rats!  Except for me, that is.  I'm a big one. 

Anyway, the photos of visitors.

Bobcat.

Coyote.

We think we've been seeing the same three coyotes lately.  We think two younger ones (this one above is one we think is one of the youngsters) and an adult.  They hunt smaller critters around our place where many hiding places abound.  My man saw that the older coyote had success with one of the smaller furry critters that didn't make it into our fenced yard in time. 

Then . . . once the coast was clear . . .

Ummm . . . gotta go!!

Me, too.  I hope to have more summer adventures posted before summer's over!!  Please let me know what you're doing this summer and post links here in the comments to your photos online.

Camping in Madera Canyon--continued

Did you know these were hiking shoes and boots?  I didn't know the cowboy boots had the green uppers until we were sitting around the fire ring.  However, these boots tromped around camp and up the trail and served well while playing catch with the football and frisbee in camp.  And made me smile. 

Did you know that when you camp with six boys that you will see no wildlife?  Well, other than what is habituated to humans--like the camp robber jays and squirrels.  So, when you camp with six boys, don't expect to see deer or anything like that.  Just so you know. 

We camped for just one night.  More than that is really pressing it for at least one of the leaders.  And on this trip, one night was enough.  Some time in the night, the wind really came up and blew HARD!!  It was one of those winds where you could hear it rumbling down the hill and it seemed as though it was working hard to gather steam.  Then it got to your tent and shook it up for all it was worth.  Our tent fared well in the wind. It's had plenty of wind experience.  The bigger tent had some floppy places and the occupants got out, packed up, and put their tent away before breakfast.

Needless to say, while you're hearing the wind gathering speed as it roars down the mountain and through the trees, you don't sleep very well at all.  Here's a story about some other campers in a different location in the same mountains on the same night!

Oh, speaking of breakfast . . .

Each prepared their own breakfast in their own pan/plate.  You got your own ingredients:  eggs, cheese, etc.  Then cooked.  At least one of our campers had never cooked before so he figured it out quickly with coaching and by observation. 

After breakfast, another hike was in order.  Can you tell that the wind brought cooler temperatures?

We walked from the campground along the trails to the Santa Rita Lodge to visit their bird feeders.  They have many interesting visitors. 

I took these photos while the others were in the gift shop getting hot drinks.

Then it was a hike back to camp and lunch!!

Oh, are you detecting a trend here?  One camper described our camping trip:  You get to camp, set up the tent, eat, then hike, stop and eat, then hike back to camp, then you cook!"

Sounds just about right to me . . .

I hope you get your own outdoor adventures soon. 

Camping in Arizona's Madera Canyon

We love to camp and hike.  We love the outdoors.  We especially love it when we can get into some higher country and enjoy the trees and the smells and the sounds. 

A little over a month ago, we went hiking with our friends and some of the members of their 4H group.  The group decided to camp close to home at the Bog Springs Campground in nearby Madera Canyon.  It's a beautiful place in one of Arizona's "sky island" mountain ranges--the Santa Rita Mountains. 

Of course, when you arrive at camp, the first order of business is to set up housing.  Our little backpacking tent is this orange and blue one.  The bigger tent for the 4H leaders and the kids is the one that's going up in the distance in the picture below.  Are we smart, or what?

Below, everyone helps get the big tent set up!

Then you know the next order of business is food!

This is the trail mix container.  Everyone contributed a bag of something for the trail mix tub.  M&M's are my favorite in this tub!!  Once all the ingredients were poured into the tub, the 4H leader asked the kids if they'd stirred it up yet.  The response, "Ooohhh, that's why you call it trail mix!"  Sigh.  Oh, and did you know that dried apricots look like red blood cells.  I learned so much on this camping trip . . .

Then came lunch!!

And a hike!

This is the Dutch John Trail that takes off from the east side of the Bog Springs Campground.  We went for about a mile UP the trail (you can see that UP is the operative word here) to a spring and a nice shady spot with lots of trees and boulders.  Here are a brother and sister enjoying a peaceful rest on a big boulder.  And some of the trail mix!

And a couple of buddies on another boulder . . .

More later when I share with you some of the appropriate footwear for camping and hiking in the mountains of Southern Arizona!!

Have a good week!