slow dance

Lily loves to play and run.

Today we visited a neighbor who has a two year old dog and 2 four month old puppies. They have a wonderful time running, chasing, and tussling with each other. Yesterday we practiced a new exercise with me riding the bike and Lily running beside the bike. Lily is a quick learner and did very well for her first time. Given the chance she will head down in the wash on the back of our property and chase the birds and rabbits that reside there.

With all this exercise by the end of the day she is typically tuckered out and will nap until bedtime. Here are some cute pictures of her various nap positions.


This is a desirable nap technique if you have a cold nose.

Lily loves her toy spider. The spider is a good playmate as well as nap partner.

Tuck and snooze.

Belly up!

sunset ballet

Fixing dinner and sunset often occur at the same time. Because my kitchen window faces west I frequently watch the sky turn colors as I cook. Recently it wasn't the color in the sky but the reflection on the car that initially caught my eye.


After shooting the car I took snapped pictures of the sunset and the colored clouds over the mountains too.

mountain macarena

Today was a fun day. My husband's work van need some work done at the dealer. Instead of only taking an hour or two it ended up taking all day. Without his van he couldn't go to work.

We spent the morning and early afternoon going to garage sales. One of the garage sales we visited was right next to the tail head to the foothills of the mountain near our house. When I mentioned my desire to hike that trail with my husband he suggested we do that later today.

(no, we didn't buy the rocking horse but we did find plenty of other stuff we needed)

Jay is an excellent garage sale shopper and can out shop me. Somewhere between one and two my stomach started complaining. We happened by a restaurant I had been wanting to try.... a place featuring Native American fry bread. After a yummy lunch of fry bread taco we headed home to make a quick transition to hiking mode. In our recently purchased rummage sale hiking packs we put water, camera, comb and pliers (in case of Cholla cactus crisis), and a small shofar. After collecting the dog and her leash we headed to the trail head.

Note the rocky trail....you really need to keep an eye on the path.

We stopped to admire this octi-catci (eight armed cactus-we make that up).

Because we got a late start we only walked about thirty minutes up the trail. As we walked my husband kept commenting on the danger of wild animals....coyote, bobcat, mountain lion....and how we should really have some type of protection when walking in such a place, especially as dusk was quickly approaching. This fact was reinforced by the hiker we passed who had a handgun in his pocket. I did ok with the lions and tigers and bears talk but when he started talking about snakes I was ready to head back to the car.

What a handsome dog...Lily loved the trek despite the abundance of cacti.


As the sun began to set the mountain changes to a golden hue.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

desert hula

There is an Arizona barrel cacti growing near our patio. I believe this cactus also goes by the name of Fish hook cactus.


It has fruit on the top that look like miniature pineapples.

The fruit are eaten by rodents, deer and javelina as well as some silly dogs.

desert stomp

These photos are from a walk I took on the reserve land just down the street from my house. They were taken on an overcast day that allowed better photographic color than a typical sunny day in Arizona.
The reserve is surprisingly full of sounds.... insects buzzing, birds singing, quail flapping their way out of a shady brush, lizards scurrying to hide. There have been times that I've come upon a flock of quail without their detection. They make a funny whistling sound when they are huddled together under brush that reminds me of guinea pigs.

Sometimes I can find flowers in bloom.


Always lots of rocks in every size, shape, and color.

My least favorite cactui... ugly and mean

Interesting trees but many have thorns secretly hidden on their branches.

so many things to discover....treasures in their uniqueness...peaceful in their solitude

date dance

Over the weekend we visited friends on a date farm in the desert. On the way we encountered this interesting tree decorated with cooking pots.

The entrance to the farm was line with date palms.... a welcome sight after miles of desert shrubs.


Another shadow photo for you Amy...


We all had a wonderful time...including Lily...isn't she just as pretty as all the other flowers?

dancing in the clouds

picture this:
Thanksgiving morning... still wearing my pj's, talking on the phone, climbing on the roof in order to shoot the clouds on the mountain that look a lot like an avalanche.