Arizona Lessons in 3 Years

As of August, we have been official Arizonians for 3 years! Seems kind of crazy that it's been that long. We have all learned a lot about the west. So, in celebration of our 3 year Arizonniversary here are a few things Arizona has taught us...about survival. 



1. Get up early. From about May-September if we want to run, hike, ride the horses, swim at the pool, really anything outdoors we are up the the flipping crack of dawn because any other time of the day is miserable. When it isn't the heat of the summer, the evenings are pretty decent. And when people say, "oh it's a dry heat out there though, so that's probably not so bad", I literally laugh out loud.
Before we moved here people had told us the dry heat isn't so bad {you know who you are}. So we stupidly went out to the barn to clean stalls in 120 degrees. I thought the hot breeze was going to melt my eye balls. And then we were both sick with chills the rest of the day. Now, under 105 degrees, not so terrible. Still, I'd take humidity in the south over the "dry" heat any day. Side note- our car batteries last about 1 year- if we're lucky.

{old picture, as Chief is still recovering from surgery. }

2. Winters are AMAZING. Fall (there really isn't a true fall, but I like to pretend), spring, and winter months are a dream. It's really the time I live for.


3. Don't touch the plant life. There is a reason the plants survive in the desert and they are scary. Seriously, we have a tree in our front yard with thorns all over it. I mean why? Why would you plant a thorn tree in your yard? We also had these things called pineapple palms removed from our backyard because of thorns the size of Andy's hand. WHY, people? Ask Dylan, he got stabbed in the face by one- it literally stabbed him through his hat! I've actually become scared of plant life because you never know what you're going to find. And there's a thing called JUMPING CACTI. Yes, if you step too close to them they throw spikes at you. Real life. Most of the plants are very bright and beautiful but dangerous, so I just stay away.

4. Scorpions are no joke. In the south we have dangerous creatures; you know, rattle snakes, water moccasins, spiders, etc. Growing up we would find small little scorpions in our house but it was no big deal. These scorpions in Arizona are serious. We have a scorpion service to spray for the little monsters. One of the horses at the barn got stung by a scorpion and her nose was swelling so badly she could barely breathe before the vet got there. Crazy.

5. All the natural water sources are cold. Not that I complain, it's so hot out the water feels amazing. I was very surprised by this though. We grew up swimming in lakes or creeks and the water was always like bath water. Here it's always freezing cold. But very refreshing, so I actually believe I like the clear, cold water more than the warm muggy waters...



6. Always have drinking water. Even in the winter months, even when staying indoors. It's a constant necessity to prevent head aches.

Alabama

7. Grass and green trees are very pleasing to the eye and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Alabama

8. The valley is surrounded by mountains. I did not realize this before moving here. I guess I just pictured desert as far as the eye can see. Nope. Really cool actually, to look out and see pretty blue/purple mountains.

9. The hay quality is so great. I guess it's the environment, I don't know, I'm not a farmer. But I was able to completely switch my horses to alfalfa and bermuda pellets. That's it. And they look the best they have ever looked. Also, the hay bales are 3 string bales{so.flipping.heavy}. WAY harder to stack and unload than the 2 string bales. Always good to know before you buy 10 bales to unload and stack alone {only made that mistake once}took me forever. and it wasn't pretty.    But hey, more bang for your buck, right.

 10. Dust is nasty stuff. It just engulfs you. There's no escape. And dust storms, they're real. I've had to pull over when driving because of dust storms- I couldn't see anything. And then the wind spreads this horrible fungus that's commonly known as "valley fever". People, dogs, and horses can get it.

11. Monsoons are real. I actually get pretty excited when it's monsoon season because we FINALLY get some rain and the dust chills out for a bit. But flash floods are no joke. The flooding then dries pretty quickly. Then we actually have to do yard work for a while because weeds grow super fast during this time.

12. The saguaro cacti are at least 100 years old if they have one arm. Fun fact.



In summary, come visit us in the winter.

{Not really a lesson learned, but we have been blessed with an amazing Arizona family. Really, wonderful people who have taken us in as there own. I would not have made it this long without them.}

I'm sure if an individual moved from the west to the south, she would have many lessons learned, as well. Something about poison ivy, deer flies, horse flies, stupid, pesky flies, flies, flies, water moccasins, humidity, the ground being hard as dried clay, and dealing with all the mud. So really it's just learning to acclimate to each environment. We have sure loved learning what Arizona has to teach us, but we do miss the south every day.

I've had a lot of friends move from the south to a different area in the country and I would love to hear lessons y'all have learn, as well! Also, my Arizona veterans- any other lessons we haven't learned yet??

Have a great weekend, reader! Cheers to FALL! {please hurry, fall}