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With as busy a month as December was, it is no wonder that the time disappeared quick as a wink. Since it was the season, there were various holiday gatherings and celebrations mixed in with our house projects and work assignments along with a smattering of interesting short excursions.

Tucson is so diverse that there never seems to be a shortage of events and activities to attend. Work and other obligations limit what we can participate in but thankfully we still manage to get out there. December was a crazy busy month for Lance so he had to skip a few of the outings. But hey, when work comes your way during this difficult economy you’re grateful for it.

Early in the month I attended a bird walk at Sweetwater Wetlands led by Rick Wright, a very talented “bird nerd.” We know Rick since he manages WINGS, a birding company, one of Lance’s clients. While we enjoy birding and have learned a great deal in the past several years we still feel like amateurs so I was a wee bit intimidated to be in such renowned company. Thankfully, my worry was for naught. Though Rick’s skill was prodigious—he identified far off tiny dots as birds without his binoculars and deciphered species from mere snippets of song—his main goal was to make the rest of us better birders. Anyone that encourages me to think of a Northern Shoveler as a floating football is cool with me!

Next up was an evening of acoustic music shared with friends Dennis and Heidi. Though the venue was less than optimal for live music the tunes were good and the company was great so we can’t really complain. Besides, where else can you sit outside on a patio and enjoy the stars without freezing in December? Might as well take advantage of Tucson’s mild winters!

A few days later I hit the trail with a naturalist from Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation. Lance had originally planned to attend the hike but a particularly vexing web issue kept him indoors instead. Truthfully I think it best that he wasn’t along since our hike progressed at a snail’s pace—our group kept stopping so our guide could explain some of the Sonoran Desert’s unique features. Besides, now that I know the trail Lance and I can wander back there and explore on our own some day.

The hike’s turnaround spot was at the ruin of a house built by a husband and wife who homesteaded in the Tucson Mountains in the early 1930s. Sherry and Ruby Bowen built their sturdy house out of rocks and other locally available materials. I imagine they had to be pretty resourceful since at the time, their house was way out in the boonies west of town. Though the roof has long since disappeared, the walls, the fireplace, and bits of plumbing remain in remarkably good shape. From the looks of it, it was a small yet comfortable home in the middle of the desert. And wow—talk about a view!

Though it wasn’t pristine desert even back in their days—since there were several mines in the Tucson Mountains—the Bowens certainly had their share of encounters with wildlife. Ruby recorded several in her diary, so—lucky for us—the tales survive today. My favorite was the passage where she described a Mountain Lion that attempted to get into their house through a window after smelling their dinner on the stove. Though Cougars still roam the Tucsons the Bighorn Sheep that Ruby used to watch graze in the valley are long gone, victims of the various pressures that a growing city exerted on their habitat. Thankfully for the remaining plants and animals (and fellow nature lovers), a large chunk of the Tucson Mountains including the old Bowen homestead, are protected within the boundaries of the Tucson Mountain Park.

Speaking of wildlife we had our own encounter last month. While Lance and I were working in the front yard (well, Lance was working, I was talking) we turned around to find three very curious, and not in the least bit timid, Javelinas. By the time we noticed them they were within five feet of us. Since we had rakes and shovels in our grasp we were not scared, just surprised. It looked like they were going to hang around for a bit, so I slipped around them and grabbed my camera from the house. I honestly figured they would disappear immediately, like most wildlife does when a camera comes into view.

I felt quite fortunate that they stayed around long enough for me to take a few photos. After they finished their examination of our yard and found nothing to eat they moved off down our driveway. Quickly and quietly they disappeared into the jumble of desert growth. All that remained from their visit were tiny prints in the dirt and a skunky, musky odor that wafted around our yard long after they were gone.

While the Javelina visit was a particularly memorable event, our yard offers up surprises daily: a Cooper’s Hawk snatched a groggy dove from the ground for breakfast, an American Kestrel made a valiant effort at a Verdin, a Coyote slunk through the brush, a Harris’s Antelope Ground Squirrel climbed up the spines of a barrel cactus to reach the fruit. Then there are the non-critter curiosities, like the hot air balloon that drifted over our house on not one but two mornings last month. Many moons ago when I was in college I had the urge to skydive (but never had the money). My new aerial goal is to ride in a hot air balloon—does that mean I’m getting old? Or perhaps I’m a bit wiser now; jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with a bit of satin strapped to my back is no longer as appealing to me.

When not marveling at the above-mentioned events and working, we spent time with family and friends, which is one of the more important things about the holiday season for me. Getting together, sharing stories and great food. I’d love to say that a good time was had by all but I know that my Aunt Shirley did not enjoy sitting next to me during our after-dinner Skip-Bo game. She seemed a bit put out that I didn’t leave her any easy plays!

Near the end of the month the Nissan Leaf Zero Emission Tour stopped in Tucson so I swung by for a peek at the electric car that Time magazine picked as one of the “50 best inventions of 2009.” It is nice looking and the features sound great: fully charged it can go over 100 miles in the city (less on the highway). I think it will make a fantastic commuter car, especially when you consider that the average person drives roughly twenty miles a day. Pima County is one of the five test markets where Nissan will start selling the Leaf in late 2010. In preparation, some charging stations have already been installed around town, and more are planned along I-10.

Though it does not use any gas or oil and has no tail pipe (and therefore it does not release any exhaust) the Leaf is not perfect since the majority of electricity in the U.S. is generated by the burning of coal, a fossil fuel that has a sizable impact on the environment. During my visit with the Leaf I was surprised to learn that according to the U.S. Department of Energy our current electrical grid has the capacity to power 84% of electrical vehicle commutes without building any additional power plants. It may not be a perfect solution but as Voltaire once said, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” On that level, the Leaf is certainly an interesting alternative.

And that is how we ended our year—with hope for a better and brighter future.

Photos: View the photographs from December 2009.