Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

The Time Has Come

ranch.jpgI got a call from my sister in California this morning. She called to advise me that it was just about time to place our nonagenarian Mom in an assisted living facility. Mom had an episode this morning where she fell out of her chair at home and was unable to get up. She called the Fire Department, who had to break into her house, for help.

Mom lives in her house about a block away from my sister’s house. My sister looks in on her once a day, but wasn’t present for the incident.

So, after much discussion between Mom, my sister and I, we decided that it would be best to have her in a place where she can be cared for 24/7. That’s the down side of it. The positive side is that I think we can move Mom to Wickenburg, close to us.

I visited an assisted care facility a mere 1/2 mile from here. We often pass by the retirement ranch going to town. I liked what I saw, what they told me and the people there.

Mom’s a bit bummed about the whole thing, but I’m confident that when she gets here she will love it as much as we do. I sent her a brochure from the ranch along with a letter that states what’s to like about being here:

The little town of Wickenburg is a very good environment. We have clean air, a very low crime rate, it is quiet, has a mild climate and plenty of Western character. The only thing it lacks is YOU!

We hope to have her here for her 93rd birthday, Mother’s Day and many other happy days.

15 Mar 2013 by Arizona Retirement

Gelato Roses

Gelato Roses

I bought a dozen of these “Gelato” roses at the supermarket today. They have the same name as the Italian ice cream. I believe we saw a shade of gelato similar to the color of these roses when we were in Rome. Click on the image to enlarge.

Oh, that bowl with daffodils that I posted about the other day, the daffodils have all opened.

14 Mar 2013 by Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Spring *May* Have Sprung

SpringI took this photo of the patio clock’s temperature readout today at about 12:30 PM AZ time. It actually got up to 83 ° today with a forecast for 87° tomorrow and Friday. Happy days! Winter appears to be over.

If this weather trend continues, I will be *forced* to fill the spa and get it ready for occupancy. We’ve missed dipping in our spa all winter and can’t wait until we are soaking in it again.

Damsel reports seeing butterflies today, the bees are buzzing, collecting nectar from the rosemary flowers and the lizards are all thawed out and romping on the rocks all around the lot.

We haven’t seen any snakes yet, but we are careful to watch out for them, too. I read last week that in addition to gopher snakes (non-venomous) and diamondback rattlesnakes, we also may encounter sidewinders (ugh).

13 Mar 2013 by Arizona Environment

More Spring Daffodils (Coming Soon)

Daffodils

Bob ran to the store today to get a few things for us this week. While he was there, he picked up four more bunches of unopened daffodil stems and brought them home. Simce all the bud vases are currently busy with the daffodils I brought home last week, I had to get out my Waterford rose bowl to contain the new stems. Some a r already beginning to open. I love spring. It was 80 ° today and I think that warmer temperatures won’t be far away. Click on the image to enlarge.

12 Mar 2013 by Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Reading the Town Plan

Town PlanThe Town of Wickenburg contracts an Arizona firm specializing in planning and economic development to prepare a general plan for the town. Since I subscribe to the RSS feed from the town website, I got notice of the town’s new General Plan 2025, which outlines plans for business, residents, tourism, growth and so forth.

Image – General Plan 2025 Cover Sheet – Click on the image to enlarge.

I browsed through the 168-page PDF document looking for things that may affect our lives and property, both positively and negatively (from our viewpoint). The plan includes background information on climate, topography, soils, hydrology, environmental assets (vegetation and wildlife), air quality, noise, major land ownership and demographics. It is quite thorough in its presentation of those topics.

There is also a section called “Wickenburg Planning Vision.” The vision recognizes Wickenburg’s desire to become a strong, sustainable community that is diverse in economic and employment opportunities, attractive to new employers and businesses, yet faithful to its historic and natural assets.

As I skimmed through the document, there were a couple of things that I note here that attracted us to Wickenburg in the first place. The town and surrounding area are largely isolated from the Phoenix urban crawl by virtue of the Vulture mountains to the south and the Wickenburg mountains to the east. The former isolates us from the I-10 corridor and the latter from the I-17 corridor. That’s all good.

The only fly in the ointment that I noticed is the proposed I-11 “Hassayampa Freeway,” that is supposed to connect I-10 and Las Vegas, which will come through Wickenburg. I don’t like that at all. The only thing about the proposal that causes me a little hope is the time frame; it will take over twelve years to get the project approved and perhaps another six years to implement it. By that time, we may not even be here.

Meanwhile, retirement is good.

09 Mar 2013 by Arizona Environment Retirement

Categories

Archives