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I woke up in love this morning!

By Jane Penttinen

Mortgage and Lending with V.I.P. Mortgage

September 13, 2009 04:10 AM

I woke up in love this morning! IN LOVE with the beautiful desert! We are finally well into our rainy "monsoon" season in Tucson. During a good year we get 11 inches of rain - all year! Most of that rain will come during the summer "monsoons". For some reason this year, we have not seen hardly any rain at my house. We can see the storms building up around the mountains and coming up thru the valley but they never quite seem to make it to our house. BUT this last week we got several days with a couple of nice storms.

When we walked out our front door this morning, this is what greeted us in our yard. How lucky for us! These blossoms will be beautiful for one day and then they will start to wilt away. I love that they bloomed on a weekend when we are home to appreciate their beauty all day. Thank goodness for the rain that helped the cactus bloom! Cactus Flowers

Cactus Blooms

Outside our patio doors we were greeted by beautiful Bird of Paradise all freshened up and bright from the the storm. These blooms will last quite a bit longer and always fascinate me.

Bird of Paradise

Yep! I am definitely in love with the desert this morning and thankful for the rain!

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Cathy A. Reese

Coldwell Banker Hearthside Realtors - Allentown, PA

Pennsylvania Realtor, e-PRO

Beautiful photos! My son, who is a commercial diver, is heading to your part of the world in the next few weeks. He inspects and repairs water towers, tanks, and reservoirs for his firm in Billings, Mt. He is so looking forward to spending some time in the Southwest.

Thanks for sharing,

Cathy

Sep 13, 2009 04:15 AM

Charlie Ragonesi

AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA

Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros

I have a catcu like this that we move in and out depending on the time of year. Now I know what to look forward too when it finally decides to bloom. Thanks for the photo

Sep 13, 2009 04:21 AM

Jane Penttinen

V.I.P. Mortgage - Tucson, AZ

NMLS #222178

Cathy - thanks for being the first to comment. I am sure your son will find the Southwest fascinating and fun. There is so much beauty and so many fun things to do and explore.

Charlie - the secret to growing cactus in other parts of the country is to not over water them and make sure they get lots of bright light. When they finally bloom it's pretty dramatic. Thanks for commenting.

Sep 13, 2009 04:32 AM

Lee & Carol Barbour, REALTORS

Murphy and Hayesville, NC; Hiawassee, Blairsville, Blue Ridge GA - Murphy, NC

Mountain Living Team in Murphy NC and North GA

I just love the Bird of Paradise and your cactus blooms are very welcoming. I've always wanted to be in AZ for all the colors blooming.

Sep 13, 2009 05:50 AM

Anna "Banana" Kruchten

HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ

602-380-4886

Hi Jane - lovely blooms. Our yard is full of them at times and it's alwasy such a treat. I look forward to connecting up with you more often. Join the BananaTude group!

Sep 13, 2009 07:29 AM

Hi Lee & Carol! I wish I could learn to take pictures as stunning as yours. I like visiting yur blog and studying all the good photos. Happy Weekend!

Anna! It was so nice to meet you in Phoenix at the ActiveRain workshop. Thanks for the heads up about BananaTude.

Sep 13, 2009 08:04 AM

Mike Jones

SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC (BK-0907366, NMLS 145171) - Tucson, AZ

Mike Jones NMLS 223495

Jane,

Those cactus blossoms are just beautiful! And I didn't know we could grow Bird of Paradise here. Is that a potted plant? What exposure does it like?

Mike in Tucson

Sep 14, 2009 03:23 AM

Hi Mike! The Bird of Paradise is not in a pot. I have 3 very large plants on the south side of my house. Everyone told us they wouldn't do well there but they are thriving very well for 8+ years and we get lots of blooms every year.

I had been to a large ranch one time and saw them planted out in the middle of no where so I was pretty sure they could survive in full sun. We do have them on the drip system though.

Sep 14, 2009 12:27 PM

Debbie Walsh

SHAHAR Management - Middletown, NY

Hudson Valley NY Real Estate 845.283-3036

Gorgeous, gorgeous! 11 inches of rain for the year? Wow that is a dry climate!

Sep 16, 2009 02:09 PM

Michael Rohde

Sunstreet Mortgage LLC. Licensed Mortgage Professional - Tucson, AZ

love the pictures, we live in a beautiful city.

Sep 16, 2009 07:27 PM

Good Morning Debra! It is a VERY dry climate. That's why when we get the first rain of the summer we kind of all run outside to stand in it. I love it!

Michael - Yep! A beautiful city with dramatic landscape and delicate beauty.

Sep 17, 2009 04:23 AM

Wallace S. Gibson, CPM

Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA

LandlordWhisperer

Central VA has had "soft" rain for 2 days and EVERYTHING is GREEN....the wonderful amount of rain we have had this year will make for a BEAUTIFUL fall with MANY Colors!!!!

Sep 18, 2009 01:10 AM

Hi Wallace! The beautiful fall colors are something I miss about living in the midwest. But then I think about the snowy, cold winters and I don't miss it so much. Have a great weekend! :)

Sep 18, 2009 06:16 AM

Marilyn Harrell

Better Homes and Acres - Beaverton, MI

Wixom Lake - Beaverton MI

Beautiful photos, thanks for posting them!

Sep 20, 2009 05:11 AM

Marilyn - thank you! I'm still trying to learn how to use my digital camera. thanks for commenting.

Sep 20, 2009 05:21 AM

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