Oro Valley Real Estate

Have you ever been on a photo walk?  I went on one around my neighborhood yesterday.  It is amazing the things you can see if you get up early, walk slower than a marathon pace and wear quiet shoes.  There are all kinds of flower, scenes, and animals which are out and about early in the morning and not as shy as they are during the heat of the day.

The camera I shoot with most of the time is a Nikon D300.  It is big, and with a telephoto lens on it rather imposing.  It takes wonderful images and is my camera of choice, but it isn’t very good for photo walking.  It is just TOO BIG.

For a photo walk you want a camera you can slip into your pocket, pull out quickly and snap.  Something you can put near the ground or over your head and snap.  For this job I carry a Panasonic Lumix FX35.  It is really small, fits in the palm of my hand, has high definition video capabilities and the ability to change a lot of settings to get the shot I want.

This camera fits perfectly in the outside pocket of my cargo shorts.  (I wear a lot of cargo shorts specifically because I carry this little camera with me everywhere I go).

Up the street a little ways I encounter a barrel cactus which still has fruit from last year and new blooms coming on for this year.  There are yellow lantana flowers beside it and copper rocks providing a turquoise color to the scene.  As I was getting the shot setup a rather large lizard stuck his head around the rock to see what was going on.  He just sat there patiently while I took the photo.

A little further and I saw a nice bush - Bird of Paradise.  Around another bend and there were Desert Marigolds growing along the roadside.  I took the camera and held it behind the flowers and snapped off a few images from near ground with the lens in the shadow of a flower.

And so it went around my neighborhood and into a couple of other subdivisions.  It is the same route I walk most days with a few variations to help prevent total boredom.  Yes, I find walking really boring.  But I find Photo Walking an adventure.

I’ve started a set of images on Flickr for Oro Valley Photo Walk.  I’ll keep adding new images to the set as I take photo walks around town.  Here is the link to the slide show for Oro Valley Photo Walk if you want to see what it is like.

Grab your camera and head out the door some early morning while the cactus are blooming, the monsoon is still here and the temps are cooler.  You might be amazed at what beauty lies very close to your own doorstep when you take the time to see what has always been there.

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I’ve lived in Tucson/Oro Valley area for almost 10 years now.  On Aug. 1 I left Oro Valley for a two week road trip back to Ohio where I was born and grew up.  I also graduated from High School at Ontario High in 1968, this was the 40th anniversary class reunion.  I have friends and family all along the way so decided to turn this into my first ever extended road trip.  I got back on Aug. 16th 2008.

I saw a lot of things I had forgotten or not thought about in a very long time.  Like rivers with water in them.  WOW, did you know there are rivers with water in them?

When I got to Ohio late on a Friday night I was a bit parched.  I’m blessed with taste buds with an on/off switch effect meaning if I breath through my mouth I can limit the effects of taste.  When drinking water from a tap, I usually go into “taste buds off” mode.

I ran the tap for about 10 seconds, old habit from the days of lead solder, and filled my freshly unwrapped insulated cup.  I took a deep breath and drank away.  I almost choked, the water was cold, not just a little cold, IT WAS COLD COLD!  I had forgotten you could get cold water from a tap.  I was impressed, so much so I grabbed my camera and took a picture of the cold water.

I’ve told this story twice on my trip and both time I was asked, “How do you take a picture of cold water?”   I didn’t realize that was so hard.  I explained, “I made sure to show the handle on the cold side with the water running.”  That makes sense doesn’t it?

Oro Valley Cold Water from the Tap

There isn’t any way to get cold water from a tap in Oro Valley or Tucson for that matter.  Since it doesn’t freeze here the waterlines and pipes aren’t buried very deep.  It might not freeze here but it does get hot, very hot for extended periods of time.  The earth with the clay in it serves as a solar heater all summer long.  Most of the summer I can take a shower and not even turn on the hot water.  (Up effect, water heater bills in summer are less).

If you want cold water in summer here, you get a lot of ice and put it in your glass. You can also get it from the refrigerator door or bottle. You won’t get it from the tap.  The tap water isn’t hot enough to make tea or hot chocolate, but who in their right mind drinks hot chocolate when it is 110 outside?  Don’t answer that.

If the only place you have ever lived is Oro Valley or the desert southwest, that first cup of cold water might really startle you.  It might leave you wondering how they got the water line to the sink to pass through the refrigerator.  Believe it or not there are some places in this country where cold water comes right out of the tap, and it tastes pretty good too.

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Scorpion Hunters

We have seen the new Indiana Jones movie this summer and the next installment of The Mummy series is just around the corner. In almost all these movies at one time or another scorpions or tarantulas make a creepy appearance. Are you ready to put on your hat and grab a whip (or flashlight)?

Facing your fears is often the best way to overcome them. There are a few people out there that have a fear of scorpions. They are ugly and at times can move pretty fast. For most of us it is matter of being surprised or startled by them.

The bigger they are the more scary, but the good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it, the bigger they are the eaisier the sting. The ones which can cause anaphylactic shock are the small bark scorpions. I’ve written about them over at the Tucson AZ Real Estate Blog Tucson Scorpions.

Back to facing your/our fears. Did you know a scorpion has its skeleton on the outside? Did you know that if you shine a black light on a scorpion it will glow in the dark like a thousand watt light bulb?

You don’t even have to get close to it. A couple of weeks back we were at a friends house and after supper we went out back and he was showing us around his back yard with his black light flashlight. Honestly, it was really cool. Yes, there were scorpions in his back yard, on the walls and in a planter and a few other places. If you have never seen them with a black light, it is hard to believe how they show up.

I was hooked, I knew I had to get one of those flash lights. Barbara found one a couple of days later at Ace Hardware for about $16. It is pictured above.

Here is one of the friendly little visitors I found in the garage a couple of nights ago. The monsoon brings them in seeking shelter from the rain. We have the house sprayed for them and bugs, meaning the ones we usually find are already gone, so to speak. They actually glow a little more blue than green when they are still alive, but getting a good photo up close is much easier when they are dead.

Scorpions eat bugs. They are always hungry and always looking for a good meal. If you keep your house sprayed so you don’t have bugs, then you don’t have food and you don’t have scorpions. (At least not usually, but for the faint of heart I’ll leave it at “If you don’t have bugs you don’t have scorpions.)

Here is our dead visitor posing on his side for your viewing pleasure. Lights on Lights off.

Pretty impressive isn’t it. It is even better in person. It is a great way to introduce visitors to the nocturnal world of Oro Valley. There are few things as much fun as making the skin crawl on an out of towner who comes to the desert.

Are you ready to grab your black light flashlight and do a little scorpion hunting?

A suggestion, don’t wear sandals.

And you can call me “Oro Valley Dave Scorpion Hunter”, where did I put that whip?

“Honey, have you seen my flash light?”

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I know this might come as a shock to many of you, or maybe not, but we aren’t going to the summer Olympics in China this year.  We have never gone before and it was the obvious choice this year as well.

I don’t remember the last time I even saw an Olympic event on the TUBE, but I digress.

Any way, (hows that for a segway)  Our Brokerage came out with a one page schedule of the summer Olympic events which is “personally branded” for each agent.  If you read this blog often you know we don’t do a lot of “personal branding” here.  We talk about Oro Valley and what it is like to live here and call Oro Valley Home.

I personally detest the trite saying I see on many sites “For all your real estate needs”.  But in this instance if you want to print out this schedule and put it on the fridge with magnets we will be glad to privide you with the schedule of events.

One favor I would ask.  Please don’t let the kids draw a mustache on Barbara’s picture.  And don’t do it yourself either : )

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Next to the Night Blooming Cereus the Echinopsis Cactus blooms are one of the prettiest.  These cactus are not native to Arizona.  They come from various parts of South America.  They are legal in Arizona and make a wonderful addition to landscaping which includes cactus.The flowers are delicate in appearance and like the night blooming cereus they bloom for one night and into the next morning, then they close up tight.  It is quite a sight to see mulitple blooms open on the same cactus.  A couple of days ago on my morning photo walk I found a yard with three different Echinopsis cactus and all were in full bloom.

If you see these while out walking and you want to get a picture get your camera and get back there as soon as you can.  This is one flower you don’t say “I’ll get it tomorrow”.  Because you won’t get the chance.  It only smiles for the camera once a year.

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Trader Joe’s in Oro Valley is doing some very smart marketing in the way they are branding their shopping bags.  They are also displaying a great sense of humor also.

Trader Joe’s Marketing

There is a big push all over the world to be rid of the plastic shopping bags which are filling our landfills, cluttering our desert and roadways and making the entire world look like a trash heap.  As a result many grocery stores and markets have started selling branded bags which consumers can bring back with them as they go “GREEN” while shopping.

Of course each store wants you to bring in there bags when you shop in their stores.  I even see some people in the parking lots digging in the trunk to get out the “Appropriate” bag.

With the exception of my Dad who says “I’m an old man, they don’t care” as he carries his Fry’s bag into Trader Joe’s.

From the beginning Trader Joe’s had this shiny pink bag with flowers on it and their name (the pink flowers I think is why my dad chose to carry the black fry’s bag )  Dad never did like pink : )

I’m guessing a lot of other guys don’t like to be seen carrying a pink flowered bag with their groceries sticking out anymore than dad does.  I also think Trader Joe’s noticed this as well.  The women had them but the guys . . .

Enter the new bag.  Sun, Surfboards, Palm Trees, The Beach.  Now this appeals to every guy and girl.  It is summer, time for the beach, time for fun, time to shop organic and carry a cool looking bag with groceries inside.

This is marketing and branding at its best.  The bonus to the new bag, when you look at the bottom it has the URL to their website.  Now this is one cool bag and one great marketing idea.

I love this new bag.  I have one in my car all the time.  (Barbara still carries the one with pink flowers)  I’m getting Dad one of the new bags as well.

As for the Fry’s bags.

They are . . . alright.

I carry them too, but they are all black.

Think about it, summer in Tucson, over 100 degrees, trying to keep things cool till I can get them home and in the fridge, and I have them in a BLACK bag!

Dry Ice Anyone?

As a final little goodie.

I took this photo at the store entry on their blackboard.

The have a great sense of humor and there were several people passing by when they saw me with the camera grabbing this shot.  They were all smiling.

Trader Joe’s Sense of Humor

If you don’t get the subtle (maybe not so subtle) humor check out this post on Organic Food Market in Oro Valley

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Monsoon season is in full swing and the Texas Rangers are blooming all over Tucson.  I read up on them last year and found one passionate grower asking people to “please don’t trim them to look like gumdrops”  I’m sure we have all seen them trimmed exactly like gumdrops.

The Purple Sage is lighter in color and in bloom at the same time as the Texas Rangers.  There is a storm brewing at the moment or I would head out and find one for comparison.  Maybe after the storm or tomorrow.

If you want to see this particular scene it is located at the corner of Naranja and Arizona Rose as you enter the La Cholla Estates on the north side of Naranja.

I hope you are enjoying the Monsoon Season as much as we are.  The lightening shows each day are spectacular.

(It is now Tomorrow)  Got this shot with both Purple Sage and Texas Rangers.  The purple fruit you see behind the Purple sage comes from a prickly pear hiding in the background.

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I’ll tell you right off, till I read what it was I had no idea.  To Barbara and I it looked like a cigar with wings, a bad cigar with a wing, but that was all we could get out of this thing.  We drive by it all the time going in and out of the bank.  Not even once did it strike us as a telescope.

The wing itself made no sense till I had walked almost completely around the scupture when suddenly for one angle the wing lined up with the mountains and then I knew it was one of those artsy thing where the mountains came down and the skyline was attached to the sculpture itself.

This piece is located near the intersection of Lambert Lane and La Canada.

It is in the Chase Bank parking lot.

I will admit as soon as I read it was a Telescope the “Ah” factor kicked in and my sanctified imaginator began to see what it was.  Do you believe me?

Good, it is true : )

 The View From Inside

I knew you would want to see what it looked like from inside.  Here is exactly what the camera saw as I set it inside the telescope and snapped the image.

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Oro Valley real estate statistics are not easy to cover

There are several reasons why it is hard to isolate Oro Valley real estate statistics.

Many homes in Oro Valley have a Tucson mailing address

This means when the home is entered into the Tucson MLS system it will be listed as Tucson and not Oro Valley.  Doing a search on Oro Valley will not return any of these homes.

Oro Valley has no clear Zip code distinctions

The zip code searches on 85737 and 85755 will return Oro Valley results, but 85704 but includes more than Oro Valley. Leaving out 04 doesn’t give a complete enough picture.  Including it is too broad.

 Tucson MLS Northwest Area

I usually opt for an even broader brush by reporting on the Northwest area which includes all of Oro Valley and some of Marana and Catalina as well as a part of Tucson.  Not a perfect solution but seems to provide at least a reasonable snapshot.

There is no other way I know of to try and isolate just figures for Oro Valley.  I wish there was a way, I would really like to be able to give a targeted accurate look at what is going on specifically in the Oro Valley real estate market.

Till there is a better solution (don’t hold your breath) we will try and provide as accurate a data as possible to attain.

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Like two pioneer children coming into town for supplies. This is the depiction of the events as they might have appeared in Oro Valley 100 years ago. That is if there had been an Oro Valley 100 years ago.

This new park and art are located at the back of the parking lot between Baggins and Chili’s on Oracle.  It might be a little hot during the day, but it is a great place to head over in the evening to see the mountains and walk in the grass.  If you are going to Baggins or Chili’s you should leave some extra time to take a walk in the park.

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