I'm official

I'm now officially cruisingat60, and my friend S and I had the best time celebrating. We started at Tanque Verde Ranch where she treated me to a lovely buffet lunch complete with bright pink prickly pear margaritas, very pretty, but we agreed they could have used a bit more of a kick. OK, a lot more of a kick. One turns 60 only once. 

A bit wind-blown.

S's home backs up to 60 acres of stunning, privately held land, a part of the Sonoran desert. The cacti are starting to bloom and I can't believe my luck that I'm here to see it. But the blooms in the desert, as lovely as they are, are no match for some we saw at the ranch. 

These blossoms are easily 5"-6" across.

A bloom in profile.

The back sides are maybe prettier than the fronts.
  

We were walking around the ranch before lunch and saw a road runner stalking its own meal. It pounced on this poor lizard and broke its tail off in the process. The tail flopped and twisted until the bird choked down the lizard and then hopped over to finish it off too.

 

After lunch we drove to Sabino Canyon where we took a tram ride up the mountain. It's a stark landscape but in the spring water collects in stream beds and makes nice picnic and swimming spots while it lasts.

The tram driver took our picture before heading back down the mountain. It was a good day.

 

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Thought of the day:

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. (Oprah Winfrey)