After much ado, we are finally moved into our Cave Creek digs.  Boxes are still piled in corners of their respective rooms.  The kitchen has all the dishes and cookery in its cupboards, the pantry is slowly being stocked.  While our morning walks have many smaller details to observe as we break trail in our new neighborhood, I am much relieved that we can still see Pinnacle Peak from certain routes.

It certainly helps to have cooler temperatures – which we have lazily taken advantage of by leaving later in the morning.  Not a problem, we can do this.  The days are shorter, but that doesn’t make the sunsets any less spectacular.  Mountains are visible in the distance from most directions, and the quails (noodle-heads to us locals) are still scurrying across streets and stretches of the open wash desert.  What is truly amazing is the fact that we can wander about and feel as though we have walked through the wardrobe (as in Narnia, in a manner of speaking) and be within a mile of our home.  Pretty neat.  It’s very much like being in Italy by my cousin’s place in Valdgano – which is located at the base of the Dolomites.  I have many fond memories of walks in both the neighborhood and the refuges we visited.  There is no description for the sudden shock of cold air when it greets a pilgrim.  Clouds become thick fog and then clear round the next corner.  The sun is a pale shawl of comfort, breaking through to full force in pockets.  Back then I could handle the steep incline of the path.  Today I need to work up to that type of rigor.  Years in an office environment has made me lazy and softened both my muscles and my resolve.  I am sure that with time I will respond to the endorphins and pick up the pace.  It will get easier as the temperatures are cooler and the need for heat overrides the temptation of laziness.