Lone palm and palms~SkyWatch Friday~040111

This lone palm is leaning over the lake at the Desert Springs Marriott in Palm Desert, CA. SkyWatch Friday, April 1, 2011. To visit Skywatch Friday, please go to: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

More desert colors and I still haven't found my Coolpix!!!

Just more spring colors from around the desert...Things are really blooming right now! And, I haven't found my little Coolpix...I'm really upset. I have NO IDEA what happened to it. The little yellow flower with the brown is has a chocolate smell! I don't remember the name of it, but all of these flowers and blossoms are at the Living Desert Reserve here in Palm Desert.

Friendly dog~Happy Monday~032811

This lovely gal was one of the dogs at the fundraiser at the park on Saturday. I just loved the expression on her face! Isn't she adorable? And, look at her hat! Her whole body said, "Hey, I'm HAPPY!" Happy Monday for March 28, 2011.

ACK~96 degrees here by Thursday!

Spring has sprung and the daily temps are rising here in the desert. I'm SO not ready for higher temps and the beginning of air conditioning days...sigh...And, cacti have started to bloom here in the desert, providing color everywhere. Temps are going to rise to 96 degrees by Thursday here. That means I'm going to have to dig out my capri pants!

Animal festival!!!

I was out and about Saturday morning when I decided to stop by our city's park and take some pics of their rose garden. NOT!!! A local animal shelter was having a huge event and walk-a-thon and the park was packed. Once I saw dogs, I was interested! So, I got out and wandered around, looking at both dogs and owners. Isn't it funny how dogs look like their owners? They really do! I enjoyed seeing all the dogs and I'm glad I stumbled upon this event. Next weekend, there is a tour of desert gardens and I want to go to that and take my camera! Enjoy the dogs and their owners!

Spring in the desert~

I had an exhausting day at school today, so this afternoon, after I got home, I went for a LONG walk. I grabbed my camera and found all these plants blooming in our low desert. From cactus to verbena to ocotillo, the desert right now is just starting to open up and bloom!

Just around the yard (flowers)

Just some pics from around the yard. It's been too wet and windy to drive up to the ranch, so I've stayed home this week. The pink flower is one of my sweet peas which has decided to open. Then, orange and yellow African daisies, and finally orange blossoms from my neighbor's grapefruit tree. Enjoy!

snow covered mountains and my little Coolpix is GONE!!!

The other morning, on my way to school, I glanced over at our local mountains and saw all the recent snow in the morning light. I took this photo with my Nikon D40x. Unfortunately, I also took some photos with my little Nikon Coolpix, which I now cannot find! I had it in my car and I'm thinking it might have slipped out of my purse. But, I searched the car and I can't find it, so now I'm worried that it might have fallen out of the car onto the parking lot at my school. I was taking stuff out of the car and if it slipped out, it probably landed on the asphalt in the parking lot. In that case, I'm sure it was picked up and taken to a new home! ACK! I've had that little camera for several years and I took it everywhere with me, because it was so small and compact. I could whip it out and take a quick picture without having my big Nikon around my neck, so it was really handy. Do you have a compact camera? If so, which one do you have? I'm going to have to start looking for a new one and I'm thinking of buying a little Canon...any ideas/suggestions?

Purple snail vine

I wandered around my yard the other day, looking for things to photograph, and I spotted this purple snail vine flower. Snail vines grow very well (and quickly!) here in the lower desert. One vine was protected from the vicous frost last month, but my other one nearly died. It is making a slow comeback and doesn't have any flowers on it yet, but I'm sure it will soon! I have both of these growing along our dog fence (chain link) in the back yard. I'll be sure and take photos as they grow and bloom.

I left school on time yesterday and saw this!

I left school on time yesterday afternoon after watching the sky all day. There were clouds hanging on the mountains all day and I was eager to drive up the mountain road to see the snow. I didn't have to go far! Only 10 minutes up the road and the snow was still coming down on the Santa Rosa mountains. Hmmmm....not sure if the horses got snow, but it was DARN COLD! More rain is forecast for tomorrow, so it will be a soggy week here, but the wildflowers are blooming and I need to take my camera out this weekend and get pics of them!

A face only I can love!

This is my cat, Abby. She was one of 4 kittens that my cousin's cat had a couple of years ago. Valerie's purebred Oriental shorthair escaped from her RV while she and her husband were visiting Orange County. Valerie went back, posted signs, and a couple of weeks found her cat (who is deaf), but Mom had a surprise a few weeks later (actually...4 of them!) I took Abby, a colleague at school took one of the males, and Valerie kept another tabby. I don't know who has the other black one...Abby has the Oriental shorthair face and long body and she is SMART! She constantly outfoxes all of our dogs and follows me to bed every night! If she gets cold at night, she buries herself under our covers. She also loves to curl up on my stomach while I'm typing, although right now she's dozing on my cozy blanket which is behind me on the chair! She was sleepy yesterday morning when I took these photos. I'll try to get more of Abby soon. I didn't even drive up the mountain yesterday as it was cloudy and dreary all day yesterday.

Time change~Scenic Sunday~March 20, 2011

Are you still adjusting to the time change? I am. I love the fact that we now have more time in the afternoon, after school, to get out and do things because it was getting dark so early before the change! But, in the morning, I'm awaking when it is still dark and my body is confused. I need to get back out and do my morning walk, but now I'll be walking when it's too dark to take any decent photos! So, I went back through my archives and found these. Before the time change, I was able to get some beautiful sunrises, but now I'll have to wait until summer to get some because I have to leave for work about 6:45 a.m. But, I will be able to get some sunsets! So, I guess it is a trade-off. I took these photos last fall. Enjoy your day! Scenic Sunday for March 20, 2011. To see other participants in Scenic Sunday, please go to: http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Cold day today and another storm moving in!

It was a very cold day today up at the horse ranch and another storm is moving in overnight. At first I thought I wouldn't even drive up there, but then I remembered that Quad and Sunni would probably need more sweet feed and bermuda grass pellets, so up I went. Up on the mountain, they not only get cold temps, but with the wind blowing, the air feels a lot colder! I had on a t-shirt, a long sleeved Old Navy hoodie, and I was FREEZING! I bought the feed and pellets, unloaded them, gave them to all the horses plus some oil, petted them, talked to them, and then hopped back into my warm, cozy car and headed back to the desert. It was warm there during the afternoon, but now the temps are dropping here, too! This storm is expected to drop more snow on our local mountains, down to 4,000 feet (AGAIN...)! So, the horses won't get a lesson on Tuesday because it will be too slick. I'm hoping that maybe mid-week I can make a trip up there, since MORE RAIN is expected next weekend...WHY does it only storm on the weekends?

Wall of crosses~Live Every Moment 031811

There's a store in Williams, AZ which we always visit. It's on Route 66, across from the jeep tour office there in town. Every time we go there, we buy another cross for our daughter, who puts them on a wall in her house. I caught the cross wall in the early morning light on our last visit. Isn't it interesting? Live Every Moment for March 18, 2011. To visit Live Every Moment, go to: http://liveeverymom.blogspot.com/

Our temps

Photos are Highway 89 from Prescott down into Wickenburg, Arizona. Flowers were on Highway 60. We arrived home to temperatures near 90 degrees! YIKES! That's TOO HOT and it's TOO EARLY for that kind of temps. The last two days here, it's been 88 degrees! But, there is a cool down coming and this weekend it will be down to 65 degrees with snow forecast for the San Bernardino mountains. :-)

Galloping horses~Williams, Arizona

We have a favorite store in Williams, Arizona. It's right across the street from the Jeep tours shop, which is next to the Pine Country Restaurant. Route 66 runs through Williams and it's a very interesting town! Isn't the glass beautiful? If I had the money, I would buy this and put it in my front window!

It's DARK outside!!!!

It's DARK outside and there's NO WAY I'm going out for a walk this morning! After being in Arizona last weekend, and never really knowing what time it was over there, I awoke to total darkness this morning! ACK! Here it is, time to leave for school, and it's DARK! Yesterday was 88 degrees here in the desert and today should be about the same and frankly, I'm just not ready for these temps! I mean, I have to dig out my shorts! But, by the weekend, it will be down to about 65 degrees with rain forecast for Sunday. Oye vei! I'll have to put the shorts away! I found this pretty work of art in a shop in Williams, AZ. We love to stop in Williams and have breakfast or dinner at the Pine Country Restaurant.

Mikey~for you! Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

We drove home from Prescott today (Monday) and took Highway89 down through Wickenburg. What a cute town! I can see why you love it, Mikey! I wish we had time to stop, but maybe during our next trip in April! Anyway, along Highway 60, we saw lots of yellow wildflowers. I finally pulled over and hubby and I took some photos of them. They were bright yellow, at the peak of their color! Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday for March 14, 2011. To visit Macro Monday, please go to: http://lisaschaos.com/. To visit Mellow Yellow Monday, please go to: http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/

Went to the Grand Canyon and all we saw were....

CROWS or RAVENS! They were everywhere! And, Lisa, talking about how difficult it is to take decent photos of them, NOT at the Grand Canyon! The crows there were so tame (maybe because people feed them?) that we and other visitors could walk right up to them and snap some pics! There were two at one overlook and they just allowed people to walk up to them, take a few pics, and move on! We found another pair at the Indian ruin turnoff and they hammed it up for the camera! So, I got my "crow" pics! Here are just a few...Unfortunately, we got to the GC right at high noon, and it was pretty washed out, so I concentrated on the crows and the junipers!