Wednesday, April 6, 2011

It was a Tough Winter in Arizona.

Yes, it was the toughest Winter we have ever experienced here at North Ranch near Congress, AZ and we have been coming here for about 12 winters. I know that for our friends and family up North, it wasn’t as “rough” as their Winter but for us here, it was Rough! Let me show you.
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This is our back yard on Feb 27TH. These Oleanders usually stand up straight but they are bent to the ground with the heavy snow. This and the extreme cold weather killed some of them and nipped others.
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Several of our trees took a hard hit. The one on the right is about 50% dead. Our Orange trees all froze and oranges were ruined.
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We cut all the dead fruit and branches from the Orange trees and they look as if they may come back. Several have told us that once they freeze real hard like that, the fruit in the future will all be sour. So right now, as with a lot of folks around North Ranch, it’s a game of “wait and see”.
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However, time marches on and it's Spring Time in the Desert and things are blooming. Easter Cacti are busting out all over the Park. Here is a little Cactus in the Rock Garden Gina worked so hard on in our front yard last year.  It sure is letting us know that it is live and well.  This is for you Gina, isn’t it beautiful?  And speaking of Gina, she had surgery on Monday morning and came through it with flying colors.  The doctor said she did remarkably well.  When we talked to her yesterday morning, she was hoping to be released from the hospital in the afternoon.  You can read more about it on Rollie and Gina's Blog.  We love you Gina, so follow the doctor's orders and you will be back to full speed before you know it.  Rollie, you have your hands full keeping her under control for a couple of weeks. :-)

I’m having computer problems and have an “E” key that is malfunctioning.  It doesn’t work about 75% of the time and a couple other keys are off and loose, so I've been thinking of buying and installing a new keyboard.  I have found a keyboard for $70.00, but can’t seem to locate an installation manual on how to install a new keyboard on the Sony Vaio Model VGN-NS 130E. I understand it’s not too hard a job but you must have those instructions as there is always a little trick to getting one of these laptops open. If I took it in to someone, I’m sure it would cost more than the thing is worth. I'm just not quite ready for a new one quite yet……but maybe it’s time.   We'll see.

It’s a GREAT WEEK!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.  For those of you out there on the roads, Travel Safe and God Bless you ALL.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..

6 comments:

Sue and Doug said...

just another 'snowy cold winter'!..sorry to hear about all your plants..hopefully they will all come on back to normal!..have a great week!..Spring is coming!!.or so they say!!

Roy Brody said...

Here is a link to replace a keyboard on a similar Sony laptop. I have replaced many and they are all similar.
Hope this helps.

http://mark.rehorst.com/Sony_Vaio/index.html

Roy

Chuck and Anneke's RV travels said...

That is a bit rough. Our two winters in AZ did not include any serious snow, but we certainly had our share of freezing temps. Still better than the northern states.

Rod Ivers said...

It was kind of cold down in Mesa too! And the fruit tree in front of our lot must have been frozen before, because it was the most sour oranges we have ever peeled! Yuck!

Next year we can bask in the rain or something. It has to be better, right?

Al Bossence said...

Seems like the overall bad winter has affected everybody across the country in one way or another.
Those Oleanders look pretty hard hit with all that weight. We have broken branches, flattened shrubs etc. Still waiting for snow to melt before getting onto the grounds for the big Spring clean-up. Just a bad bad winter.

Debbie Goode said...

Yeah, our winter here in AZ and then CA have not been the best either. Just can't seem to find that "perfect winter" hideout...LOL! But..half the fun is in the looking and exploring of this great country of ours!! Good luck with the keyboard.