Arriving in Southern Arizona

Here we are leaving Toronto. 

Aaaaaaannnnnnnnd we finally made it to Arizona !!!

Well actually we were delayed a day by freezing rain in Toronto. Luckily my sister was gracious enough to house us at her place for another night. I don't think we'll miss this weather too much. 

But now we are really here and absolutely loving every bit of this amazing ecosystem. The plant life in the desert is like nothing I've experienced before with cacti growing wherever they can and almost every bit of bush and tree is equipped with natural thorny defences used to ward off anything that wants to mess with them and to maximize precious water absorption.  

 You do not want to wipe out on a bike going down these paths.

Our surroundings in Green Valley Arizona are picturesque with mountains in the background and, as I mentioned, cacti everywhere. Big ones, small ones, some taller than myself. 

Those cacti above are actually relatively small and are part of a manicured garden. Seems like most residents have abandoned grass lawns in place of more desert friendly rock gardens with varieties of desert plant life. Makes for very pleasant and low maintenance property enhancements.

The rain starts coming in the spring and aids the growth of many flowering plants. Even in the winter one can still find some bushes with flowers which are full of busy bees doing their thing.

Looking forward to exploring this landscape further.