Where from?

[Marathoner]

53 minutes ago, MonicaWife said:

I see. That surprised me a little, as I've assumed that it was warm weather all the year round there. I'm learning. Thank you for the info. 😊 

Where we live now, we have had a lot of snow for months, and it only melted away during the last month. 

I've finally started to enjoy the winter months! 😊 

Desert areas will surprise you. I've referred to the high desert which is a desert climate at high altitude. I lived in the Manzano Mountains at 7,000 ft. (2.1 km) above sea level and this was in the high desert zone. A defining characteristic of the high desert is the composition of the soil, not necessarily average temperatures, and also the frequency/amount of precipitation. The frequency of precipitation is much lower, but this doesn't mean that it never snows nor rains in the high desert.

One winter, we were hit with a blizzard that dumped over three feet (1 meter) of snow overnight. I would say the average snowfall during winter isn't very much at all, and even that meter of snow disappeared within a week or so. That's because of solar radiation (sunlight) warming the landscape. The land itself was too warm for snow to remain on the ground. It melts quickly!

Bear, cougar, mountain lions, bobcats, and the very (very!) rare black panther live above the 7,000 ft. threshold in the forest zone. During that blizzard, bears were driven to lower altitudes in search of food; folks at lower altitudes spot wandering bears during adverse weather events like that one. There you are, driving along Highway 337... la-de-da, what a beautiful day!... when you spot a huge shaggy beast crossing the road up ahead. Oy, it's a bear! 

I told the story of how that blizzard drove bears down the slopes that winter. One of my dogs persuaded a wandering bear to keep off of our land. He was our hero dog.  

The wet bulb temperature can be 7 degrees F, but you'll watch snow melting like crazy all over the place. That's because the landscape is too warm to tolerate snow for long. Strange but true!

[ayin jade]

7 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

Desert areas will surprise you. I've referred to the high desert which is a desert climate at high altitude. I lived in the Manzano Mountains at 7,000 ft. (2.1 km) above sea level and this was in the high desert zone. A defining characteristic of the high desert is the composition of the soil, not necessarily average temperatures, and also the frequency/amount of precipitation. The frequency of precipitation is much lower, but this doesn't mean that it never snows nor rains in the high desert.

One winter, we were hit with a blizzard that dumped over three feet (1 meter) of snow overnight. I would say the average snowfall during winter isn't very much at all, and even that meter of snow disappeared within a week or so. That's because of solar radiation (sunlight) warming the landscape. The land itself was too warm for snow to remain on the ground. It melts quickly!

Bear, cougar, mountain lions, bobcats, and the very (very!) rare black panther live above the 7,000 ft. threshold in the forest zone. During that blizzard, bears were driven to lower altitudes in search of food; folks at lower altitudes spot wandering bears during adverse weather events like that one. There you are, driving along Highway 337... la-de-da, what a beautiful day!... when you spot a huge shaggy beast crossing the road up ahead. Oy, it's a bear! 

I told the story of how that blizzard drove bears down the slopes that winter. One of my dogs persuaded a wandering bear to keep off of our land. He was our hero dog.  

The wet bulb temperature can be 7 degrees F, but you'll watch snow melting like crazy all over the place. That's because the landscape is too warm to tolerate snow for long. Strange but true!

When I lived in Phoenix, elevation roughly 1000 feet, it rained less than there than it does in the mountains here 2 hours away. We have seen bobcats, javelina, deer, coyotes and many smaller critters around our house. We heard a wolf one night too. That sound grabs your attention. A coyote or dog has never sounded like that. 

[Marathoner]

A long time ago, I watched a video someone took of their Great Pyrenees dogs chasing a big bear. The bear meandered into his orchard and the dogs went straight for him! 

Poor 🐻.  The two dogs chased him up a tree! The dogs kept the bear in the tree until someone came out and called the dogs away. The bear shimmied down the tree and took off running in the opposite direction.

[ayin jade]

For my Norske friend on here .... this is the Sonoran Desert, which is where Phoenix is. 

 

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/deserts/sonoran_desert/index.html

[Ani Tefillah]

23 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

Desert areas will surprise you. I've referred to the high desert which is a desert climate at high altitude. I lived in the Manzano Mountains at 7,000 ft. (2.1 km) above sea level and this was in the high desert zone. A defining characteristic of the high desert is the composition of the soil, not necessarily average temperatures, and also the frequency/amount of precipitation. The frequency of precipitation is much lower, but this doesn't mean that it never snows nor rains in the high desert.

One winter, we were hit with a blizzard that dumped over three feet (1 meter) of snow overnight. I would say the average snowfall during winter isn't very much at all, and even that meter of snow disappeared within a week or so. That's because of solar radiation (sunlight) warming the landscape. The land itself was too warm for snow to remain on the ground. It melts quickly!

Bear, cougar, mountain lions, bobcats, and the very (very!) rare black panther live above the 7,000 ft. threshold in the forest zone. During that blizzard, bears were driven to lower altitudes in search of food; folks at lower altitudes spot wandering bears during adverse weather events like that one. There you are, driving along Highway 337... la-de-da, what a beautiful day!... when you spot a huge shaggy beast crossing the road up ahead. Oy, it's a bear! 

I told the story of how that blizzard drove bears down the slopes that winter. One of my dogs persuaded a wandering bear to keep off of our land. He was our hero dog.  

The wet bulb temperature can be 7 degrees F, but you'll watch snow melting like crazy all over the place. That's because the landscape is too warm to tolerate snow for long. Strange but true!

Thank you for the share, very interesting and informative. 

I know that Jerusalem is about 600meter over the ocean, and now and then it can snow 🌨 a little during the night in the winter months, but it will melt away during the day. 

[Ani Tefillah]

10 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

A long time ago, I watched a video someone took of their Great Pyrenees dogs chasing a big bear. The bear meandered into his orchard and the dogs went straight for him! 

Poor 🐻.  The two dogs chased him up a tree! The dogs kept the bear in the tree until someone came out and called the dogs away. The bear shimmied down the tree and took off running in the opposite direction.

If you meet a bear, 🐻 please don't turn around and run! 😊 

[Ani Tefillah]

12 minutes ago, ayin jade said:

For my Norske friend on here .... this is the Sonoran Desert, which is where Phoenix is. 

 

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/deserts/sonoran_desert/index.html

Thank you! I've never been to a desert 🏜 (except for a "spiritual one", if you know what I mean). 

I find it interesting that the 🌵 aren't so much beautiful to look at (in my opinion), but many of them produce such beautiful flowers! 😊 Amazing Creator! 

How does cactus 🌵 taste, then? 

[ayin jade]

The fruit is sweet but a bit tart. Hard to explain the taste. The prickly pear pads dont have much taste I thought. The same way green bell peppers dont have much taste cooked in foods. But perhaps it was cooked poorly. 

[Marathoner]

28 minutes ago, MonicaWife said:

If you meet a bear, 🐻 please don't turn around and run! 😊 

There aren't any bears where I'm at now. In bear country the biggest problem they pose are property damage. In the Manzano Mountains, apple trees 🌳 grow wild. These were imported by Spanish colonists centuries ago but these days, they grow all over those mountains.

🐻 love fruit! 🐻 especially love Manzano apples and because they're good at climbing trees, you might find a bear and her cubs up in an 🍎 tree grabbing the choicest fruit.

So in bear country, keeping an orchard involves measures to keep them away. Guardian dogs are the best prevention! 🐻 don't like big barking dogs, so brave dogs can keep your orchard free of bears. 

[Marathoner]

You're right about 🌵 flowers, @MonicaWife. The blooms are beautiful! Even those nasty cholla trees sport delicate, colorful flowers. 

Cacti retain a great deal of water and this probably explains why they aren't big on flavor. But they're very juicy. Cacti are very tough and thrive even in drought. A gift from the Lord in the hard places. There's more life in the desert than folks who have never spent time there suspect.