Side Trips
The other day I drove girl’s softball to Sahuaro Ranch Park in Glendale. I decided to take a walk around the park while the games where ongoing. There were some lemon trees off to one side and as I got closer I could smell the light fragrance floating from the blossoms covering the trees.
Memories from my childhood flooded back. As a child my brothers and our friends would hang out in the abandoned groves not too far from our home. Parts of the old groves were used as bicycle trails, the old grey mud turning into a slippery clay like substance when it rained. Some of the other boys put rope around their tires to turn them into mud tires. We called that part “crazy eights” due to the way the paths crossed each other.
Hidden deep in the center of the grove was an abandoned rock pit. We spent summer days swimming in the rock pit, jumping from the tree swing, rowing around in an old half-sunken boat. My brothers were always a bit more adventurous than me. I worried about what was under the water while they swung from the rope with abandon.
As I was mentally entertained by ancient memories, I walked in between the trees. There was a certain coolness about the air. In the desert when you want to farm you build dirt berms to hold in the water, forcing it into the roots of your crop. The path I walked down rose and fell as it went between the trees and over the top of each subsequent berm.
I noticed that it was irrigation time. The water was slowly seeping towards me. I climbed to the top of the next berm to walk on the sidewalk. Behind the wrought iron fence I noticed more irrigation. Chickens, peacocks and doves were marching around plucking at worms and other bugs scared out of their holes by the miniature flood. A mallard and his mate were confused by the four inch deep lake and were swimming contentedly around.
The park is an interesting patch of green with a touch of history where you can have a picnic and walk through historical homes. And if you’re like me, maybe a pleasant flashback or two.
