A Parting of the Ways................

I am rather a fatalist, I think people come into our lives for a reason. Several years ago I started reading a blog called Sycamore Canyon. It's author, Kathie lived in Arizona and wrote about her love for the natural world and the Arizona desert. A couple of years later my husband took me to Tucson for a birthday present. I had been completely captivated by Kathie's writing and was already in love with the desert through her wonderful words. It seemed only logical that I should meet Kathie as I was going to be in her neighbourhood. This is not something I do, I don't randomly go round meeting people from online! Anyway I am glad I made an exception. We agreed to meet at a local birding spot.

And a wonderful friendship was born. We continued to communicate online. Kathie's husband likes to move (!) and a year or so after we met she left Arizona and moved to New England. She started a new blog called Kathie's Birds which I continued to follow. Then in one of those weird quirks of life, we ended up buying a home in Tucson. I blame Kathie for inspiring my love for the area and creating my desire to have a home there! Of course she was no longer there but the irony was hard to miss. After about a year, imagine my delight when she contacted me to tell me that her husband had got itchy feet again and they were moving back to Tucson. So began the next chapter of our friendship.

So many wonderful days out, sharing our love of birds and nature, sharing the open spaces and the freedom of wild places, sharing new species and familiar ones too, sharing moments of perfect peace and moments of great excitement, like a bear sighting up close and personal. We have had so many wonderful adventures together.

  
Another fondness we share is for tea, especially Earl Grey Tea so our trips always included a nice tea break somewhere scenic.

I could take up pages listing all the wonderful creatures we have seen together and every one of them was special. When I wasn't at home Kathie kept an eye on our home and even kept my bird feeders filled so that when I got home the yard would be filled with birds.

But all good things come to an end and last November, true to form, her husband was on the move again and now they are off to Maine. We shed a few tears and shared a few hugs and as a farewell treat we shared another of our loves and took a trail ride through the beautiful Saguaro National Park.

And now, the time has come, we have said our goodbyes and at the end of this week my dear friend heads of to the chilly North East. I feel so sad but I will continue to follow her next adventures through her blog. She has left me her nijer seed feeder so every time I watch the goldfinches outside my kitchen window I will thing of my lovely friend.

She also gave me a Red Yucca which I have planted in my front yard, it will produce spikes of red flowers which the hummingbirds love so she continues to look out for my yard birds even after leaving.

We will meet again, sometime, somewhere. She hopes to come back and visit so we will have more adventures in the desert one day. Farewell my dear friend, I will miss you so very much.

A Desert Christmas

It seems a bit corny to give an account of Christmas so I will just say it was a time filled with good weather, good food and good company and let the pictures say the rest.