Arizona Weekend

I know many of you have heard about our walks that we love to do here in Arizona. This time I thought I would share some photos of the 3 hour walk we took on Saturday!

There is a beautiful walking trail just up the road from where we live. We love to take the dogs for a walk and enjoy the beautiful nature and wildlife that Arizona has to offer. There are coyotes, rabbits (lots and lots of rabbits), and all sorts of interesting birds (luckily, I have yet to see in scorpions or snakes). Sadie and Tucker love to chase after the rabbits and birds (but don't worry, they could never catch one, they are way too fast)! It is the best exercise EVER for them!!! They go running all over after them and chase them all away and then they come running back looking about as proud as can be for their accomplishment!!!! It is the funniest thing to watch, Dave and I both just laugh.

A few weeks ago Sadie had a little run in with a Cholla Cactus. Now if you have never lived in the desert, here is a lesson on Cholla Cactus. It is this terrible thorny cactus that breaks off into pieces if anything makes contact with it and embeds into the innocent culprit. It looks like a bunch of green stems that have a white fuzz covering it (please see above slideshow for an image). That white fuzz is actually thorns that have a barb like structure to them, making removal very painful! Our poor Sadie had chunks of the Cholla embedded in her shoulder, paws, and inner thigh, and to make matters worse, she tried biting at it to remove it before we could get to her, causing to also to be embedded in her mouth. Just as this took place, the rain started to poor and we were stuck out in the rain trying to remove this terrible cactus from her as she yelped (I felt so bad!) I had a sweatshirt on that I removed to use to pull out the cactus. We had it all wadded up and it was still penetrating through the sweatshirt! We were able to get all the big pieces out but had to take her home and remove the rest with tweezers. Once they were removed she was as happy as can be, and of course, ready to play ball. So now you know why I think the Cholla Cactus is the meanest ever!!!

We love all the unique nature that we see on the walk. I think my favorite is the Saguaro Cactus. They are so fascinating and majestic. On average, it takes a Saguaro 50 years to begin to grow it's first arm. They have an average life span of 175 years, and are a very important and crucial part of the Arizona ecosystem, providing homes and food for many animals, especially birds. The oldest Saguaro's have at least 5 arms and stand around 30-50 feet tall- these are estimated to be around 200 years old. When these Saguaro's are transplanted they must be placed facing the same Eastern direction as they were in the original location, otherwise they will die. After a good rain fall a 30' Saguaro weights around 6 to 7 tons! What an amazing plant!!!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed a little peak at the Arizona landscape- now onto Dave and I's other favorite thing to do in Arizona (which frequently is followed after a long walk), playing at the park.



We love to take the dogs to the park and throw the ball around with them. If you have ever met Sadie, you know what a ball freak she is. She can never get enough of playing ball. Now Tucker on the other hand, he is pretty disinterested in the ball (despite our efforts). His favorite thing is to run after Sadie and attack her the whole time she is trying to get the ball. It is pretty entertaining to watch. Either way, they both get their exercise! I hope you enjoyed the preview of our weekend fun!