I Should Sleep Well Tonight

It was after 1 a.m. when I settled into bed and I was up before 7.
Shower, breakfast and out the door.
By 10 we were at the Coronado National Forest. It was quite cool and we decided to take a tram part way up the Mt.
It only goes so far up Sabino Canyon, so we had to walk the trail the rest of the way. On the way up the mountain, our driver gave us advice on how to act if we happened upon a mountain lion. Don't run...yeah, like I could! I would be paralyzed with fear! We encountered rain, not too much wind, and thankfully no mountain lions. The only critters we saw were cardinals, which are very plentiful in this area.

As I looked down at the tram pulling away from the drop off point I recalled the 6 or 7 points of advice our driver gave us, hoping I would not ever have to put any of it into action. Cardinal sitings were just fine with me!

It had snowed on the mountain through the night and the air was cool. Because of yesterday's rain, the creek had a fair amount of water in it. It was fine driving up, but after our hike, we had over 3 1/2 mile walk back to the car...and yes I did get wet feet!

You know what a dead tree trunk looks like, but have you ever wondered what a dead cactus looks like?

Sort of looks like a tree trunk eh?
The Saguaro cactus which is the tall one with the arms is quite an amazing "plant".

Saguaro are very slow growing cactus. A 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall. They can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall (12-18m). When rain is plentiful and the saguaro is fully hydrated it can weigh between 3 and 6 thousand pounds.
With the right growing conditions, it is estimated that saguaros can live to be as much as 150-200 years old.
After the saguaro dies its woody ribs can be used to build roofs, fences, and parts of furniture. The holes that birds nested in or "saguaro boots" can be found among the dead saguaros. Native Americans used these as water containers long before the canteen was available.
The spines or thorns are actually the leaves of the cactus tree.

The cactus you see here with Mr. O is called a "teddy bear cactus" because it looks soft and fuzzy, but don't be fooled...
So folks that is your botany lesson for today.

What started out as a cold wet day ended up with warmer temps and sunshine. I have to tell you though the last mile or so, I was getting tired and was like a horse heading for the barn after a long hard run. All I was thinking of was getting my sore aching feet into the car so I could rest them.

Oh yeah, the car was just around that next corner!

How about a few more quilt show pics before I turn in for the night?

Barb and I both loved this quilt and before long we had struck up a conversation with the quilt maker. You would have thought we were old friends from way back...exchanged names, email addresses, a few quilting ideas..."if you are ever near my home please drop in." You know what I mean...quilters are such friendly people aren't they?

Don't you just love the quilting on this one?

This last one is called Fractured Peonies.

Google "fractured quilt block tutorial" to find out how it was done.
Well there are still lots more quilts, but I don't want to bore you...
So for tonight...th-th-that's all folks!