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Wind Spirit is a one of a kind landscape with over a 1000 organic fruit, nut and native trees which are planted very close together, truly an oasis within the Sonoran desert See the Gardens page for some photos and description of vegetation on the land.
- Photo's
- On the path
- Our neighbors land
- Local Mt. range
- intersection on a path
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 6-13+ 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 many vegetables from the gardens. 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 with some hills and canyons in
the back part of our property. Our water quality is very good, tastes wonderful. 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 2012.
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
United States! 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 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 cool things down and is 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 24ft
pool to cool off in with water treated with colloidal silver, colloidal
copper and very little 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. 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 were good winter rains the wildflowers in the desert are absolutely amazing. In early spring all the trees are flowering, covering the land with an array of beauty and wonderful scents.
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. 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.