It poured. The sun came out. It hailed. And then it dumped some more. My rain gauge recorded 1.5 inches – the biggest storm of the monsoons at my house. The great thing about the rain was that it came in pulses, which gave time for my soil to absorb the water. I ended up with a lot of puddles but not a lot of runoff which is exactly what I wanted. Both of my 5,000 gallon cisterns are now half full – yippee!
Discovered this oh-so-true-for-me quote in the recent Nature Conservancy magazine:
“You can herd a bison anywhere it wants to go.”
Stubborn is one descriptor often employed for me. I like to think of it as determination and perseverance. I know I was born this way, “I do it myself!” was one of my favorite childhood phrases. Over the years I think this trait has served me well (mostly).
Bison, National Bison Range, Montana, August 2008
I admit it, I am a pluviophile! Growing up in the Sonoran Desert molded me into a lover of water but especially rain. I watch the clouds and track the drops. Rain makes me and the plants and the wildlife very happy indeed.
The lack of rain during one of our 2 rainy seasons makes me crabby. I’m getting a wee bit fed up with the folks on the east side of town with their puddle photos. I’m tired of hearing about their inches of rainfall. Grrr!
Apparently, there needs to be a word that describes a rainless pluviophile. Come on, monsoons!
Sunshower! At least it started raining…
Tonight’s slithery critter earned a wider berth. I discovered this Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) when walking out to close the gate (forgive the poor photo quality, I used my cell phone). Good thing I spotted it, snakes aren’t terribly fond of being stepped on.
I think I’ll leave a note for my back yard kingsnake suggesting it move to the front yard!
A little excitement here this evening, we found a Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) in our yard. It was at least two feet long, glossy, and quite healthy looking. It quickly decided that it did not want to hang out with us and slithered under the fence. It feels good to have one living nearby since they are known to eat rattlesnakes.
Here’s a couple shots of the snake peeking out from its safe place. And the reactions from Bailey and Wylie. As you can see, old Bailey was not nearly as interested as young Wylie.
Excellent article from Audubon showcasing the wide variety of bird sounds used to vocalize the dinosaurs in the smash summer hit Jurassic World. Very fitting since birds and dinosaurs are so closely related!
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, do so. It was a fun romp, the special effects are amazing, and there is a moral aspect to it that should leave you with plenty to ponder.
And because I’m a Parrothead – keep your eyes peeled for the guy “rescuing” not one but two margaritas. It’s Jimmy Buffett’s cameo and a perfect role for him.
Harris’s Hawk, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 12-27-2013
Apparently, I don’t get out much, I only learned about this brilliant online game, Freerice yesterday. When you play you not only work on your vocabulary skills you also help to donate food to the hungry through the World Food Programme.
The advertisers on the page buy 10 grains of rice every time you get a right answer.
You don’t have to sign up, you can just start playing, but if you do sign up you can track your scores through time. I think everyone should give it a try – not only is it for a good cause but it’s fun!
Fair warning, it is addicting! I popped over to just check it out. An hour (or so) later it was awfully hard to turn it off…
If you try it – and trust me, you should – let me know what level you reach. I’m trying to get past Level 46!
Since I’m playing volleyball this summer for the first time in an awfully long time I felt I needed a refresher. Now that I’ve seen this video I understand the game perfectly. It’s like I was born in the Palace of Volleyball. My opponents need to prepare themselves!
I found this in my Grandmother’s recipe collection. Ah, those were the days, back when Dr Pepper was one of the discerning cook’s tools!
Dr Pepper is more than a fizzy drink, check out this recipe for Dr Pepper Candied Sweet Potatoes which I picked up years ago during a visit to the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas. Enjoy!
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