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Patagonia Regional Times
Halloween Scenes 2022: Sonoita Fairgrounds Community Party
This year’s Community Halloween party at the Sonoita Fairgrounds featured costume contests, cotton candy, a cake walk, hot dogs and nachos, hay rides, a D.J., and more than a hundred excited kids and their families. The Sonoita Rodeo Queen greeted party goers at the door and handed out fake...
Halloween 2022: Patagonia Trunk or Treat
At this year’s Trunk or Treat event, about 18 vehicles lined up against the Town park’s south edge, each displaying its own brand of Halloween wackiness. Kids with wildly varied costumes (and a few adults) cruised everywhere, and the gazebo had been colonized by spiders playing music with enough beat to get a few dancers going. A cowboy was seen riding on a pekinese, humans rode on horses, witches abounded, gory body parts were occasionally spotted, dinosaurs danced, monarch butterflies flitted, festive color and lights were everywhere, hot dogs were scarfed up, and of course a river of candy flowed.
Crowds, Rain Mark Artisan Market in Patagonia
This year’s Sky Islands Fall Artisan Market was well attended despite the unexpected October rains. The Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance (SAACA) along with the Sky Islands Tourism Association (SITA) partnered again this year to sponsor the event. Now, in its 32nd year, the market can attract more than 15,000 visitors to Patagonia’s lovely tree-shaded park in the center of town.
Garden Guides: Natives and Non-Natives
I absolutely love and respect the native plants of southern Arizona. They are a precious resource for wildlife. Many are in decline in their natural habitat due to multiple factors, including climate change, and it’s extremely popular to landscape with strictly native plants as a result. I talk with...
Starstruck: A Wide-Angle View
People have asked me if I have a specific object or two in mind when preparing for a night under the stars. Sometimes. But usually, whatever plan I begin with quickly falls apart and I wind up looking here and there without any focus. The funny thing is that the viewing is always better that way; serendipitous stargazing always seems to lead to something better than I would have otherwise seen. If only that were true everywhere.
Let’s Go Get Stones: Melendrez Pass
The Santa Rita Mountain Range lies due west of where I live in Elgin. (Note to Siri: it’s Elgin as in gin and tonic, not Elgin as in the Greek Marbles pilfered from the Parthenon by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, in the first decade of the 1800s.) The Santa Ritas are the first range that I look to in the morning and the last one that I see if I go out to watch the evening sunset.
Nature Journeys: Nature’s Daring Dispersers
Getting around – dispersing, if you will – is one of the key ecological tenets of life for the vast majority of species on planet Earth. Many do it of their own accord, employing wings, legs, fins, and even torsos (think snakes) to make it from point A to point B, and beyond. Other less mobile species rely upon other modes of transportation, traveling at the whims of a variety of forces of nature. November is prime time to witness some of this latter group, particularly our pernicious prickly plants. Let’s take a look at some of our local Sky Islands hitchhikers.
Cowbelles Celebrate 75 Years
Karen Bond, President of the Santa Cruz Cowbelles, welcomed guests to a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Santa Cruz County Cowbelles, held Oct. 22 at the Patagonia Museum. Guests at the party included AZ State Cowbelle Secretary Trina Sue Riggs. Live music was provided by Bruce Andre.
GPS, Internet Vulnerable to Solar Storms
In February 2022, SpaceX launched 49 satellites from Cape Canaveral two days after a solar magnetic storm slammed into earth. Forty of the satellites failed to reach full orbit and disintegrated during reentry despite ground controller attempts to save them. The atmosphere was too thick, and the satellites could not reach their higher, more stable orbit position, wrote Marcia Dunn of the Associated Press.
Glimpses Into Our Past: O’Donnell Canyon
O’Donnell Canyon in Canelo runs northeast from the Canelo Hills and is adjacent to Sycamore Gulch. It is most likely named after brothers Anthony and Patrick O’Donnell whose ranch is identified on Roskruge’s 1893 Official Map of Pima County. Neighboring ranchers included James McCarty, Victor Igo, Fernando Martinez, J. Rice, T. Rice, and Samuel Hunter.
New Teacher Profile: John Lynch
John J. Lynch, a Southern California native, is the new Patagonia Union High School math teacher. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, where he studied math and anthropology, he has taught math for the past 30 years. Students at PUHS have welcomed his presence at the school. “Mr. Lynch is...
Play Serves Up Dinner and a Murder at PUHS
Students at the Patagonia High School entertained audiences with two performances of “Café Murder,” an interactive murder mystery and dinner theater experience, held Oct. 25 and 26 at the school. Guests were first served a murder themed meal, prepared by Audrey Doles, that included bloody basil soup,...
Nominate Your Neighbor
The first annual PRT Good Neighbor Award will recognize the efforts of residents who are making exceptional contributions to our communities. Do you have a good neighbor? Are there any unsung heroes in your community? Perhaps somebody has gone above and beyond the normal call of duty during these challenging times? Whether he or she has provided care and support for others, is always on hand when needed, performs acts of kindness, is an active volunteer in the community or has simply been a friendly face around your neighborhood, you can nominate them for the PRT Good Neighbor Award. Prizes will be awarded to recognize these individuals and the winning stories will be shared in the January issue of the PRT and online.
New Amenities at Doc Mock Park to Be Celebrated Nov. 12 at Public Gathering
Please join the celebration at 2p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the Doc Mock Park in Patagonia. Speakers from the Patagonia Tree and Park Committee, the Town of Patagonia, Patagonia Creative Arts Association, Borderlands Restoration Network, Sky Island Tourism Association, the Patagonia Museum, the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center, and the Arizona Trail Association will share interesting information about the park’s development and many new amenities. There will also be a ribbon cutting and refreshments.
Letters to the Editor – Nov. 2022
I read with interest comments from PRT readers objecting to my use of the term “Food Desert” in a PRT interview on food insecurity in our community. I am not interested in engaging in an argument about labeling or parsing definitions. My reality, as president of the East Santa Cruz County Community Food Bank, and the reality of our many client families in Eastern Santa Cruz County, is that there is a food crisis that makes support from our organization for the elderly, disabled, single parents, low-income adults and families essential to their wellbeing.
Town Council Notes – Sept./Oct. 2022
The Mayor and Council approved a special event liquor license for the AZ Trail Association for November 3-5, 2022, in conjunction with the Spirit World 100 bicycle event. The Mayor and Council approved a proclamation of the Town, declaring October 2022 to be “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” in Patagonia.
Mountain Empire Rotary Club Notes
2022 continues to be a very busy year for the Mountain Empire Rotary Club (MER). The Club will be holding a “Game of Thrones”-themed Casino Night Fundraiser on Nov. 5. Hope you can join us for an evening of gaming, fun, food and silent auction. Remember that these fundraisers allow the Club to continue with projects supporting the needs of our community. Details are available at: mebrc.betterworld.org/events/casino-night.
Sign Says
When we bought our house on the main street, we sort of knew what to expect. In the five years of glorious home ownership, we have come to expect and endure the festivals, street construction, highway noise, parades, helicopters, hordes of javalinas, and bicyclists camping the park. What we didn’t expect is people walking into our house.
You Can’t Eat Alfalfa
A bumper sticker I recently saw read: “EAT BEEF: the West Wasn’t Won on Salad.” Ironic, I thought, since the West may be lost to alfalfa. Alfalfa that is grown here…for cattle. Maybe you’ve read the statistics, seen the photos: Lakes Mead and Powell now at...
Life Among the Humans: Whaddya Gonna Do?
Somebody mentioned “Career Day” at the high school, when local adults come in and sit at tables in the gym to talk to kids about the kind of work they do out there in “the real world” and help promote awareness of the possibilities. It’s noteworthy...
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