baby birds

First it was the mama bird, now these two little babies, driving Lily buggy by sitting in her Mesquite tree. She has run, barked, jumped, and stood on her hind legs, everything short of climbing the tree, to try to encourage them to leave but so far has had no success.

color

I've been excited to discover some color on ripening fruit and veggies in my garden this week. I hadn't seen the two little limes but when I moved the plant I smelled them. What a lovely scent.

shabbat shalom

Yesterday we our small group that often meets to worship on the Sabbath had the privilege of joining with other believers in a 26 hour worship and praise event at a local high school. For five hours we worshiped, danced, sang, and prayed. Little Haley epitomized how we all felt by the end...tired and content enough to lie down and sleep peacefully right there on the theater stage.

invasion

 Lily is a great watch dog. 

She lets me know whenever people, coyote, rabbits, mail truck or anything of potential danger is approaching the house. She doesn't limit her warnings to just land invasion but also announces when birds fly in air space she considers her territory. Hawks, perched on the top of telephone poles, are a particular menace to her. This morning, however, there was an invasion of an unknown kind when a low flying big red hot air balloon came within striking distance, she barked and growled under her breath, watching if move across the sky until it drifted out of sight. 

What a good watch dog.

water therapy

When Lily got her last splint off after her accident last fall the vet suggested we meet with the puppy physical therapist. I took our resident nurse along for the consultation to help me interpret the medicine talk. The vet pt said it could take up to a year for Lily to recover completely and recommended therapy to help her heal (think $$$ here). When we left the office, my nurse-friend suggested we look on Craigslist for a free spa so I could do water therapy with Lily at home. In less than 24 hours we had a 5 person spa loaded on the trailer and headed to Mountain View. 

Lily has recovered nicely. She was very patient with me during our therapy sessions although I think she might be having hot tub nightmares. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I've been able to enjoy some water therapy myself.

owl sunset

 

We have an owl that frequents our neighborhood.   I often hear him but rarely see him. When he does show himself it is typically too dark to even think of photographing him. Just the other day, however, I heard him questioning before the sun had completely set. I grabbed my camera and followed the who-ing hoping to spot him before I startled him and he relocated elsewhere. I found him on the phone pole a stones throw down the street and was pleased to click the shutter a couple of times capturing  his silhouette.

weed week

 Last week was Weed Week. Without my attention this spring the yard had become overgrown and hazardous. A trek across the property required covering ones ankles with protective gear.

 Because of the high temps I tried to go out each day for a time in the morning and again in the evening...following the shadows around the house as much as possible.

I'm happy to report Weed Week was a success. Although not every weed was eliminated the dirt looks considerably better. To celebrate I found some pretty pearl lights to illuminate my swing.

prickley pretties

The Saguaro's are blooming! 

The Saguaro's are blooming!

 

As I worked in the  yard this past week I noticed the large number of visitor the cactus blooms host. The birds somehow manage to find a landing pad on top of the unopened blooms. I've even noticed some very large black birds visiting the open buffet. Typically I have to photograph the tropical looking flowers from the ground pointing my camera at the top of the tall cactus. However, yesterday I found a wonderfully preserved bloom knocked to the ground. I was surprised at the carpet-like layer of stamen at the center of the waxy petals.

When I visited Wikipedia this morning I discovered new information about this interesting bloom: 

The night blooming white and yellow flowers appear April through June and the sweet, ruby-colored fruit matures by late June. Saguaro flowers are self incompatible thus require cross pollination. Large quantities of pollen are required for complete pollination as there are numerous ovules. A well-pollinated fruit will contain several thousand tiny seeds.
The major pollinators are bats, primarily the lesser long-nosed bat, feeding on the nectar from the night-blooming flowers, which often remain open in the morning. There are a number of floral characteristics geared toward bat pollination: nocturnal opening of the flowers, nocturnal maturation of pollen, very rich nectar, position high above the ground, durable blooms that can withstand a bat's weight, and fragrance emitted at night. One additional piece of evidence is that the amino acids in the pollen appear to help sustain lactation in bats. The flowers remain open into the daylight hours and continue to produce nectar after sunrise. Doves and bees appear to be the primary daytime pollinators.

mary mary update

Extreme Gardening (How to grow organic in the hostile deserts) by Dave Owens, one of my current reads that I stumbled across at a rummage sale. I'm hoping it will increase my green thumb learning curve.

It has surprised me how much I enjoy spending time puttering in the greenhouse. I often linger, stirring dirt in the compost pile while plotting my next project. The shade and swamp cooler make it a pleasant place to be even in the heat of the day. Of course, there is also the eating part of the garden, lots of greens for salads and green juice, carrots, onions, beets and herbs. I've been planting in 5 gallon pots while waiting for Jay to have time to cut some more barrels for me. But alas, another weekend and it does not appear that cutting barrels will make it to the top of the priority list.

home alone

Early this morning the last of our company headed out. When jay arrives home it will be the first night since January first that we have been home alone.

The quiet is nice.