The Many Moods of Mount Lemmon

I could spend a lot of words on the delightful visit with my cousin Lin and her marvelous husband, but they are the moments that must stay private.  They can only exist for people who share a family history that goes back over seventy years.

Instead I'll  offer a visual comment on one of the reasons we have returned to their Arizona home so many times in the past ten years. 

Their living room window looks out on a patio and fountain and from there toward the Santa Catalina's highest peak--Mt Lemmon.   It rises over 9000 feet and is often snow-capped during the winter months.  For the feminists in the crowd the name comes from a female botanist, Sarah Plummer Lemmon, who reached the top of the mountain by mule in 1881.  Today you can reach the summit on a scenic paved road and it is one of Tucson's most popular auto outings.  

We visited cousin Lin for five days and I often started taking pictures of Mount Lemmon early in the day.

 

We had plenty of sun and there were even some patio meals--though I must admit the new outdoor ceiling heaters did help.

 

 

Some days the clouds hung low.

 

 

 

And some mornings were more than a little crisp.

 

 

 

Up top the ski areas got plenty of fresh powder.

 

 

 

Those were the days when the cacti needed some snuggy improvised stocking caps.

 

 

Even the hummingbird outside of the kitchen window hunkered down for warmth.

 

 

 

Afternoons produced a whole new panoply of colors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until the evening closed in.

 

 

 

 Sleep sleep. . . . .