Welcome to Another
Beautiful November Tuesday Here in the Sonoran Desert!
Fall Has Arrived in the Desert!
When the Prickly Pear Cactus bears fruit… it’s Fall! We have picked the fruit in the past and have made Prickly Pear Juice. I froze it in small batches and I do add it to Margaritas. Picking it is not easy… we used tongs. And cleaning the fruit is not easy either because of the thorns. Sweet Man used heavy duty gloves to do his best to remove the thorns while washing. Through the process of using our Vitamix Blender and then putting it all through a sieve… it got done. We most likely have enough juice to add to Margaritas for a long while. I don’t think we will make it again. Lol!
I Won!
I won a beautiful specimen of Amethyst from our Rock and Mineral Club. It was found here in Arizona! It will be added to our Curio where we display gorgeous Specimens!
I Baked!
An Adventure!
Friends wanted to go metal detecting for Gold in the desert. So we gathered up our metal detectors and met them out in the desert. We were mostly in washes… and we found everything else but Gold!
After finding lots of bullets and some tiny pieces of rust… We were on our way to our Gold Club Claims (where we know there could “possibly” be Gold) But off in the distance we saw a Mine! We decided to go exploring instead!
We enjoy poking around and wonder how the people may have lived out here at one time when we see remnants of houses and buildings.
The people who worked and lived here had incredible views!
An added bonus was seeing some moths and butterflies on our adventure.
Back in Our Neighborhood
Flowers are blooming everywhere!
In Our Backyard
They do make Tequila from these kinds of Agave but the Tequila does not come from the large leaves… it comes from the heart or the piña. Which is near the bottom of the large plant after all the leaves are cut and discarded. There are Agave Farms in Mexico where they grow them to this size. It takes about 7 years for them to get large enough to harvest for Tequila. Here is a You Tube Video of how one Farmer harvests the Agave Heart. A liter of Tequila is made from about 15 pounds of Agave Hearts or piñas.
An Evening Out
Sweet Man heard about a Celtic Band playing at a nearby restaurant. He knows how much I enjoy Celtic Music. The Restaurant has a lovely Patio where Bands can entertain…
The Evening Sky
Have you seen Venus and the Moon? It has been gorgeous!
And we have had some beautiful sunsets as well!
Thank You Once Again
I sure hope all is well in your neck of the woods. I’ve seen lots of pretty Autumn leaves with some of you and lots of Thanksgiving Recipes, Tablescapes and More! We are hosting a Friendsgiving this weekend so I’ve been enjoying all of your ideas and inspiration! I’ll be sure to share our FEAST with all of you! Thank you for your visit! I hope to hear from you!
Wonderful little adventures! Maybe next time, you’ll find the gold, but until then, enjoy those hard-earned Margaritas!
Good Morning Dorothy… Believe it or not we have found Gold before. Little pieces and Gold Flakes. Once again… it’s a lot of hard work and I’ll keep my day job at being retired. 🤣
Thanks for the visit my friend!
I’ve never found gold, but then again, I haven’t looked for it! I bet it’s like looking for four-leafed clover.
A perfect analogy! If you ever have time… scroll on my sidebar of my blog and click on Gold Dust Woman… you can get a glimpse of Gold Hunting by two amateurs. ( myself and Sweet Man!) 😄
Nancy, I love reading about your wonderful adventures from week to week. The moon and Venus have been amazing. I love seeing your Arizona sunsets! Yum, the bread looks delicious and your garden blooms are gorgeous. I need to return to your lovely state in the near future.
Happy Tuesday dear one!
Good Morning Dear Pam… when you come to visit we need to get together. And always remember, I still need Alabama as one of my 4 states until I reach all 50!
Thank you for always stopping by. Enjoy this lovely Tuesday my lovely friend.
Cheers for your win, your baking, your share of the Salutin’ Sheriff cactus, the mine, the Celtic band, oh what a week you two had, Nance!
A fabulous week! And thank you for coming along Mr. Mark! 😊
The desert is so beautiful. So many treasures to find. Lovely moon and Venus. Gorgeous photos all.
Thank you Tim! We both have the love of the Southwest and Sky!
Enjoy your Tuesday my friend!
Congratulations on your Amethyst win! What a wonderful specimen. And those blue skies, all those blooms! Sigh! I saw Venus, too. It’s gorgeous but I suspect you had a far better view with open skies!
Good Morning Jeanie! That amethyst is not only beautiful but it came from a very special mine here in Arizona. I will always cherish this piece for sentimental reasons and for the admiration and love of a friend who is not with us anymore.
As for Venus… it’s been fun watching it dance around the moon as well. The moon likes to move!
Happy Tuesday my lovely friend!
It’s easy to see you are pleased to back in your desert home, Nancy. Even the Rock and Mineral Club is pleased to have you home 🥰 Congratulations on your win 🍾 And I’ve been looking at the same Moon 🌕
It’s been a lovely moon… something you and I can say we actually do share!
Thank you always for your visits Clare!
That’s very sweet of you to say so 🥰
Kayaking on a lovely lake to mining in the dessert – you keep busy, and you have fun! Love the flowers. No flowers here, so I got a boost looking at yours. Your sunset shots are great. The second to the last looks like a fire, and the last photo just needs a frame. Have a great week.
Soon you will have starfish and seashells!
Thank you Judy for enjoying our activities… we do have fun… and that my friend, is what life is all about.
Thanks for enjoying the sunsets.
Sending you happy Tuesday Wishes!
How exciting to find an amethyst! Your roses are beautiful! Love your pic of Venus and the moon. I got a similar shot last month. It was exciting to see. I am a huge fan of sunsets too! Yours was stunning.
Your week has been busy! That bread sounds very good.
I found the agave story very interesting. I had no idea how tequila was made.
Have a lovely week.
Good Afternoon Bonnie… I knew Tequila came from an agave but a,ways thought it was from the leaves. So we both learned something new together.
The amethyst comes from a very special mine. I’m happy to be the proud owner of it now.
I’m so glad we have become friends here in the blogging world and Instagram.
Have a lovely evening Bonnie.
Nancy, I always love reading about your fun adventures! The sunsets you captured are stunning! That beer bread looks yummy. Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend!
Hi Shannon! It’s always so good to hear from you! I enjoyed your tablescape today. So pretty!
We do love adventures! Thanks for the love dear friend!
Your pictures are so beautiful. The agave reminds me of Mexico. There were a lot of fields in our area–raised for tequila and mescal. Many years ago in the U.S., when my kids were little, we raided some prickly pears and made jelly. It was an adventure, and we didn’t do it again! LOL Enjoy your Friendsgiving–marvelous idea.
So you know what I mean about picking and making Prickly Pear juice!
We care looking forward to the Friendsgiving…it will be fun! Thank you for the visit! 😊
I always love these posts. I saw the part about the old mining town. I forget where you are exactly, but when staying in Tucson, we found an old mining town called Ruby not far from the Mexican border. It was a bit of a hunt to get there.
We are much further north of Tucson… but I have been to Ruby. Lol! I’m glad you enjoy my posts. I try to make them somewhat interesting.
Have a good week Chris!
Another week filled with adventures! Happy Tuesday!
Indeed!
Thank you Beth!
You are always up to something fun Nancy and I love the way you explore your area with all the day trips and adventures. As for the prickly pear cactus, I can’t believe you went to all that trouble, ouch, to harvest the juice… what does it taste like? All the flowers and blooming cacti are beautiful! I love beer bread, and it is so easy to make. I know you’ll have a wonderful Friendsgiving, I can’t wait to hear what you serve!
Jenna
Hi Jenna…
We can’t believe we picked the Prickly Pear Fruit as well. But… I think every Arizonan should do it at least once. 😄
The juice has a wild raspberry/strawberry taste. Not bad.
I’ll keep you posted on our Friendsgiving Feast!
Thank you for the visit my friend!
And another grand adventure. So beautiful out there these days. Your garden is certainly welcoming you back to the desert and convincing you fall is indeed here. Happy Tuesday, and Happy Wednesday. Donna
We love our adventures here in the desert. As you do as well. We live in a gorgeous state!
Enjoy the rest of your week!
It’s amazing how seasons change no matter where. Each place has its own kind of beauty.
So very true my friend… thank you for your visit.
You do take full advantage of the fascinating place you spend your winters – thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much my friend! We are beyond grateful. Thanks so much for the visit!
What a lovely time of the year…you definitely do have the best of two totally different places to enjoy life.
Thank you! We sure are filled with gratitude! Thank you so much for the visit!
Great post! I have always found it fascinating to see these old remnants of mines in the desert. Makes me appreciate modern conveniences that much more!! I can’t imagine how hard of a life style that must have been!! Beautiful backyard!! Thanks for sharing!! Have a great week!!
Thanks so much Kirt!