The Land WS

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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