In Search Of Flowers

Spring break, and enough time to repair our old truck. Hubby replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor and voila--runs like a champ . After record rainfall this spring we were hoping for lots and lots of wildflowers! The mountains are a beautiful green, the temperature in the 70's, and we can't wait to drive the back roads again!

A few miles out we came across this patch of flowers. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any closer.
We were heading west to the Saddleback Mountain.

I came across this lone poppy, and next to it hidden between two rocks this beautiful little Mammillaria engelmannii. I found the quarter earlier on my hike.

The poppies were sparse and there's not much chance of more blooming. The record amount of rain didn't start until January--about a month late for the seeds to get a good start.

I feel like this decrepit old cactus--and I'm beginning to look like it as well! This is what happens when you don't get enough sleep!! If you look again, you may see a cowboy riding his horse backward--see the tail raised high is a prancing pose?

This is the next step up from decrepidness when you add stress to the mix!
I am trying to be a better blogger and post more, but the lure of Farmville on Facebook has a hold on me. It's worse than drugs! I have five farms that I farm and I truly love them. I hope that soon it will lose its appeal. I wonder if I need an intervention.

Sock Puppet Cactus

This Saguaro cactus is in the median on the drive to my home. I have waited for years for the top of it to break off. It must have been damaged in some way to even grow like this, but it just keeps getting stronger.

It recently developed eyes and a mouth. Now it looks like a sock puppet. Not sure if birds or man did this. Some sense of humor! Hopefully, it is natural. Bird holes in Saguaros are considered natural as woodpeckers drill the holes to nest, then the nests are later taken up by elf owls and/or cactus wrens. All part of the natural cycle of life in the desert.

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My hubby is still receiving chemo twice a week. Unbelievable as it may sound--he is feeling fantastic!

Luckily, he started working again a few weeks ago-we need the added income to cover the expense of his nonstop eating! This is a completely different reaction than expected!

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We spent the past week in Georgia for my grandson's graduation from boot camp.We had two days with him--he could not wait for the ceremony to end. He had been craving a hamburger and a Dr. Pepper! After finding a good place to eat we explored the area then crossed over to Alabama. We experienced "boiled peanuts". (Ugh!) and fried cornbread and grits. None of it to my liking! It was very cold and I wore gloves, layers of clothing, a large coat, boots and ear muffs! All borrowed of course-- I don't own this kind of clothing! I am so thankful that I live in sunny Arizona. We paid for non-stop on US Airways and ended up having a 6-hour delay--mechanical problems--so we chose to take a small commuter plane to North Carolina with 2-hour layover instead. We finally got home and it was glorious to see the sunshine and all my flowers in bloom! Can't get any better than that! Yes it can--I only gained 4 pounds!

Volunteering and Day Tripping

This amazing sunrise photo was taken from my sister's front yard. The sunlight hitting the cloud swirls makes it odd and interesting.









We were leaving early to volunteer as Master Gardeners at the annual Citrus Clinic held a few miles away. This is our third year volunteering. Last year was supposed to be the last year for the University of Arizona citrus grove, which sits on leased land. However, with the downturn of the economy, plans were changed by developer and the land was leased back to the university. The citrus farm will be around for a while longer!

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Then, last weekend we took our favorite back road to Prescott. We stopped in Yarnell to look in this unique gift shop- full of unusual wood, cactus, gourds, etc...just looking.

Then on to Peeples Valley. The town is 4,800 feet high, and this year round climate is perfect for the cattle and horse ranches, giant cottonwood, pinion pines and black walnut trees that are scattered throughout the area. Population is around 400.

In 1952 my father wanted to move to this area to grow a new experimental grass that the University of Arizona Extension Service was trying out. But, my Mother refused to move, vowing her children were not going to be educated in a one room school house! Instead we stayed in a slightly bigger town (maybe 1000 residents at the time). Tragically, two years later my Mother, a brother and a sister perished in a house fire. I've always wondered, what if ..., but that's an exercise in futility.

I think I would have liked going to that little school!

I enjoy the sunrise over the lake, and then the sunset reflections from my east-facing patio! I love this time of the year when the sunset turns the clouds pink in the eastern sky! Sometimes it's hard to tell a sunrise from a sunset.

We have been enjoying our mild winter weather and not wanting to miss a minute of it, so we drove to a friend's home about an hour away. Hubby needed a refresher course on leather working, and there's no better teacher than Bobbie, a multi-talented artist.

This is some of Bobby's beadwork. So intricate and colorful. Wish I had the patience to do this type of work.

It looks a lot like spring in my backyard! Everything is bloom.

This 'N That

I'm still harvesting carrots every day! They will be gone next week and I finished the kale yesterday. I planted cauliflower, red cabbage and peas in their place. I'm loving my vegetable gardening.






This runaway sweet pea bloomed last week. The rest have a long way to catch up!






I picked one ripe tomato and have tons more!! A green pepper plant is also loaded!

The nasturtiums started blooming this week. I have two varieties in each planter.

I want out of this car seat!!!

It looks like spring has sprung in my back yard!!

Hubby has had it pretty rough the past few days. He has chemo treatments twice a week--blood tests twice a month at the lab--and at each treatment--another blood transfusion, and this will go on for 6 months, at least we hope only for 6 months. Our world changed overnight and we are so grateful that our insurance is paying for everything. And, the Dr. and labs are within 20 miles of our home, so no stress driving!

Life's Clouds Have Lifted A Bit

Good news! The Dr. told hubby that he will be around for a very long time with the treatments he will be starting soon! Everyone has a big smile today!





Great grandson enjoys the swing as much as his great grandma does!






I'm addicted to playing Farmville on Facebook! In fact, I am managing five farms! Friends and family got bored with it all and I picked up their farms from "short sales"! I love all the plowing, planting, gathering eggs, milking the cows, etc., while the background animal sounds draw me back to my childhood memories of farm life. It allows me not dwell on the "what ifs" and other overwhelming thoughts of Hubby's cancer diagnosis. I can't help but stay in a positive attitude when the baby calves or lambs are born on Farmville. It also keeps me from a sugar binge! So I really don't think of it as a waste of time, just a distraction needed from the struggles of life. That, and our family's ability to view humor, are the necessary ingredients to help us to focus on the positive. I'm not hiding my head in the sand--just trying to stay just on the surface of the sand. It's comfortable there.

Great Gifts--26 Years Apart

My sister gave me my most favorite gift for Christmas this year. It is a hardcover book of all my blog pages!





It captured all entries I've done, including all the photos, up to Thanksgiving day. I couldn't believe I had written more than 200 posts, and it was enough to make into a book!

My next favorite gift was....




On Christmas Eve in 1983, I received the latest in communication technology--a "small" Bell Atlantic Special Edition cell phone. It was the last gift I opened, and right when my husband handed me the gift bag, it started ringing! Although the range was limited, having a cell phone was still very unusual, so I felt really cool to be one of the first to get one. I still have the phone and I'm told it might be worth a couple hundred bucks. I would like to use it again in public just to see what response I would get! (That guy on the commercial for FreeCreditReport.com uses one like it after he goes broke because of ID theft, so maybe I could pass myself off as a D-list celebrity!)

We've come a long way, baby!

Huge! In five years, we will think today's cell phones are huge.