Getting a Pet Tortoise in Arizona

Getting a Pet Tortoise in Arizona

They’re not fluffy, they don’t play fetch, and they certainly don’t roll over. But there is such a thing as a lap tortoise.   Each year the Arizona Game and Fish Department makes hundreds of captive desert tortoises available for adoption. These tortoises cannot...
Arizona Monsoons, Haboobs, and Microbursts

Arizona Monsoons, Haboobs, and Microbursts

UNDERSTANDING THE SONORAN DESERT’S SUMMER WEATHER   Arizona has unique weather patterns compared to the rest of the country, with terminology not used in other states. When it comes to summer weather, most year-round residents look forward to the monsoon...
Safety Checklist for Holiday Lights

Safety Checklist for Holiday Lights

Thomas Edison created the first Christmas light display in 1880 at his Menlo Park laboratory. Two years later, his friend and colleague Edward Johnson decorated the first Christmas tree with 80 blinking red, white and blue electric lights. He perched it on a revolving...
Fountain Hills Backyard Oasis: Rita Applegate

Fountain Hills Backyard Oasis: Rita Applegate

Rita Applegate’s backyard is where she goes to relax after a busy day in the Fountain Hills Community Garden, where she’s the Garden Manager. Her desert oasis is the result of imagining what she could do with a ho-hum yard. “When I first moved into this home...
Things to See in the November 2022 Night Sky

Things to See in the November 2022 Night Sky

As the world’s 17th International Dark Sky Community, Fountain Hills is a unique dark sky oasis in the Valley of the Sun. Here are some things you can see in November 2022. PLANETS Mars (after 8:30 PM in the East), Jupiter & Saturn overhead, Venus (right...
Think Twice before Planting a Ficus Tree

Think Twice before Planting a Ficus Tree

Take a walk through a neighborhood in Fountain Hills, and you’re bound to see a beautiful ficus tree growing in someone’s yard. Their sturdy trunks and dense green foliage are tempting to homeowners who want some extra shade and more green in their...