Wind Spirit is a one of a kind landscape with over a 1000 organic fruit and nut trees which are planted very close together with native
plants of the area, an oasis within the Sonoran desert See Gardens page for detailed
description of vegetation on the land.
Our land is located within
the Arizona uplands division of the Sonoran desert. This division has the most
rainfall
and plant life of any desert in North America and is one of the most
scenic and wettest deserts in the world! We get anywhere from 6-11 inches of
rain annually. Wind Spirit is on a south-facing plot of land that is located at
2750 feet in elevation, which is a near perfect climate in the desert southwest
for growing fruit and nut trees and some year round gardening. In the winter we
have citrus, olives, and we can grow some greens. In the spring we get peaches,
loquats, carob, mulberries, and still more citrus. In the summer we have many
stone fruits such as peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, apples, cherries, and
others such as guavas, almonds, mulberries, grapes, figs, and more. In the fall
we have more figs, peaches, pears, pomegranates, and walnuts. We have different
types of many of the fruit, which are ready for harvest at different times.
This creates a constant year round harvest from the land!
Wind Spirit has a 300-foot increase in elevation with our back canyon
peaks; these create a beautiful overview of the valley below and mountains in
the distance. The land
has a near perfect permaculture slope
grade to use for water catchments. We are located about 25 feet above the
100-year flood plain, which is located at the bottom of the valley. This gives
us great soil from long-term mountain run off. We also have some hills and canyons in
the back part of our property that have caliche soil for making adobe and sand
in the washes for sand bag construction. Our water has been tested several
times over the years, tastes wonderful and is very low in salt, good for our trees. We have a
high-powered well and irrigation system that feed all the trees, gardens, and
human needs. Our hope is to get a solar well put in before 2010.
Wind Spirit is located in a narrow valley surrounded by three beautiful
mountain ranges. The mountains range in elevation from 4,400-8,000 feet in
elevation. Most of this area is BLM, State Land Trust, or National Forest,
which is great for taking hikes and camping trips. The area around Wind Spirit
has some of the most diversified native plant life in Arizona, with all the
elevation change in
such close proximity. The San Carlos Apache
Indian Lands begin just three miles away from the land to the east. The tribe's
land encompasses 1,826,541 acres and has 10,000 members. The San Carlos people
raise cattle, mine gemstones and provide recreational spots in the area. The Apache were known
to eat over 1100 different edible plants in the region. It is said that there
are more varieties of edible plants in Arizona than in the forests of the
Northwestern Unites States! The north side of our land borders with State Land
Trust and begins miles of nature. The Gila River (which is one of the great
rivers of the southwest) is about 8 miles down the road. The river has
small rapids and can be used for kayaking, swimming, canoeing, or tubing.
Our temperatures on the land have wide range from summer to winter. Arizona is
for people who love the sun and warm weather. During summer the temperatures
can reach highs in the 100’s usually 45-70 days a year. The warm weather begins
in Mid-may
and last until mid-October. We get monsoon rains in the
summer which cool things down, our second rainy season. There are lots of fruit during these months and
the land is under a blanket of shade in many areas. We also have a small
pool to cool off in with water treated with colloidal silver and colloidal
copper, no chlorine. Several of the members think the summer time is the nicest
time of the year with near perfect temperature in the morning and evenings.
The fall can have mixed
weather. Usually we get some rain in October-December. The first frost usually
occurs between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The days can be quite warm in the
80’s to somewhat chilly in the 50’s. Winter usually only last about two or
three months. There are still many nice days of full sun and the weather is
usually between 45-80 degrees during the day and between 30-45 degrees at
night. Winter is another rainy season for the southwest, although some
years we get almost no rain at all, while other years we get lots of rain.
We
usually get on average about 1-2 snows per winter that usually do not last very
long, while the mountains around us get much more. The spring is one of the
nicest times of the year in Arizona. It is usually the driest season, but the
most perfect weather. Most of the days are between 65-95 degrees. If there was
a lot of fall and winter rain then the wildflowers in the desert are absolutely
amazing. In early March many of the trees on the land are all flowering at
once, the citrus is blooming, wow, which looks and smells wonderful.
Wind
Spirit has almost all of the native animals and insects that
live in the Sonoran desert. Many of the animals, reptiles, and insects
hibernate from late fall to mid-spring. We do have many kinds of snakes scorpions, tarantulas and other spiders, gila monsters,
coyotes, foxes, skunks, rabbits, deer, lizards, toads, desert turtles, havalinas
(wild pigs),
and many more. There are some poisonous animals and insects on the land, but it
is very rare that any serious injuries occur from interactions with them. Most
of them are not deadly, overrated, and not aggressive. Our land is a bird
sanctuary due to the abundance of plant life at Wind Spirit. Many bird
watchers have come to our land and commented on the unusually diverse population
of birds that live here with us. We also have owls, hawks, ravens, buzzards,
crows, cardinals, and orioles to name just a few.
If you have any further questions about Wind Spirit community, our
trees, permaculture practices, our water, the climate, our soil, or plants and
animals of the Sonoran desert, then send us an e-mail and we will get back to
you as soon as possible.
- Photo's
- On the path
- Our neighbors
land
- Local Mt. range
- intersection on
a path
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