Harvest Moon in NW Tucson

It's an important time of year here in Southern Arizona. After the long growing season, the cotton is ready for harvest. I have several listings out in the aggie areas near Marana, Avra Valley and Picture Rocks, and I enoy the drive out to visit them for a variety of reasons. For one thing, along the way, I see a sight I saw many a time back in the Great Plains: crop dusters. These small aircraft are amazing in the acrobatic maneuvers they must perform in order to further the cotton harvest. The cotton actually must be defoliated to facilitate harvest. The crop dusters glide and turn, glide and turn, spraying the chemical that will cause the leaves to sicken and die, fall off and leave only the cotton bolls on the plants. The harvesters then lumber through the fields, somehow extracting the bolls and processing them for shipment to textile mills all over the country.



There's a wonderful cafe in the heart of the farmland called Marana Stockyards Cafe to which I sometimes motorcycle on an early weekend morning.



Motorcycling is so enjoyable for many reasons, but one that really stands out is how close you are to the environment as you ride. Unlike car travel, A/C blowing and recirculating, music turned up to drown out the sounds of the road, on a bike you are OUT THERE. The smells and sounds just come to you as if you were standing in the middle of the field.

To get to the MSY cafe, you ride through a LOT of farmland area. Fields are plowed and fertilized, crops are irrigated, the ground it tilled...this creates an asmyrah of smells. Riding through the area on a motorcycle, one can also sense the subtle changes in air temperature and humidity riding from fallow to full field, crossing irrigation culverts, and passing a farmer plowing this or that.These sensations nearly knock me off my bike every time I ride through there. Having grown up on the Great Plains in the midst of fields and stockyards, the memories come rushing back each time I ride through Marana.

Tucson may be a big city, but there's something for everyone, even a country gal at heart like me!

The Mysterious Spade Foot Toad

Here in The Old Pueblo we have many fascinating critters. Our flora and fauna are some of the most interesting in the world. One of the most mysterious residents is the spade foot toad. These are the toads that spend 95% of their lives in "suspended animation" just about one foot or less beneath the desert floor. Like the kiss from the handsome prince awoke Sleeping Beauty, the desert monsoon rain storms awaken these little creatures. They work their way up through the mud to find a puddle and then a mate to claim as their own. The mating call, often arising at night, sounds uncannily like a newborn baby crying. They quickly mate, lay eggs and burrow back down underground before the hot Sonoran sun can bake the ground once again. The eggs hatch within a day of being laid, and the tadpoles rapidly grow and sprout legs and lose their tail. Within a week of hatching, they are making tentative forays into the atmosphere, testing their developing toady lungs. They are roughly the size of large-ish house flys when they hop onto land for good...or at least until they are old enough to dig their way up and find a puddle of their own!

Priced to Sell!

Wonderful 3 bedroom 2 bath manufactured home on 1.5 acre horse property is surrounded by views. Big porches front and back provide drop dead gorgeous views of sunsets, mountains, and even sparkling "city" lights. Energy efficient construction includes 2x6 frame, dual pane windows and a Heatolator fireplace in the cozy family room. Formal living and dining room are perfect for entertaining. New flooring in kitchen and baths, almost new kitchen appliances will thrill the most discriminating chef. All this for the amazing price of $159,000. Here just one angle of views to enjoy:

And here's the big bright kitchen:


This is a must see!

Family Housing Resources: Helping Homebuyers in Arizona

Family Housing Resources has been delivering affordable dreams for 13 years!

Family Housing Resources is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Arizona corporation whose primary mission is to assist low to moderate income individuals and families obtain decent, affordable housing. FHR and its services are supported through the Industrial Development Authorities of Pima County and City of Tucson, Pima County Community Services, City of Tucson, Maricopa County and City of Phoenix, various cities and counties throughout Arizona and the Arizona Department of Housing.

SERVICES AVAILABLE IN PIMA COUNTY
FHR Housing Counselors provide potential homebuyers with individualized guidance and education in a comfortable one-on-one setting. The staff of experienced housing counselors provide assistance with budgeting, credit, pre-qualification and document review. They will help you find the best loan for you with a reputable lender. They can refer you to a Realtor and help you with the process for purchasing your home. FHR counselors act as a neutral third party – in other words, they do not earn a fee based upon the home purchase decisions you make. They will help you make decisions that are right for you. FHR advises potential homebuyers to also attend the Homebuyer Education Classes. Counseling services are provided at no cost.
Counseling services include:
:: View your credit report and dispute any errors
:: Help you evaluate your spending and formulate a budget
:: Determine the purchase price that you can afford
:: Create a financial plan to eliminate debt
:: Determine what is the best loan for you
:: Explain the terms of your loan
:: Help you evaluate your selected home
:: Prepare you for closing on your home
Homeowner Counseling and Homeowner Education Classes are available once you have become a homeowner! Homebuyer Counseling is currently available to residents of Pima County. Call FHR at (520) 318-0993 to schedule an appointment. Some late afternoon and Saturday appointments are available. FHR is certified by HUD as a Housing Counseling Agency and accredited as housing counselors and homebuyer educators by the American Homebuyer Education and Counseling Training Institute (AHECTI).

Preparing Your Home For Sale

Your furnishings and accessories may not be for sale with your house, but they do still play a critical role in creating a buyer's overall impression. Furnishings and accessories can harmoniously blend into the background, guiding buyers' eyes toward the house's best features, and making the space feel open and serene. Or they can instead take center stage,
distract buyers from looking at your house, and make the space feel cluttered, small, dark and/or dated (just to name a few).

Here are some of the biggest “offenders” you should avoid:
1- Anything “in the way”: Whether it is an armoire blocking a window, an entertainment center blocking a door, or a sofa forcing you to zig-zag when entering the room, move it! Blocking windows reduces the amount of natural light in the room, making the space appear darker and smaller. Blocking doors or traffic paths makes rooms appear smaller and cluttered.
2- Too Big: Large, over-sized furnishings make small rooms feel even smaller, especially if they are dark in color. Unless your rooms are larger than average, consider replacing your king size bed with a queen, or storing away the dresser instead, while your house is on the market. In the living room, consider replacing a large sofa with a couple of chairs to make the room appear more spacious (remember: you are selling usable square footage!). Choose pieces with an “open” design (e.g. sofas with exposed rather than hidden legs, chairs without rather than with armrests, glass rather than wood top tables) and light in color, as they appear smaller to the eye than they really are.
3- Too Much: Less is more when selling your house. All you need is a few well selected and arranged pieces. Too many furnishings and accessories can be distracting, and make the space feel small and cluttered. Leaving some empty spots on walls, shelves and floors allows the eye to rest, and makes the space appear overall larger, more open and organized.
4- Too Specific: Because you are trying to appeal to a wide range of buyers, limit the display of items that may be too taste-, gender- or culture-specific. Beware of displaying lots of lace and pink in the master bedroom, hunting or fishing trophies in the living room, or a “tiki bar” in the family room.
5- Too Bold or Too Personal: Too many strong, bold colors and patterns can be intimidating to some buyers. Also, too many colors or patterns on the walls cause the eyes to pause a lot, making the space feel small and fragmented. Keep your largest pieces neutral instead, “spicing them up” with a few coordinated colored accessories. Also, keep personal items (family pictures, children's art, your ancestor's portraits, souvenirs from your latest trip) scarce. Let buyers imagine “their” belongings in the space, rather than overwhelming them with yours.

For more information, visit:

http://www.tucsonredesign.com/

I've Landed!

A flurry of computer keyboarding has landed me with several new blogs. I'm testing various sites to find the most user friendly blog platforms. Sometimes I worry that technology is passing by me so fast I'll never be able to keep up!