The Voice Box

Another visit in the month of November to Tuscon habitats, and this time it was Mount Lemmon, situated in the Santa Catalina Mountains, chasing Agaves. The agaves were over 7000 feet high, and were perched on rocky ridges.  Surprisingly, considering the time of the year, the weather was relatively warm despite the height.  But around one week later, the snow began to fall which is usual for the area.  The agaves in habitat were Agave parryi var parryi. http://agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9629

San Diego Zoo was full of surprises.  Not only were there a high class collection of animals, but the landscape was adorned with many plants including a wide array of succulents which I love. The bus tour offered, is a must. Not only does it give you an important bearing on how to approach the visit, but it also prepares for the personal choice to make especially when you decide to walk.  Although I am not normally a zoo pe4rson, I did enjoy the visit, and would recommend it as very good family entertainment.

After years of  trying, I finally made it to Hong Kong, and as expected, it was very curious visit, and yet a very interesting one.  It was never going to be a genuine holiday, as I always felt there was not enough there to keep me busy.  Was I right?  No, I suppose I was somewhat wrong, too low and dismissive in my expectations..  But the very character of the place suggested to me though that it was never going to be one of my favorite cities.  Some things were still very obvious; the old British colonial framework, the empowering architecture all around, the very efficient Metro system, and the rampant commercialism;  all seemed genuine at my street level, and fitted nicely with the new assertive Chinese character.  I say new because in 1997 the colony of Hong Kong was returned to the People’s Republic of China, and is governed  under the new China mandate – one country, two system...

I almost missed out on Arizona this year.  Encouraged by the cold wings which were headed to my London base, I decided on a shortened escapade; no Desert Garden and Phoenix, just wonderful Tucson.  In case you are wondering, this has been on my calendar for the last four years. The itinerary is much the same as the years before, a Canyon visit, a couple nurseries, and this time the Ironwood Forest National Park.  I am truly grateful to Marty - Arizona Agave  for the effort in making the visit enjoyable, and that includes the delicious meals at the family Mexican restaurant. I will start off with Arid Lands which I love visiting, and is the kind of nursery that we do not have here in the UK. To get there , I flew from London Heathrow via Dallas Fort Worth in Texas, and I stayed most of the time at Four Points by Sheraton at Tucson Airport. In pursuit of looking at young plants, the nurseries are my first stop. And Tucson has a wonderful selection of the...