Evening in paradise

 This is what we see from our back patio at Nuestra Casa….

We certainly enjoyed a few days at our home in the Valley (Leisure World in Mesa).  Soon we will be back at our mountain cabin….then off to Utah on a road trip and to volunteer at Candice’s endurance run— the Moab 240.  This is a 240 mile race through desert, canyons, slick rock, and two mountain ranges!

Cycling With Coyotes

We were out cycling before dawn and ran into a large pack of coyotes—in Leisure World! There were at least six, and they were cavorting all around one of the homes.

One coyote even stood on our neighbor’s wall and peered inside their back patio.  Maybe it was looking for a tasty, yappy little dog (it can have it as far as we're concerned), or chasing a bunny or skunk…or maybe trying to decide if one of us old folks would make a good breakfast.

Eat your heart out Kevin Costner.  We weren’t on a movie set, like you were when you were “Dancing With Wolves.”  We were actually riding our tandem bicycle in the wilds of Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona!

In addition to our pack of coyotes, this morning we saw a fox, several bunnies, and two other coyotes running together across the large expanse of the back nine of—get this…the Coyote Run golf course.

Riding our tandem bicycle at Nuestra Casa, we were treated to a spectacular sunrise as the sun rose over the Superstition Mountains.  

As if we hadn’t had enough excitement this morning, just as we came around the last pond near our home we spied a coyote running from the pond with a Canadian goose held securely in it’s mouth! 

It was quite the sight.  The Canadian goose was darn near half the size of the coyote.

Coyotes are considered pests in Leisure World, but Canadian Geese are the worst pests.  So, we were cheering for the coyote.......go coyote go!

Here is a photo we took when the coyote turned to look at us for a second, before it ran between two houses. We had to zoom in on the coyote, so the photo's a little rough…but it is definitely a Canadian goose clenched in its jaws.

We rode around the corner to our beautiful home, Nuestra Casa, that we love so much.

 

The birds were awake and their sweet sounds surrounded us. 

Morning had broken, and the wild animals will hide out all day. Late at night the coyotes, skunks, and foxes will slide out of their dens, drain pipes, and nests in the thick bushes to once again hunt in the darkness and rule Leisure World.

 

Tomorrow morning we will be out on Daisy in the dark to see if we can spy them once again. 

The 8th Wonder of the World…

….the Mogollon Rim that rises thousands of feet in sheer cliffs above central Arizona.  It stretches over 200 miles westward from New Mexico far into Arizona.

A truly spiritual and inspiring 40-mile forest road weaves up and down on the edge of the Mogollon Rim.  The Rim towers 1500 feet above our cabin in the mountain town of Pine.

We feel blessed to live below this 8th Wonder of the World.  We are stunned by the magnificent beauty as we cycle on the Rim road and gaze for hundreds of miles to the south, east, and west.  

We are blessed to have this life together.

To everything,…turn, turn, turn

There is a season…turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose, under heaven.

Summer is fading, and fall in the mountains is near.  The sun is no longer hot.  Mornings are cool, not cold.  As the sun rises over the Mogollon Rim and above the tall pine trees, we can feel the warm rays on our faces and arms.  It is a glorious time to be alive—between summer and fall.

Every day we are out enjoying the bounty of the earth, and all the gifts that nature gives to us.

We are alive. We are healthy. We are together.  We are in love.

The September full moon from the deck of our cabin.

The flowers and the bees…

A cheery note in our local post office from the Pine Strawberry kindergarteners!