How hot is it?

It's so hot out front that colors are warping!

The Beautiful Sonoran Desert Saves the Best for Last!

The last cactus flowers of spring! 

 These are about 8 inches across!

Argentinian Giants in Full Bloom

The Cactus are Blooming in our Yard!

 Prickly Pear

 Hedge Hog!

 

Argentinian Giant, notice how they open up after dark in the last photo.  Sorry for the quality, shot at night with my Iphone!

Cactus Coveting or Stealing to Help your Town!

Dr. Hannibal Lecter;  "No! He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer now… We begin by coveting what we see every day."  

Gordon Gekko: "Greed is good!"

Okay both of these fictional characters were screwed up but they may have a point.  Let me back up.  I was walking around the yard looking at the damage from frost to my cactus.  Some of the big Agaves didn't make it which is always sad.  Many of the giant Prickly Pears  dropped the pads and arms, that were up to 16 feet tall, leaving only the hardened core.  And most of the Aloes froze back.  As i walked around I also noticed that most of the babies or "Pups" as we call them were just fine.  And so the cycle goes on.  I have over one hundred varieties of cactus growing in my yard, some I've bought but most I've stolen or borrowed from friends.  And due to this I have been able to give pups and cuttings away to many people around town.  They have grown and given cuttings and pups away… and so the cycle continues again.  I think you can see by the article below, from The Sonoran news, I wrote several years ago That I have both coveted and been greedy for more beautiful cactus.  Things have changed since I wrote this.  My sister is living in Tucson and when the weather is good we have coffee out back.  But I'm still stealing pups and sharing.  So start coveting the cactus in you area and get ready to plant!

Cactus stealing and patio dining!
(The Sonoran News 2004)

I had occasion to drop by my sister’s house the other day.  When Kathy and I first moved here in 1980 we bought that house and lived there for six years, before moving and selling to my sister and her husband.  The thing I love about the old place is the vegetation, all desert, but thick and lush.  And the cactus are huge and over planted, creating a cool, green oasis feel.  Snuggled in with the forty-year-old mesquite trees the house is secluded and feels more like a jungle than a desert.  The yard is an ongoing labor of love that requires constant care.

In our current home we have been planting trees and cactus for eighteen years.  I’m quite happy with the progress but we have not achieved the jungle feel yet.  This brings me to my point.  If you’re new to the area and want a real cactus garden, I advise you learn how to steal… that’s right, become a thief of sorts.  I have been stealing cactus cuttings and agave pups from my friends and neighbors for the past twenty years.  I would caution you against taking any natural vegetation out of the desert as the fines are stiff and they will seize your vehicle.  But most folks will let you take a cutting here and there.  You’d be surprised at how easy it is to propagate cactus.  Just cut below the joint, allow to harden (the cut to dry out) in the shade for three to five days and then plant it and forget it. Did you know that there is a variety of stag horn that blooms bright purple!  Or that a beaver tail blooms bright pink.  I have about twenty different kinds of agave and ten or so different prickly pear. Not to mention several different members of the saguaro family, some with hundreds of white flowers as big as a soccer ball that bloom at night.  I’ve never seen a saguaro cutting successfully transplanted.  But season-by-season I keep adding new varieties with different color flowers to my yard.  Now each year I start a few trays of cuttings and pups to share with my friends and neighbors.  And so the cycle continues.

Lately, Kathy and I have been having our morning coffee on the front porch.  It’s a chance to really enjoy our garden and start the day in a natural setting.  It’ quite relaxing and reminds me why we live here.  

The Best Mexican Food in the USA!

I went to Carolina’a del Norte in Phoenix this morning.   As I sat there eating one of the simple pleasures of living here, I was reminded of one of the great Mexican Food arguments which circulates around this part of the world. 

My friend Bob Boze Bell, millionaire publisher, of True West magazine, has been in a several decade long debate with the Distinguished Professor Paul Andrew Hutton, Professor of history at The University of New Mexico. 

Both men are well versed, lecture, and have written extensively, on the history of the American west.  Professor Hutton says, that New Mexico has the nations best “Mexican food”, with Mr. Bell correctly arguing, that Arizona has the best!

This is not some subjective argument because I prefer Arizona’s use of certain chiles or cilantro.  There is a simple reason that we have the best Mexican food in the U.S.  Arizona was the least inhabited region of the Southwest.  We had no real anglo settlement until, after the Gadsden Purchase in1852 and then the Civil War, which ended in 1865.  Tucson was basically an army outpost from the 1860’s on.  Eventually growing into a small community and then the largest city in what would become Arizona, until the farming around Phoenix grew in the early 1900’s.

Now I’m sure Professor Hutton, will take great offence with me, a mere cook, lecturing him on history.  But knowing history and understanding it are two different enchiladas (Professor Hutton, please see; food, Mexican, if that school has dictionaries).

The food currently being offered in New Mexico is a combination of Spanish and Native American, traditions starting in the 1500’s. In the 500 years since they have developed a separate “New Mexican “cuisine, that although delicious, is not Mexican food. 

Here in Arizona we’ve only had 150 years to bastardize the Mexican food, with our best efforts coming directly with Mexicans, across the border.  California like Texas are both older and have a lot of fusion, Mexican food.  I’m not saying that there are no great Mexican food restaurants in these places… there are. 

Just saying, Mexican food, is a misnomer, like saying, American food.  There are many styles and traditions through out Mexico and the food here is mostly “Northern Mexican” food.   But, Professor Hutton, our Mexican food can beat your Mexican food with one stove tied behind it’s back!

Warmly

Mad Coyote Joe

Argentinean Giant Cereus Blooms Red!

This is the time of years when we see all the colors that this beautiful Sonoran desert has to offer. Below is a picture of an Argentinean Giant Cereus but it has an unusual color of bloom.

Most often this prolific cactus offers giant white blossoms that smell like jasmine flowers. A few years ago Kathy and I were driving down Scottsdale road and saw a few of these in bloom in 5-gallon containers.

I had never seen one of these in this red color and so we turned around and I bought one. I have about 120 different kinds of cactus that I’ve been collecting for the last 35 years. This one didn’t bloom for the first few years and I was worried that it would just come out white. But a few days ago I saw that it was ready to pop. This morning as I was putting together our new solar hot water system I noticed that it was in fact red and so when it popped I grabbed the camera and here it is. Another unusual fact is, that it is pollinated by a giant white moth that comes at night. My friend Ed has waited for it to come, as he flowers only set for a few nights a year. He waited on his patio with his camera. He said that the night it came the moon was full and it sounded like a big humming bird and was quite a bit larger. He got a few shots but has not sent them to me. If he sends them I’ll share them.