Starting with, say, the view again?



And the



This is a barn? Clearly, barn is a relative term. We bring our own prejudices. This is not what I picture when someone uses the word 'barn' but it's obviously what someone pictures from a year-round warm climate. Here, this is not even a shelter (which we distinguish from barns).


This is a barn. Chickens provided for scale. This is a small barn occupied by a coop, a lawn tractor, and a snow blower. It has a couple of stalls that were used by sheep at one time. Most folks around here use sheds which provide shelter on three sides for cattle and horses, unless said cattle and horses are valuable, in which case they rate a stall in a barn.


There's more life here than one would think. a wide variety of plants.


desert plants at the museum


Saguaro on the hills at the national park. There are almost none on J's side of town. This is how you know you've been there before. Lots and lots of saguaro. Lots of small holes in them for rodents and birds.


I like the way the branches stretch against the sky...J says that some do their photosynthesis on the branches, evidenced by the green tinge.

and now for pictures of San Xavier...sorry, no fry bread pics. Gone too fast for the camera's shutter to catch.
These are interior shots. Most of the exterior is under rennovation and covered.

main altar shot


the virgin's altar on the opposite side


detail from the roof, the rose pattern in the exact center of the church


the baroque paintings on the ceiling near the rose pattern