We love the desert

It's nice to be out hiking in February in shorts and t-shirts.  The weather right now is a gift from God called "October through May" and we accept it graciously.  Shaw is standing in front of an Ocotillo bush.  Next month they will blossom for about 3 weeks and every branch will be covered from top to bottom in bright red flowers. 

 

Lots of greenery for a desert.   There's a Mesquite tree on the left, a Palo Verde straight ahead and a Saguaro Cactus at about 11 o'clock. 

This is the fountain at Fountain Hills in the distance.  It's zoomed in from about 20 miles away.  We've visited up close a few times as well.  It's as tall as a 50 story building. 

Any ideas what this thing is?  It's fenced off about 50 yards on all sides... not high security chain link with razor wire or anything, just standard 3-strand barbed wire and posts.  I walked up to it and noted that it is riddled with bullet holes.  Someone had scratched in the paint, "What is this?"  another scratched below, "ballistics tester"  I thought it might have been a man made nest for an endangered bird or something. 

It's hard to make out in this pic, but Four Peaks is in the distance with a little bit of snow on it. 

Two lovers watching the sunset- King and Queen of all they survey.

Here's Clan Whipple- the family for whom the blog is named.