Hassayampa, Temple Grandin

Hassayampa River Preserve, near Wickenberg.

This is an oasis in the desert, complete with native palms. The river emerges from underground here, via 26 springs (originally), dug out decades ago to form a small lake, which is now being allowed to sediment in and revert to its natural form, which will take a while, already almost three decades since The Nature Conservancy got hold of it and stopped messing with it. An area with picnic tables is surrounded by desert palms (like the one in my front yard) which are loaded with drooping, fruit-heavy inflorescences. Birds make a constant racket here when most of the preserve is pretty quiet by mid-afternoon when I've been able to drag my butt out of the house to go anywhere. It's said to be a birdwatcher's paradise, which I hope to sample one day early and binoc-equipped. Squinting, I saw robins and flickers, and a ring-neck duck on the pond, and coots of course, and smaller birds I couldn't see well enough to name. I had a pleasant, slow walk. Half the trails were wiped out by our recent rainfall extravaganza, which also remodeled the riverbanks. I was surprised to see an enormous bull stopping for a drink, though why I was surprised, having already seen cloven imprints in the sand, is beyond me and a testament to scatterbrained relaxation in retirement, apparently not only from work.

Tonight I watched the HBO film "Temple Grandin," which I've been hearing about for weeks on NPR as they interview her and replay old interviews. I also saw her at a local bookstore where she plugged her latest book along with the film and was quite entertaining. She's a damned handsome sixty-something woman! Poised, gracious, funny, with a tendency to coast off track in response to some questions. Oh how she must get tired of repeating the same stories over and over! I heard her say how much she liked the film and how Claire Danes played her absolutely perfectly, so I've been eager to see it. It is a wonderful film! It kept me laughing, choking up, and teary-eyed the whole way through. Claire Danes really ought to get some awesome award for the role. She played its heart out.