A visit to Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, Arizona
This week I’ll take you on a tour of Sweetwater Wetlands, another place here in Tucson that a) has actual water, and b) is not a swimming pool or a water hazard on a golf course. Last week we toured Sabino Canyon, so apparently it’s Water in the Desert Month here in my demented corner of the interwebs. I’ll also have the usual hot, fresh, batch of memes, but otherwise this post will be short, because I’m trying to get serious about completing the Novel Revision from Hell. After spending at least a year and being not even halfway done, I’m starting to understand why authors drink.
I do have some good writing news coming up, which I teased in this month’s Insecure Writers Support Group post. Expect a couple of SQUEE-laden announcements in the next few weeks.
Before we get to Sweetwater Wetlands: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Have a drink, grab a treat, and let’s get to it.
Sweetwater Wetlands
Sweetwater Wetlands is both a water treatment facility (part of the City of Tucson’s reclaimed water system) and a park with trails and wildlife. It’s also a birding hotspot, which made it perfect for Arlene and me to explore (Arlene is a birder; I’m drawn to water like an overlarge mosquito). Wetlands like this also remind me of the California Delta, where I used to fish as a kid. The Delta is one of my happy places, so visiting Sweetwater was a little like going home.
So much water!
And water plants!
All this next picture needs is an alligator, and we could be in Florida.
I love the way plants look reflected in water.
Where there’s fresh water, there are usually trees–in this case, old, gnarly willows:
And cottonwoods:
And, of course, where there’s water, there are animals–especially in the desert.
Here’s a pretty yellow bird:
Sorry, Arlene. All that time birding with you, and the best I can do is, “pretty yellow bird.” I’m a disappointment even to myself.
It looks like Mrs. Duck is giving her mate the stink eye, like she’s totally over his laziness and is about to wake him up and put him to work catching insects or cleaning the rock.
Or maybe I’m projecting. (Just kidding, Long-Suffering Husband.)
This turtle looks like he’s doing a yoga pose or attempting a plank. Knock it off, Fitness Turtle. You’re making some of us look bad.
The Memery
I kind of feel like Fitness Turtle should become a meme, but I’m not sufficiently caffeinated to make that happen, so I’ll proceed with my usual process of stealing other people’s memes.
I mean, if your fries need salt, you do what you gotta do.
Long-Suffering Husband was a professional wrestler. Can confirm.
Substitute Diet Pepsi for the iced coffee and… yeah.
Behold an entirely accurate depiction of my dating life:
Good thing Long-Suffering Husband wasn’t big on subtlety, or I’d probably still be single and telling my friends about the hot guy I met in 1985 and how I wished he’d asked me out.
As long as we’re talking about men and women:
I’d rather have the fake football team, but point made.
Time to make fun of my favorite furniture store:
And finally, substitute a box of Extra Toasty Cheez-Its for the Oreos and cracking open a can of Diet Pepsi for starting the coffee maker and this one’s spot on:
That’s it for me. How will the medium summon your spirit?
23 Comments
Writing Sparkle
The Sweetwater Wetlands trails look like a great place to go for a hike.
Janet Alcorn
It’s lovely–and such a contrast to our desert landscape.
rawsonjl
Sweetwater looks like such a nice place to hike! I’d be summoned with a cold glass of sweetened ice tea and a lindt dark chocolate truffle.
Janet Alcorn
Mmm… dark chocolate truffles. I’d show up for those too.
Denyse Whelan Blogs
Great to see what is local to you these days Janet. I admit I love being by the water and when we move back to North Western Sydney in early 2023 I will have less easy access to the ocean. Fortunately there is a river and some man made lakes! Visiting from #weekendcoffeeshare
Janet Alcorn
Rivers and lakes work too! But I understand missing the ocean. When I retire, I hope to move to within an easy drive of a coast.
leannelc
I loved seeing some water in your post this week Janet. It always seems so desert-like where you are, so it’s good to see that you have wetlands too. Loved the Lot with his salted chips meme – it made me snicker.
Janet Alcorn
I like living in the Sonoran Desert, but I really do miss water. It’s always a treat when I find wet places.
trentpmcd
Wetlands, actual wetlands in Arizona! What are they like in late July? Does the water boil? lol, it looks nice.
I remember as a young adult watching teens flirt as if they were hitting each other over the head with two-by-fours and wondering why the girls didn’t flirt like that when I was a teen or in my early twenties. But then, looking back, I realized they did and I had no clue…. I’m sure if my at the time girlfriend didn’t knock me out with her two-by-four I would still be single.
Hope you are havign a good weekend, despite editing hell, and have a wonderful week ahead!
Janet Alcorn
Ahahaha – actually I think there’d be even more water in late July because of the monsoon storms. But I can only imagine the humidity on top of all that heat.
I was either oblivious to flirting or convinced I must be misinterpreting, the guy couldn’t possibly be interested. Spoiler alert: some of them were. D’oh!
Hope you have a wonderful week too!
Kathleen Howell
How I love squee laden announcements!!! Can’t wait! What a neat place to visit! Willows and cottonwoods are my favorite trees.. And I LOVED the CEO of IKEA meme! LOL
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! And I almost snort-laughed at the IKEA CEO one. There are some seriously clever people out there.
Natalie
How wonderful that you have Sweetwater Wetlands nearby. It’s my kind of place to wander, look out for birds, ducks and turtles, and take pictures. Thank you for your weekend coffee share. I look forward to your squee-laden announcements.
Janet Alcorn
It’s a perfect place to wander and take pictures. So peaceful and pretty.
Squees incoming next week!
Alison
Haha glad I found your blog Janet, had me laughing all the way through. I agree plants and trees reflected in water are beautiful.
Great memes the one with anxiety and coffee could me my daughter and also love astronomy v. fake football teams ?
Janet Alcorn
Thanks! And welcome to my demented little corner of the internet! Your blog is wonderful too–I love traveling vicariously through other people’s photos. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Alison
Thanks for your visit Janet
Have a good week ?
Bobbiem91
So I’m guessing you actually know wrestling is all coreographed. Any way, the memes were good and I’m jealous. You have water and all I have is a couple of huge ponds called Cataract Lake and Kaibab Lake. We had bigger lakes in the subdivisions in Ft. Lauderdale. Oh, that’s right–I’m in a desert. Keep forgetting that. Oh well, I can always go the Grand Canyon and stare down at the Colorado River if I need a water fix.
Janet Alcorn
Huge ponds–yep. I had the same reaction the first time I visited Lake Mary. Not quite the mountain lake vibe I was going for.
Wrestling… LOL. My husband wrestled in a local organization in northern Georgia for a couple of years, and he has stories. It’s a bizarre subculture, let me tell ya. But he loved it.
Gary A Wilson
Great stuff Janet,
Who knew there was so much hydrated nature near Tucson.
I now have a few places to visit if I ever make it back there.
… right after breakfast at Bobo’s that is.
True fact, I thought I’d lost my college aged daughter in the Phoenix IKEA labyrinth when she’d only decided that it would be fun to run back through the whole place to get a selfie of herself hiding in each closet on display. Children in general and my daughter in particular are perfectly valid reasons for why I don’t have much hair. . .
Janet Alcorn
Ahahahaha! Your daughter sounds like my kind of person! I have hair, but I blame my husband and son for the fact that it’s grey (true story: found my first grey hair on my honeymoon–so Long-Suffering Husband definitely has some blame here).
Kirstin
I enjoyed the tour and as always your memes.
Janet Alcorn
Thanks so much!