Drought adapation

Here are some drought adapted native trees- NOT! This is obviously a poor tree choice for Yuma. This sort of thing is quite common to see just entire rows of dead trees. This row of death extends all the way across the front of the house and around the side. I sort of wonder what the home owner thinks as they drive up to their lovely landscape every day?

Landscaping

Here is pretty typical Yuman landscape. Look hard, not a living plant on the property. And yes people do live in this house I have seen them. And yes that is the ever popular Yuma window covering-tinfoil . Sometimes these people come outside and water their dirt.

100 Vacumms

Here is one of my first Yuman experiences: I wanted to buy a vacuum and didn't want to go to Wal-mart. So I saw this second had store down my street that had about 100 used vacuums all weather beaten and left out in the sun. But I went in anyway and asked how much for a vacuum. Twenty bucks the chain smoking guy said. I said great, do they work. Not a one of 'em he said. The he proceeded to tell me that they all had broken belts, brushes or something wrong with them and that he was going to have this kid come by and fix them all. I asked if I could plug them in to see whats wrong with them. Nope, was his answer. So, twenty buck for a vacuum cleaner kept out in the sun, that you know doesn't work. With guys like this out there no wonder Wal mart is so popular.

Lessons in Hibernation

For six or eight months a year Yuma is sunny, breezy, and perfectly warm. Perfectly warm in a way that you are so comfortable you don't feel or even think about the air around you. Then there is the rest of the year which provokes statements like "you can fry an egg on the sidewalk" or "after Yuma, you will need a down coat in hell". Simply put the sun is brutal and poisonous; something that you need to avoid and protect yourself against. Dense plantings of trees, covered awnings, and large porches are all aesthetic and logical lines of defense against el sol, except if you live in Yuma. In Yuma scores of residents remove all greenery from their property so that their homes literally glow against a white-wash backdrop of sand, rock, and sometimes weathered stumps of forgotten trees. Tin foil covered window and doors to shield homes from the penetrating poison. Behind these sheets of thin metal the residents hide and wait for the winter to return.