A delightful little discovery in a tiny tide pool pocket. A rainbow made up of thousands of shiny, colorful, iridescent bubbles. If you look carefully you’ll see my reflection.
A lovely way to end a beachy morning!
Worth the Journey
A little over 1400 miles to drive crammed in my Prius with the stuff I didn’t feel comfortable shipping and two cats…my journey began. First off, allow me a small rant about I-5 – it stinks! In southern California the traffic is horrific. In the central section it narrows to two lanes each way with an astounding number of semi-trucks (and some genius set their speed limit at 55mph while the rest of us zip along at 70mph which works just fine until one semi decides to pass another and we all have to slam on our brakes). In northern CA, and almost all the way to Eugene, I-5 winds through mountains which I happened upon at night with fog, deer, rain, and falling rock. Just a jolly ol’ time!
On top of all that, the denizens of my vehicle were NOT happy campers. I was tense from navigating road hazards, Bailey was severely constipated from stress, while Wylie reverted to feral after my (apparently) ill-advised attempt to enclose her in the bathroom at the hotel the night before. I started that leg of our trip with blood dripping from both hands.
In those moments, doubt barrels in. Who the hell was I to think I could follow my dreams?! And yet, after all that I was able to spend this morning on the beach. What a way to start the day! Other positive items: my boxes arrived with very few broken items, Bailey is feeling better, and Wylie tolerated me for 5 minutes. Perhaps I am doing the right thing after all…
A Warm Thanksgiving…
Literally and figuratively!
Our weather forecast for today out here in sunny Arizona. I’ll be heading out for a picnic and a hike with family later, which is a perfect way to spend the day (in my humble opinion).
Warm wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Cat Tree
Both my cats enjoy the outdoors (supervised, of course) but Wylie really revels in it. One of her favorite pastimes is tree climbing and there’s an old, sprawling mesquite tree which is perfect for adventuring. She carefully chooses her route, not based on ease but on her desire nay, her determination to go ‘that’ way. She is so intent on her destination that she uses paws and even teeth to remove small obstacles from her path. To an observer there seems to be no logic in her choice, there appear to be easier routes nearby but for reasons known only to her, those are not the direction she needs to go.
Watching her it dawned on me how much we have in common…
My Kind of Soup
It is still too hot in Tucson for any other kind of soup!
Thirsty Deer
A Mule Deer and her two young stopped by the ol’ watering hole in my front yard yesterday afternoon. My water dish is a popular place these days – our monsoon season has yet to bless us here on the west side of town. Or “nonsoon” as we’re calling our lack of summer rain. Hopefully we’ll see some moisture this week.
Babes share a sip:
Mom waters my saguaro:
Mom’s closeup:
Gopher Two-fer
Two for Tuesday! It was a Gopher Snake kind of day for me today. I was privileged to watch one drinking out of a pond at Agua Caliente Park on the east side of town this morning. My second one I spotted waiting hopefully outside a squirrel hole in my back yard on the west side of town this evening.
I will presume that Gopher Snakes are good luck (they do eat rattlesnakes after all).
Eating Twinkies with God
This video came across my Facebook feed a couple months back and I just can’t get it out of my head, so I thought I’d share it with you. Whether you are religious or not (whether you think of it as lowercase god – or as capital God) I think this message still resonates. Perhaps it is as simple as recognizing the divine in everyone…
Our First Day of Spring
Since I’m recovering from my second wicked cold of the year (dagnabit) my time outside today was limited. The cats and I spent the afternoon in the yard. You can see that they lead a life of leisure!
Since the temperatures have been unseasonably warm here the plants and wildlife have been busily doing Spring things for many weeks. One of our neighborhood Harris’s Hawks kept a close eye out, looking for dinner like a rabbit or packrat. Thankfully, Bailey is too smart and Wylie is too darn heavy!
As the sun slipped away, a warm breeze wafted over us carrying the sweet, exotic scent of orange blossoms (my favorite scent in the world) while coyotes serenaded. A perfectly lovely way to end our first day of Spring.
Someone Wasn’t Paying Attention…
Vanity plates* on vehicles are quite common here in Arizona and I amuse myself when stuck in traffic by trying to figure them out. Some remain mysteries but this one made me laugh. Even more so since according to Arizona’s Motor Vehicle Division, “All plates are reviewed for acceptable content.” Someone wasn’t paying attention!
*Personally, I don’t understand why anyone would buy a vanity plate in Arizona. It is an additional $25 annual fee and Arizona does not require a front plate – which leaves all that extra space for someone to express themselves. Oh well, I’m sure it is good for the state’s coffers.
