I’ve lived in Arizona for ten years now.
Ten hundred-degree summers,
ten air conditioned Thanksgivings,
ten snowless Christmases,
and ten nohidingchocolatebunniesoutside Easters.
In these ten years, I’ve learned a thing or two about the desert and just recently realized (through blog and facebook comments) that you may not be aware of these amazing facts.
Doesn’t that make you sad?
Since I’m all about sharing my worldly knowledge, I’m turning What I Learned This Week into:
What I Learned This Decade
(because I can). (because it’s my blog).
1. If it crawls, slithers, or scrambles, don’t touch it (well, unless Daddy is around).
2. Drink water. Then when you’re done, drink more.
3. If a lizard gets scared, he will detach his tail and drop it in order to trick whatever is chasing him. The tail will continue to wiggle and move for up to 2 minutes afterwards. Ewwwww.
4. Let’s talk about cacti for a minute. Did you know that the plural of cactus is cacti? And that they can have flowers? And fruit?
This looks like an ordinary flower:
…but it’s a cactus.
It’s a type of night blooming cactus, which means that it blooms once a year at night. This one was in my neighbor’s front yard. He has had the cactus for 7 years, and this is the first time it has bloomed.
Can we think about that for a minute? It blooms once a year (at most) for 24 hours. A-mazing, if you ask me.
5. It is possible for your leather seats to burn your legs.
6. Windchimes will (hopefully) deter rattlesnakes from visiting you.
7. Tin foil will (hopefully) deter woodpeckers from pecking at your house.
8. Quail cross the road as a family. Often, you will see Mama Quail, followed by 10 or more tiny baby quail, followed by Daddy Quail. Always followed by Daddy Quail. It melts my heart.
9. We have a monsoon season. Normally (this year is not normal), for about 45 days during the beginning of July and lasting through the middle of August, there are thunderstorms every evening at about 4 pm. Heat lightening, thunder, and torrential rain flood the desert for about one hour, then it clears up and the sun comes back out. Oh, and it cools off a bit.
10. Colorado river toads (also called Sonoran desert toads) come out in droves during monsoon season. They sound like bleating goats (or screaming children, depending on the level of sleep they wake you from). The toads have a poison/venom in their body and on their skin that can cause hallucinogenic effects in humans. Yes, I have heard of dogs getting sick from picking the toads up in their mouths. Yes, children (not mine) have licked them and tried to get high. And yes, I have heard of adults licking them and trying to get high.
Can we think about that for a moment, as well?
Ok. Let’s not.
*gag*
Tell me something about where you live that non-locals wouldn’t know…
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Becca- I just wanted to say that my dog has gotten a hold of a sonoran desert toad…not one…but twice. Dumb thing just won’t learn!
Did you know the plural of cactus can also be cactuses, but then you just sound uneducated (but you’re not). :)
This is my third try.
First, I wrote a big long dissertation about your post. Then, I hit submit and then I got a error message – something about cookies and java – and lost the comment. And since I don’t drink coffee and didn’t see any cookies to speak of, I typed the comment again and got the same message. And since, I don’t have any sense at all, here I am typing it a third time.
This post is a prime example of why I love the idea behind this carnival that Jo-Lynne started how ever many years ago. The information in this post fascinates me. AND, it serves as a reminder (as if I didn’t already know) that me and the dessert would NOT get along.
For starters, I hate things that crawl and creep and they cause me to act like a crazy person.
Second, I would probably kill the cactus, yes, even though it blooms once a year (what’s up with that, anyway?), I could probably kill the darn thing.
Thirdly, (or fourthly for all I know, who can keep up with my rambling?) the lizard, the quail, and the toad could have the road. ALL OF IT. Yes, even the quail.
Next, it is friggin’ hot there. I’ve been told while visiting AZ that “it’s a dry heat and its nowhere near the humidity y’all have on the east coast)… I say that’s a bunch of bull because when its 149 degrees outside, who really cares about a little humidity?
And lastly, there are not enough windchimes in the world for me to live in Arizona.
Thanks for linking up, Becca. I appreciate your participation.
Now, let’s hope this works….
Julie From Inmates´s last [type] ..A Dozen Things I Learned This Week!
I’m wondering if it’s because I was going through FB Networked blogs before. The third time I actually went to your URL… hum… I think I just learned something….
Julie From Inmates´s last [type] ..A Dozen Things I Learned This Week!
There’s nothing I hate more than to re-read a comment I left to discover a mistake.
Except discovering two mistakes.
First, it should received *an* error message.
Next, it should say, me and the *desert* (yes, I did learn the whole sweet stuff spelling hint when learning the difference between desert and dessert).
Wow, it’s late and I’m obviously rambling.
That is all.
Promise.
Julie From Inmates´s last [type] ..A Dozen Things I Learned This Week!
Love It!! The cactus flower is beautiful – but for 24 hours once a year – if I busted my a** to keep a cactus alive and went away for the weekend that it decided to bloom – I would be pi**ed. We have frogs here and I have always known about the poison but never have I known anyone stupid enough to lick a frog to get high. And dry AZ. heat? Stick your head in an oven set at 120 degrees (go ahead, I dare you). Is it hot – hellooo, yes it is. The wind chimes and rattle snake thing? I LOVE the sound of the chimes and I know your husband hates them but you know what? No matter how much he hates them – my house would be surrounded. And last but not least, go ahead, wrap your house in tin foil – go ahead, make my day.
And I would gladly accept each and every one of these things to be closer to my Grandchildren any day. Yup, I would.
I just found your great blog from linking up from Julie’s site and Wow! I live in New Hampshire and the weather is completely different! We have the humidity but the temps don’t usually get higher then 90 degrees, and we don’t have desert and those beautiful cactus. We just have that cold “white” stuff coming in a few months (Snow) :)
Arizona is a great place, I have relatives in the Tucson area.
~ Take Care
Hey-I did a cactus photo too! Gotta love the nasties of the desert, don’t we? Always LOVE your posts!
Licking toads…that is just nasty. The strange things people will do. Ugh!
Monsoon season sounds…interesting for sure.
Kellyn´s last [type] ..Handmade Pacifer Clips
Hmmm…you make AZ living sound quite interesting. I don’t know how you deal with all those critters and creepy crawly things. One thing I’ve learned from living here – give yourself at least a 20-30 minute cushion to get anywhere. Traffic here is a mess!
Just one more thing that I am not putting on my bucket list…. licking toads. That’s just gross and disgusting. :-p
Ahhh… the memories. I miss Tucson and the smell outside after a good rain. We miss you guys, too! :)
Hi – new to your blog – can’t even remember how I found it . . . but enjoy reading your stories and your boys are adorable. I have one nine-year old son and a large 100 pound American Bull Dog that we call our other (furry) son. So, some of your stories are pretty close to home for me :) I love fun, entertaining reading.
SO – I live in South FLorida and something I learned this winter (we had a really cold one – for us at least) is that all of the iguanas will go into some come of “coma”-like state and just fall from the trees and look like they are totally dead if the temperature drops below a certain point for a long time – we had so many in our back yard – felt a little sad for them, and a little grossed out that there so many. ANYWAY – we got ready to throw one into the water and he perked up – my son screamed “It’s ALIVE!!!!!” That’s just one of those little tid-bits I thought I’d share . . .