Thread Drift

[Dogmama]

[QUOTE=BleeckerSt_Girl;572341]Here's what I was doing yesterday, installing two new hives....

/QUOTE]

What gorgeous scenery! I'm SO sick of cactus!

[Pax]

What gorgeous scenery! I'm SO sick of cactus!

I remember when we lived in AZ, I would look at a picture of lush green spaces and feel desperately homesick. The Midwest isn't the most scenic place on earth, but I sure like living here.

[snapdragen]

Dogmama - why is your boy in a donut?

[Crankin]

Me too, Pax.
Plus, there were no cacti left in Tempe. Had to drive for miles to see any real desert. Miles and miles of brown, drab concrete, stucco, and strip malls.

[OakLeaf]

From a poem I wrote a few years ago, after a week in northern California in the summer:

"Life's blood clawed from parched earth; each blade of grass proof of a battle won."

I like to visit the American West; I couldn't live there.

[Dogmama]

Dogmama - why is your boy in a donut?

That was a few months ago. He had an operation called a gastropexy where they attached the stomach to the intestinal wall. German Shepherds and other larger dogs are prone to bloat & torsion. It's where they eat rapidly, gulping a bunch of air and/or exercise too soon afterwards, get very excited, etc. The food bloats the stomach and the stomach can twist on its axis. It's an emergency situation because internal organs begin to die off quickly & the dog can go into shock & die. Because of Zack's size & structure, he was a really good candidate for bloat.

So, the doughnut was instead of the usual cone. He was licking his stitches, so he wore a doughnut for a few weeks. Much easier to maneuver around than a cone.

[Dogmama]

I remember when we lived in AZ, I would look at a picture of lush green spaces and feel desperately homesick. The Midwest isn't the most scenic place on earth, but I sure like living here.

This is my 50th summer here. I'd move in a second, but DH has a thriving business that he loves.

If God really was a woman, she wouldn't make a menopausal, hot flashing woman live here.

[Crankin]

Oy.
Glad I moved away before that. Being in an overheated classroom was enough for me when i had flashes. I remember my mom just dripping with sweat in AZ when she started menopause. And being ecstatic when they moved to San Diego shortly after that.

[snapdragen]

Ah yes, I'm familiar with bloat in doggies. Glad he's OK!

[Owlie]

I remember when we lived in AZ, I would look at a picture of lush green spaces and feel desperately homesick. The Midwest isn't the most scenic place on earth, but I sure like living here.

The University of Arizona was actually my top choice for grad school. While I was pleasantly surprised by Tucson, and DBF (who's from Mesa)'s insistence that there was greenery within driving distance, the landscape was such that I wasn't sure that I could take living there for the 4-7 years it would take to finish the degree. At the very least, I figured that I might want to move north and east as soon as I graduated. Moot point now, of course, but it's something I'm going to consider the next time around.

[bmccasland]

The University of Arizona was actually my top choice for grad school. While I was pleasantly surprised by Tucson, and DBF (who's from Mesa)'s insistence that there was greenery within driving distance, the landscape was such that I wasn't sure that I could take living there for the 4-7 years it would take to finish the degree. At the very least, I figured that I might want to move north and east as soon as I graduated. Moot point now, of course, but it's something I'm going to consider the next time around.

You mean you didn't like living in technically the lushest greenest desert in the world? The Sonoran Desert has two, count them, two rainy seasons. And there is greenery on top of Mt. Lemmon, the Rincon Mountains, and the Santa Rita Mountains, or in their canyons.

University of Arizona, class of 1981.

[Pax]

This is my 50th summer here. I'd move in a second, but DH has a thriving business that he loves.

If God really was a woman, she wouldn't make a menopausal, hot flashing woman live here.

Hear, hear! We were both menopausal when we lived there. I remember having a hot flash while riding my motorcycle in 116 degree temps... my first thought was "are you f'ing kidding me!!!" quickly followed by "well, this is a helluva way to die, how embarrassing".

The University of Arizona was actually my top choice for grad school. While I was pleasantly surprised by Tucson, and DBF (who's from Mesa)'s insistence that there was greenery within driving distance, the landscape was such that I wasn't sure that I could take living there for the 4-7 years it would take to finish the degree. At the very least, I figured that I might want to move north and east as soon as I graduated. Moot point now, of course, but it's something I'm going to consider the next time around.

My SO worked there as well as the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, she liked both places, but neither of us could hack the heat, the shades of brown, and the lack of a support network. So we came back home to IL... I do miss AZ when it's -8F here though.

[Owlie]

You mean you didn't like living in technically the lushest greenest desert in the world? The Sonoran Desert has two, count them, two rainy seasons. And there is greenery on top of Mt. Lemmon, the Rincon Mountains, and the Santa Rita Mountains, or in their canyons.

University of Arizona, class of 1981.

I did say I was actually pleasantly surprised. Much more green than I expected (my previous exposure to the state was the Phoenix area, if that tells you anything), though I didn't get a good chance to explore the area. (I was there for two full days, and one of them was full of interview things!) Maybe if I can get some money together to go visit DBF, I'll persuade him to take me down there and we can go exploring. But thanks for the tip--if I do end up moving down there, I can get my greenery fix!
I'm also completely heat-intolerant, which makes me more than a little nervous about moving down there. I'm not sure I like the idea of not going outside much between April and October. On the other hand, here you can only go outside between April and October, maybe November if you're lucky.

DBF has actually strongly suggested that I move down there, as UA seems to preferentially take state residents for grad students, because they don't have to pay as much in tuition. That was actually the reason they gave that they didn't admit me. Money.

[Crankin]

Tucson has always been nicer than Phx and I regret not going to school there. But, I was young and dumb.
Having Mt. Lemon there is a nice way to get quickly into another climate zone. Once, when I was 7 months pregnant, we were desperate to get out of the heat, the AC, or the pool. We drove up to Black Canyon Lake (3 hours?) and rented a canoe and basically sat under a tree and chilled out in the 74 degree temperature. I think I have a picture of me dozing under the tree, hugely pregnant. What I hated was the cabin fever that set in, because of the heat. I know I couldn't ride in those temperatures. I spent all of my time at the gym, exercising.
I don't mind the winter, because I get out into it with the right clothes for x country skiing and snow shoeing. I love the seasons. Whenever I have to walk to my car in a biting wind, with snow blowing, I think about what it was like to open my car door and get in, after work, when it was 112. I snap out of it quite quickly when I do that.

[Pax]

I remember a small meltdown I had in Tucson, it was August and I just wanted to feel some cool water on my face, the water coming out of the tap was hot no matter which one I turned on so I filled the sink and added a ton of ice... it was barely tepid. I just started to cry and yell "all I want is some cool water, how bloody hard is THAT!!!!!". I realized that perhaps I wasn't cut out for that climate.