Hummingbirds!

A hummingbird zoomed by as I was watching the mourning dove on her nest on my back porch yesterday. I watched the hummer and saw her land on a branch about 4 feet off the ground. Then she thought better of it and flew away, but quickly came back. I could see a tiny bag of woven grass attached to the branch, so I went for my camera. I fired off this shot while the hummer mom bravely buzzed around my head. I left quickly so she wouldn't feel harassed any longer.

The inside of this nest is less than 1" in diameter! Another day, another reason to be grateful for a home in Tucson.

February Residential Sales Statistics

The February Residential Sales Statistics have been published. The Arizona Daily Star chose to further suppress real estate sales by exclaiming that the median sale price has dropped below $200,000. It was $199,900 in February 2008, or 9% lower than in February 2007.

Of course they didn't mention that the average sale price in February 2008 was $262,155, which is a 1% increase from a year earlier.

With friends like the Star, who needs enemies?

Most wizards who are gazing into economic crystal balls say interest rates are heading up. Way up. So get off the fence and buy while the buying is good.

Certified Deed Scam

The Tucson Multiple Listing Service sent this email to all its agents:

"Be aware that a national company is mailing out letters to homeowners (many will probably be your clients) making it seem imperative that they acquire and retain in their household records a certified copy of the deed to their house which the company will happily provide for a total cost of $89.95. As you know, the homeowner may obtain a copy of their deed from the Pima County Recorder for $1.00 per page plus an additional charge of $3.00 to have the deed certified should they believe certification is important."

The Fossils are In!

Two years ago I went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show on a mission. I had decided that I would set ammonites in my back splash at Desert's Edge, the house I am renovating in the Tucson Mountains. I went nuts and bought 40 pounds of these gorgeous 110 million year old fossils from Madagascar. They look like nautilus shells, cut open to expose the chambers, which can be filled with gold, peach, rust or lavender minerals. Some of the chambers have quartz crystals in them, and some of the septa between the chambers have been replaced with pyrite (fool's gold). I am completely enchanted with my ammonites, and have been admiring them on the buffet for two years, but no more! Now they are set among the four-inch travertine tile above the astoundingly gorgeous granite counters.










I hired Jack Langley with Southwest Design, who hired Kevin who hired Juan, who figured out how to do this. I had talked to a few tilers about what I wanted to do, and everyone but Jack had said it would be impossible to set these fossils, which taper from 1/4" to 3/4" deep, among the tile. I hate it when people tell me something's impossible. Anyway, Jack was game, but it was Juan who figured that instead of punching holes in the drywall to make the fossils lie flat, he could saw off the backs in his whetsaw. I watched him hold the first fossil in his hands against the spinning saw and told him to forget it, I didn't need these fossils in my back splash as much as he needed his fingers. It looked really scary, and Desert's Edge already has enough bad karma without adding the blood of a tiler. But Juan assured me he could to this without cutting his fingers off. The results exceeded my expectations by 110 million years.

December Residential Sales Statistics

The Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for December 2007. Fortunately for owners and buyers of Tucson real estate, they show the same ol' same ol'. Not much change in average and median sale prices. Active listings are at their lowest level since December 2006, which means the balancing act between supply (listings) and demand (sales) is becoming more stable. Only 682 properties sold in December, but I'm not too worried about that. In my own business, I am starting to get more calls from buyers, who are realizing the sky most likely is not going to fall.

On January 9, 2008, the chief economist of the the National Association of Realtors spoke to the Tucson Association of Realtors. He had some very encouraging news about Tucson's unique qualities that will enable us the weather the economic storms better than other parts of the country will. Tucson Association of Realtors president Judy Lowe summarizes his remarks on the first page of the Residential Sales Statistics for December 2007.

The Rogue Theatre: Fear No Art

Fear No Art. That's the message on the tee shirt worn by male lead actor Joe McGrath when he and the cast of "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?" sat down facing the audience for the after-play discussion. The female lead is Cindy Meier, who co-founded The Rogue Theatre with Joe. As always, their performances were jaw-dropping. These two theater professionals have worked together so long, their stage interactions are perfectly in sync.

I can't say this play is entertaining, but it is by far the best I have seen in the three year history of The Rogue Theatre. Joe plays Martin, a successful architect at the pinnacle of his career. He enjoys loving relationships with his wife Stevie, and his gay eighteen-year-old son, Billy (Matt Bowdren). I am so proud of our friend Cindy, who is amazing as Stevie, a smart, self-assured, witty woman. Martin shatters the family's perfect life when he announces he is in love with a goat. The play is shocking, horrifying, violent, vulgar and intensely thought-provoking. Because of the last quality, the performance is a work of art, albeit very disturbing.

Joe said The Rogue Theatre does not want to do plays that reinforce the audience's preconceived notions. The troupe wants to challenge the audience to question their values and assumptions, and "The Goat" effectively does exactly that. Why do certain behaviors disgust us? Where does aberration end and mental illness begin? Where is the line between moral and immoral? Why do these lines shift with time, circumstances and communities?

Cindy's real-life husband Tom Wentzel is very involved with the theater group. Web site designer is one of the many hats he wears, and The Rogue Theatre web site is one of the most beautiful I've seen.

Tom warned us not to sit in the front row of this play's intimate venue, the magical Cabaret Theater, located upstairs from the Temple of Music and Art. He said it would be too intense. He was right. The people in the front row fled as soon as the actors took their bows. Most of the rest of us remained in our seats, wide-eyed and stunned. Tom said we looked like that guy in the stereo speaker ad, gripping his chair with his hair blown back, and that is just how I felt.

I recommend you go on one of the nights when the post-play discussion will be held, so the actors can help you start the process of evaluating the complex issues presented in the play. I know I will be thinking about this play for a long time.

"The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?" will play through January 20. Post-performance discussions on January 10, 13 and 17. Call 551-2053 for reservations and information.

Artistry in Glass

Two years ago I bought a small house in the Tucson Mountains. The back yard faces 63 acres of protected wildlife preserve. I didn't need another house, but the setting is stunning, and I couldn't resist. I figured I could use it as a vacation and party house, and maybe rent it short term to snow birds.

I spent six months renovating Desert's Edge, making it my dream home. By summer 2006, I still had plenty left to do, but I was so discouraged by the problems I had with the various contractors, I couldn't stand to work on it anymore.

Finally, last month, I felt could deal with the last three phases of the project -- install the floor tile and granite counter tops, and buy some furniture. The end is in sight, and I hope Desert's Edge will be ready for its housewarming by February.

I have bored my friends and myself to tears talking about what has gone wrong with this project. I want to use this blog to express my thanks to the people who made things go right.

I decided I wanted to have something like petroglyphs etched into some of the floor tiles. This is about the eighth property Jack Langley with Southwest Design has tiled for me. Jack suggested I talk to his neighbor, John Wakefield, at Artistry in Glass, to see whether he could get the effect I wanted. I did, and he could. John does all sorts of work in stained, leaded and beveled glass, including etching. He readily agreed to acid-etch patterns onto my floor tiles.

I traced Steve's hand and mine, added spirals in the palms, and took the drawings to John along with drawings of the sun and the Man in the Maze (only in this case, she's the Woman in the Maze).

John is from outside London, so just listening to him talk is a delight, but we learned that we had something in common. He's a former exploration geologist and I'm a former hydrologist. We both decided there had to be a better way to make a living than working for The Man, so we started our own businesses.

John runs his business the way I run mine. We try to keep the customer satisfied, even when it's not convenient. I wanted a change in the tiles on the Saturday afternoon before Christmas (he's only open by appointment on Saturday) and he cheerfully agreed to make the change that day so they could be installed on schedule. I am very happy with the results. You can see Steve's hand print in the photo above.