Rent with Us Blog

We volunteered some time this morning to help plant new flowering plants in the pots around the swimming pool. They are Javelina resistant and should grow into a great show of color.
Last night we met our guests in Villa 71 and I continued to wonder how such interesting people come to stay with us. Avid golfers, they talked about courses they played, but most interesting to me they recalled days of dog sledding and spending winters in Puerto Rico. People after my own heart!

What a week! Four days off the grid near Puerto Penasco MX and then three days off the grid on the 32 acres .. I had a blast in MX with two friends .. we were the three gringos .. drank a lot of Tecate beer as it was really sunny and hot .. rode in the back of a short wheel-based Jeep with a rag top .. no air conditioning .. about 6 hours trip from Tucson and then a day of roaming around the desert .. went to El Gulfo .. near the Baja Peninsula … looked for petrified bones … played Bocchi Ball on the beach … never did that in the sand before .. it is great with Tecate!
Back on the 32 acres we got a landing site prepared for the 40 foot container … saved all the cacti we could going ahead of the machine to dig them out and transplant them … overall had a great time .. lots of tension there around illegals crossing the land and drugs .. it is hard these days not to feel victimized a bit for we should not have to feel that … 160 were rounded up yesterday in our valley … oh well .. go with the flow

What a crappy day! The guy who will move the 40 foot steel storage container onto the 32 acres said he cannot get it up the road and that it will cost more to set it up than budgeted … and we need to push anther road onto the property before Friday … on a better note, I brought some Ocotillo cacti back from the 32 acres to Sin Vacas and the landscape people started planting them here … there are about 30 plants and they will find new homes in the washes about the place

Whata day! We got a handgun (legally) for self protection out on the 32 acres … I wish the Feds would take the situation seriously instead of threatening to sue Arizona over the immigration law … imagine .. the US Government is responsible for protecting the sovereignty of the country .. the most important duty .. and yet they continue to bow to the lobby groups who want cheap labour … and with such shortsighted goals they truly threaten the very integrity of the county … over 600000 illegals in Arizonal alone .. and the other day I heard that Pennsylvania had over 300000 illegals … imagine the numbers in a few years .. currently around 15000000 in the country .. will be 300000000 .. and the government requiring states to bear the burden of social services .. health, police, child pretective services etc .. and illegals giving birth to children in the US … complicating the situation .. its a mess … meanwhile we bought a handgun for personal protection on our property … for we have drug trains going up through the washes .. and we have a 300 foot wash running through our property .. each night we see long lines of illegals crossing through the washes and they are about 400 feet from us … on our own property … how things have changed out inthe country side in souther Arizona over 7 years.

Do Roadrunners really go “beep beep”?

You probably remember seeing the cartoon coyote and roadrunner in their classic struggle for survival on TV years ago. I updated my image of the roadrunner on my first visit to Tucson, where I saw several in real life. As portrayed in the cartoons, they are very quick on their feet, preferring to run than fly … I think, for their food scurries amongst the tangled arms of prickly pear cacti and brittle bush plants that cover the washes in town and in the desert. I think they feed themselves better if they can match the quickness of lizards and snakes on their own terms, for just the thought of flying into one of those prickly pears gives me chills! I’m sure roadrunners are more successful if they use the same mode of transportation as their future meals than if they take to the air trying to dive bomb them for virtually everything growing here has spines.

I watched a roadrunner cross the fairway at the golf course the other day happily carting a limp lizard to a place where it could be consumed, and just this morning I watched a roadrunner carrying a snake up the wash outside the window at home where I am blogging now. They are as quick as their cartoon look-a-likes, but I’ve never heard a roadrunner make a peep, let alone a ‘beep’ … so I have to update that too.

Non-violent illegals crossing the border from Mexico historically are accepted in the US, but their easy access to this country encourages violent drug traffickers and terrorists to use the same routes, terrorizing rural folk in AZ.

We’ve been out at the 32 acres just south west of Tucson the the last couple of weeks. Being off the grid, I have to wait until I get back into town to access the Blog. Since illegals broke into our 22 foot trailer and started a fire on our property last year, neither Susan nor I have felt safe staying there overnight. So this last week we took possession of a ‘sealand container’ and we now leave our stuff in it, and when we want to overnight, we prefer to lock ourselves in it than sleep in the trailer. The container is made of steel, with barred and steel-shuttered windows, whereas the trailer is made of light aluminum with lightly constructed windows that can easily be broken into.

We bought our property in 2003 when illegals routinely crossed over the land. Then, at the most they asked for ‘agua’ .. whereas this week, illegals banged on our neighbors doors at 5:30 AM demanding water, food and transportation to Tucson. Our neighbor is a single mother with a teenage daughter. Last night, drug trafficers who typically carry AK-47 assault rifles, walked in a formation carrying their goods within 300 yards of our place. We saw the discarded garbage and foot prints this morning. So I prefer to sleep in the metal container than the trailer at night. And most disturbing are the stories we hear from neighbors who found discarded Qur’āns or Korans (the central religious verbal text of Islam) along with other clothes and backpacks on their property.

The container may very well become a replacement for standard housing units in border states in the next decade if the federal government continues to ignore the need to seal the borders. Recreational activities may include carrying a weapon for personal protection like back to the old west, before ‘rule of law’ and transparency. For example, today, my wife is at a 5 hour gun training course as she wants to become more comfortable with her hand gun that she just bought to protect herself on the land.

Until the borders are sealed to prevent illegal people crossing over our land, we will have to cope with the different levels of terror associated with local stories of homes being invaded, cars stolen, and neighbors killed. For us that means getting a steel container to sleep in when we are overnight on the property and to carry guns, mace and knives. Unfortunately this is becoming an image of life in the US. We need to return to rule of law and transparency, when politicians of all stripes see their highest priority to maintain the sovereignty of the nation, rather than colluding with special interest groups in their political bases who want them to ignore illegals to provide cheap labor. When the US provides relatively easy routes for pacifist illegal workers to enter the country, people in the countryside pay for this practice for violent drug dealers and terrorists follow.

Adobe walls take me back to my childhood when I made mud pies in my backyard.

I’ve been looking more and more at adobe walls that adorn properties around our villas. I’d like to build some out on our 32 acres. Walls, about 32 inches high, hold several advantages to us there … they keep the Javelinas out of the yard at nighttime, they are aesthetically pleasing to look at, they don’t block the views of the mountains and valleys that surround the place, and they provide a sense of place for us.

Adobe walls are made of adobe bricks and adobe mortar. What is ‘adobe’? It is put simply, ‘mud.’ A brick is usually 10inches wide, 14 inches long and 4 inches thick. It is made in a field or back yard by mixing 1/3 clay with sand and aggregate, mix in water to make it soupy and then straw as a ‘binder’ .. and stuffed into a simple form made of 2x4s … after about 15 minutes the form can be taken off and the next day the ‘brick’ can be lifted and set on edge so it can air dry thoroughly … after a week or so it can be used in wall construction. Once the wall is finished the brick wall can be plastered with mud or cement to give it a smooth textured look.

I can see inviting life-long friends of mine over for a few weeks to re-live making mud pies in the desert … only this time the pies would serve a more utilitarian purpose!

How many days over 100 degrees F (40 Degrees C) bring on the Monsoons?

I don’t think the heat brings on the Monsoons .. although they contribute to them. The heat seems to combine with a pattern of higher humidity .. and after a long day of heat over 100 degrees F, clouds form along the mountain ranges (Tucson is surrounded by mountain ranges) and suddenly, ‘BOOM’ … thunder cracks and the sound rolls across the city from one mountain wall over to another until it finally subsides .. I’ve heard that lightning strikes are plentiful in the Tucson area and everyone celebrates .. for the rain drops the temperature and feeds animals and plants (not to mention people) who have survived the heat of the summer desert.

I don’t know the official record, but I think I’ve heard that Tucson has had over 100 consecutive days of 100+ degrees F of temperature.

We are a square peg when there are only round holes.

That is what the County people told me today when I asked about making a zoning change so we can place a storage unit for recreational purposes on our acreage. He said that storage containers are only allowed on commercially zoned land and that would cost us a bundle; which he offered was very expensive and not enabling, for we want a secure storage place on our vacant rural land to store folding chairs etc which we could use when we watch the sun setting on days we go there.

Life goes on as we continue to navigate our path around the various bureaucracies that need to exert their control over us.

We want to use the vacant land for recreational purposes but no zoning exists that will enable this without a very expensive development plan that includes building a house or a business.

We are, indeed, a square peg, and the bureaucracy can only offer us round holes.

What a wildlife experience we had in Sin Vacas.

Last night, Susan and I took a walk just as the sun was setting. Walking around Sin Vacas is like walking in a park with beautiful Santa Fe homes nestled in the desert flora. We followed a gentle sweeping curve of one of the roads and came face-to-face with a mature Bobcat. Susan saw it first and we came to a sudden stop. Standing still for about 45 seconds, we stared at the cat while it stared back at us: big eyes fixed on us, coat spotted with white, gold and black, tail literally imperceptible and body frame muscled, the cat stood its ground. Then casually it sauntered away and disappeared behind an adobe wall.

We did not start walking again for a few seconds as we processed all this. This was an excellent experience for us just minutes walk from our villa.

Living in the desert focuses the mind.

I just got back from three days in the desert, the 32 acre patch of land we have about 30 miles north of Mexico in Arizona. The sun was harsh and the temperature was 107 F and I appreciated every breeze that came my way as I sought shade. Time seemed to become less important, even meaningless as I sat as still as I could while reading a book. It was about noon.

I noticed a red ant on my shoe and scuffed it off, unintentionally maiming it in the process. So I stepped on it, taking it out of its misery. Within a minute I noticed a smaller black ant carrying the carcass away at amazingly high speed, taking a path as straight as an arrow. Like a small black boat with a red sail on a sandy ocean, this black ant was buffeted by breezes. It travelled over 40 feet in this straight line then started meeting other black ants. They would come up and grab hold of the carcass and the two or three of them would carry it for a second or two, then leave.

Although I could see how the ant travelled straight back toward its hole in the ground, it started to take an erratic path and, in my estimation, travelled back and forth, often covering its own steps for 20 minutes, even though it came within 12 inches of the ant hole before turning away again. I was about to give up after watching this event for over 40 minutes for I became aware of time again, when suddenly the ant found its home and disappeared into its hole.

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Three days in desert conditions: hot, still air, harsh sun, the absence of electricity, TV and phones, opened my mind to something very small .. an event that is carried out countess times each day but too often ignored. The desert slowed time as I learned to be physically quiet and stay in the shade as the sun followed its arc toward the western horizon.

Without human structures to support me, I was able to relax, adjust to nature’s pace and let my mind focus on a part of the world which I normally walk right over.

Anticipation of the Monsoons

It is 108 F and I just came in from outside .. Susan was in the pool this morning when it was still under 90 F … but right now, its good to be inside … we know that the heat is necessary to create the conditions for the Monsoons … rains and downpours that come to give relief and respite to plant and animals .. and to us!

The low systems are all around us but what we need is the high system that is over Texas to shift over New Mexico and bingo! we will have higher humidity and then rain .. which makes the air cooler … Monsoons are critical for the plants and animals of the desert have evolved in a way to survive long hot droughts and to store water for a long time when it comes. And when it does it comes as 3 inches of downpour that does not get a chance to soak into the ground, but to run off it and run into the washes … so plants and animals have become adept at collecting water that is on the surface for a few hours in order to survive the remainder of the year.

It is not just me who anticipates the Monsoons.

What’s it like to drive from the Mexican border to Canada on a regular basis?

Each year we drive south from Canada to enjoy the high desert spring and summer and each year we head 12 hours to WA State to visit family and then head on down 24 hours through OR, ID, NV, over Hoover Dam into AZ. Around Wickieup AZ we begin to see Saguaros for the first time … what an energizing moment that is! We try to avoid Phoenix as much as we can for the traffic and trucks make driving pretty tense on I 10.

But when we arrive, we take the Ina Road exit east to our villas. What a relief to be welcomed at the gate of Rancho Sin Vacas by the security guards there.

Travelling home to Calgary is the same journey but in reverse. In total we drive 36 hours each way and manage to connect with our family in the Pacific Northwest along the way. It is hard to reach Wickieup on the first day north however, for we will see the last of the Saguaros until the next year.

Winter is for Snowbirds – Summer is for Locals

Over the last 10 years that we have been renting our villas in Tucson, we have guests who return each year to escape the cold winters … for 8 years a couple has come for 4 months (Dec-Mar) from Canada while another couple has returned 7 years (Jan-Mar) from the Midwest. Two couples come from Canada in November while a couple returns each year from Maine. Snowbirds love to return to a spot that they love and over the years anticipate seeing friends again.

In the summer months a pattern is not so predictable to see. We have guests who are Visiting Professors from Indiana or Mexico, individuals visiting sick parents in town, parents visiting children studying at the UA, couples renovating homes in town, or couples coming to purchase a home.

I find it exciting to get to know these people and to provide them with some of the best deals in town, whether in the Winter or Summer!