A STROLL THROUGH A BEAUTIFUL CACTUS GARDEN

 

Kelly remembered seeing a Cactus nursery south of Wickenburg at the junction of highways 60 & 74.  A touch on the cool & windy side today so we figured it would make for a nice Sunday morning drive in the Jeep.  She was right & we drove ourselves down to a place called Cactus Ranch Nursery & Garden.  ‘WOW’ is this ever a nice place.  Seven acres of beautifully landscaped cactus.  Have never seen such a huge variety of cacti like this anywhere before & one does not get the feeling while leisurely strolling the gardens that this is a retail operation.  It was obvious right from the start this place was like no other we’ve seen.  Immaculately clean with each & every cactus perfectly & pains takingly placed by a true landscape professional.  And it is cactus only here, no trees, shrubs, or flowers for sale, just cactus.  I sensed right away this business was more than just a business.  It was someone’s labor of love.   

  

We really had not intended on buying any cactus but Kelly did pick up a couple small ones she liked.  We talked to a hard working fellow there we assume was the owner & he was very helpful answering all our cactus questions.  It was easy to tell he was extremely knowledgeable about all things cactus.  He also gave us a good deal on the 2 plants Kelly had picked out.  If your in the area drop in for a stroll through these gardens & marvel at all the beautiful cactus plants so meticulously laid out.

 

  

Grabbed a couple coffee’s at McDonalds & few groceries at Safeway.  Kelly & I both agreed Wickenburg would be a nice place to live.  It’s still small enough to feel homey yet large enough to have pretty well everything anybody needs.  Built in a valley on gently rolling hills with scenic mountains all round.  Downtown has retained it’s old western flavor without being glitzy & touristy.  Streets are easy to get around with only one traffic light downtown.  Couple more on Wickenburg Way leading out of town to the northwest.  Traffic on the east side of Wickenburg is handled quite nicely by a couple round-abouts.  Roundabouts George, not walkabouts:))  Lots of genuine cowboys in Wickenburg with all the rodeo & horse events going on in several large areas.  Cowboys & horse folks come from miles around to take part in the continuous outdoor activities.

  

 

 

Couple days ago Kelly stopped at a yard sale just a couple blocks from our place & noticed the folks had some potted cactus plants for sale really cheap.  After we arrived home today she slipped back over & talked to the nice elderly couple.  She bought a couple plants & the people threw in another dozen cuttings so when Kelly got back she had a Jeep full of cactus.  Didn’t take me long to grab my shovel & begin planting.  Wanted to get them all in the ground quickly because we have a rain front coming in overnight.  One large Agave had been planted in an old metal bucket years ago & the roots were bursting through the rusted sides.  Had to use my tinsnips to cut off the bucket from around the plant before I could plant it.  The elderly couple said if we want more cactus to just come on back. 

HAD TO USE MY TINSNIPS TO CUT AWAY A RUSTED PAIL FROM THAT ROOT BOUND AGAVE ON THE LEFT

 

SO INTENT WAS I ON MY TASK AT HAND I DIDN’T KNOW KELLY HAD TAKEN THESE PHOTOS UNTIL I BEGAN EDITING MY PICTURES TONIGHT

 

MANAGED TO GET THIS NEEDLE TIPPED AGAVE PLANTED WITHOUT SKEWERING MYSELF

Janna, Mike, & Emmi dropped in about mid afternoon.  They have company coming & needed a back seat for their Jeep & by golly we just happened to have a Jeeps backseat alright.  I had taken it back out of the Jeep when our company left last month.  It was just sitting in our shed so was more than happy for Janna & Mike to use it.  Had us a front porch chat for awhile & they were on their way.

 

With more dark clouds moving in & wind picking up I had to carry all our front porch furniture back into the house.  Even though we have a porch overhang things still get wet when winds blow the rain up onto the porch.

AND YES THERE IS A REAL TORTOISE LIVING HERE AT CACTUS RANCH NURSERY

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The optimist: This glass is half full.  The pessimist: This glass is half empty.  The engineer: This container is twice as large as it needs to be.

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A politician awoke in a hospital bed after a complicated operation, and found that the curtains were drawn around him. "Why are the curtains closed," he said. "Is it night?" A nurse replied, "No, it is just that there is a fire across the street, and we didn't want you waking up and thinking that the operation was unsuccessful."

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- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.