A changing of the seasons

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to take down the fall decorations and put up the Christmas ones.  First, however, I have to find them out in the garage.   Since our rain is over (for now), this would be a good morning to put on my shoes and go out there and rummage around.  Our two male outdoor cats sleep out there, huddled together.   One is over 15 years old (our daughter brought him to us when a family at her school had to move and couldn't take "Mr. Gray" with them), and the other one is only about 6.   But, they do sleep together to keep warm!   I made them a box with a blanket in it, but they prefer the garage.   Don't worry...they have cat beds out there and an old chair to sleep on!

Our mountains are COVERED with snow!!!!   Even Joshua Tree National Park got snow, and it got more than a dusting!   I'll try to find more photos as they are posted on Facebook, but this one is especially pretty (below):   WOWZA!   We certainly didn't have that much snow last winter!

And, this morning it is 35 degrees on our front porch.   I'm going to have to cover up the bougainvillas tonight, for sure.

I did venture out to the post office yesterday to mail some bills.   Traffic was...a nightmare.  I stopped by Sam's Club to buy gas, but they had their gas station all taped off and it was... CLOSED.   I'm going to HAVE to buy gas today somewhere.

Until next time...
Cheryl Ann

Glad I got my seeds planted!

I'm so happy that I got all my seeds planted 2 days ago.   In fact, I went out that afternoon and planted sugar snap peas along the chain link fence!   And, I raked an entire area where I want to put my spring garden.   I'm going to keep throwing my coffee grounds out there and raking them into the soil.   I have a bag full of horse manure to spread around, also, so that area will be nice & fertile by spring (if the STUPID DOG stays OUT OF IT!)

We got sprinkles yesterday afternoon and it was DAMN COLD here with the wind blowing.   I made the mistake of going to Whole Foods because the 6 year old granddaughter needs some white grape juice (she has a severe stomach virus AND she's lost 4 pounds!).   She ended up in the ER Tuesday night crying and in extreme pain.  The ER was absolutely packed.   I've never seen it like that.   And, I drove home and left Papa with our daughter and granddaughter, since I can't manage to stay awake after 9 p.m.   They waited... 7 HOURS.   He was dropped off at 4:30 a.m. and we all got there at 9:30 p.m. the night before. 

Anyway, Whole Foods was nothing but... a headache.   The store was PACKED and they only had 3 checkers and there were 3 lines with at least 10 people and carts in EACH LINE!   I mean, what is WRONG with that store?   People were grumbling and rolling their eyes.   After that I went to Trader Joe's.   THEY had every line open and there was only 1 person ahead of me there.   Now, THAT is a well-run store!   And, I had to return in the afternoon because hubby wanted to make pasta for dinner and we had no sauce or sausages or red wine!   So, back I went, and it was still well run!   They get 5 thumbs up.   Whole Foods gets a ppppffffftttttttt!

So, enjoy the holiday with your family!
Cheryl Ann

Getting ready for the coming storm!

I'm like a mad chipmunk right now, scurrying all over the front and back yards, busy planting seeds in anticipation of our 3 days of rain starting Wednesday this week!   I planted all kinds of herbs in the front garden and I've supplemented my hollyhocks and sunflowers out back.   I even planted them in some places among the rocks in the front yard! 

Out next to the mailbox I planted seeds of lupine, larkspur, and California poppies.   I didn't reseed that area with hollyhocks because, frankly, I have enough of them elsewhere.

So, I'm looking forward to this week's rain.   The snow level could be down to 4,000 feet!   WOW!   That means snow up on the road to Idyllwild and maybe even snow at the horse ranch!

Just a few photos from the horse ranch 2 weeks ago.

Stay safe and stay warm!
Cheryl

Dogs and horses we've said goodbye to...Memories...

I was looking through my feed and saw that Carson over at the 7 MSN hasn't posted since the loss of her beloved dog, Smooch.   I didn't post for about 6 weeks after I lost Ripley.   I just couldn't talk about it.   Or Beauty, or Cali.

I was remembering when our kids were toddlers.   We had 2 collies, a brother and sister.   BJ, the male, looked like Lassie.   Heather, the female, well, she looked like a collie but with German Shepherd tan coloring.   She had the long, collie hair, but no white mane.   BOTH of our kids would grab onto their fur and toddle along beside them!   It was hilarious!   They were good dogs.  We had BJ for about 11 years and I think maybe he had a stroke one afternoon.   My husband was out of town and I was alone with the kids (who were teenagers by then...).   He was screaming in pain.   I ran to my neighbor's house and she helped me lift him into the back of my pickup and off to the 24 hour emergency pet center I drove.   They put him down there.  I came home with an empty truck and a bucket full of tears.

Heather we gave to my grandparents.   She was an excellent watch dog and she spent the rest of her life with them.   She followed my grandfather all over his yard and NEVER let anybody she didn't know into their yard, which was a good thing, because by then they lived on a street with a lot of traffic.Their little, old house and a neighbor's were the only 2 residences left on the street.   Their home was torn down just a couple of years ago.   I don't think anything is there yet.   Oops!   I stand corrected.   THIS is what is there now:     https://www.google.com/maps/place/53+E+Duarte+Rd,+Arcadia,+CA+91006/@34.1299208,-118.0288269,3a,75y,353.95h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sW8buqNpM2vsquBhMSo_Q7g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c2dbd040980b8b:0x52ee970ff24e22f8!8m2!3d34.1300334!4d-118.0288323

My grandfather's victory garden is long gone.   The elm tree is gone, as well as his greenhouse.   My grandmother's geraniums are gone.   All I have are the happy memories of their house.   They used to walk down to the corner to buy their eggs.   Grandpa grew onions, radishes, rhubarb, turnips, corn, and he even had an avocado tree.   They walked me to the bus stop from the time I was in first grade through fifth grade, never missing a day.   Now it is I who transports my grandkids from school home or from day care home.

Enjoying these days of autumn

I'm loving the soft, autumn light that comes through my craft room window every afternoon.   It has that golden touch.

Birds are returning to the desert.   I went to COSTCO 2 days ago and bought 5 bags of birdseed for $5.99 each.   They are the 20 pound ones.   Today I'm going to WalMart and buy 2 bags of sunflower seeds for $8.99 each (I think they are 40 pounds?).   Anyway the Cooper's hawk is keeping the birds away pretty much now.   They fly in early in the morning, stuff themselves, and then leave before he/she swoops down from above.

Hottest day this week will be tomorrow (of COURSE...the day I have to go pick up the granddaughter from school at 1 pm).   Then, temps go back down into the low 90's and upper 80's, which are PERFECT DAYS here!

Just a few pics from this summer below: (all photos taken at the Living Desert Reserve here in town)

Hummingbird encounter!

Yesterday morning I noticed that my 9 hummingbird feeders ALL needed a cleaning and refill, so I took them all down, scrubbed them, cleaned them, and refilled them with sugar water.   While I was taking one out to the back yard, the female hummingbird who seems to like to stay in our yard all summer came up to the feeder as I was holding it and took several LONG drinks.   She cautiously eyed me, but didn't fly away, content to get a nice, fresh, nourishing breakfast!   And, I got a nice look at her.   What an experience!

I'm sitting here now at my desk and 2 verdin are in the acacia tree right outside the window.   I bought a thistle seed sock at WalMart and yup!   There they go...right to the thistle seed!   I'll have to stock up on it.   They are making the little sounds I heard yesterday morning, I guess, because I hear it again today.  And, the other one is answering back.   It is a male and female.   The male has a LOT of yellow on him!!!

I'm going to meet a friend at the Rancho Mirage library this morning.   They have an Aspen Mills little cafe there where one can buy coffee, bread, or GINORMOUS chocolate chip cookies!   I like to take the 6 year old there, but her mother said "NO MORE SUGAR!", so we definitely won't be going there for cookies!

Oh, wait...there is ANOTHER bird with yellow here this morning...he is in one of the feeders and I can't really see him, but I saw his yellow underbelly!   MORE VISITORS are returning to the desert!   YAY!

I listened to the crows go to sleep last night and they were calling until about 10 p.m.   I was reading one of the Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child agent Pendergast novels (Still Life with Crows) and I couldn't put it down, but my eyes got heavy...FINALLY!

Until next time!
Cheryl

FALL is here!

I love sitting at my tiny desk, with my laptop in the morning watching all the birds come to the feeders for breakfast and there is quite a crowd this morning!    On the mornings when the Cooper's hawk is on the hunt, however, like yesterday, the front yard is quiet and empty.   But, today it is happily full.   I heard the call of a new little bird this morning, so I'm thinking the migratory birds must be back.   Then I heard the soft reply of its mate.   That really perked me up!    Our neighborhood woodpecker was out pecking and cackling in the mesquite yesterday and I need to fill up my hummingbird feeders this morning.   So many chores to do before 7 a.m.!!!

I've got hollyhock seeds planted in the back yard and they have already sprouted in our 95 degree weather last week, but this week will be cooler.   It was 57 degrees on our front porch this morning, the first morning to break 60 degrees overnight.   Even the bees were huddled in their hive up in the cottonwood.   NONE were outside.

...life goes on...

Not much going on here...

Not much going on here.   I did make a trip up to the horses on Tuesday because our mobile vet was coming by the ranch to give the herd their shots and to check their teeth.   And... SURPRISE!   NONE OF THEM HAD ANY SAND in their gut!    A MIRACLE!   AMAZING!   INCREDIBLE!   The ranch owner has switched them ALL to pellets!!!!  Only Miss Scout didn't need her teeth done.   Sunni got his done and I think it is only the 2nd time ever.   Of course, Quad was a perfect gentleman!    Cathy, the ranch owner, had to give Sunni his shots and his sedative because he wouldn't let the vet (also a woman) get near him.   He was a REAL BRAT!   But, they got the job done!   Gigondas was a GOOD GIRL and stood quietly for her dental drilling.  I'm GLAD that is over for another year!

My garden was doing well out in the front yard until 2 days ago when a huge branch of the damn mesquite came down.   We got some guys to come out and remove it and they completely trampled my flowers, so I'll go out and pull 90% of them out....sigh...The branch landed on one of our bougainvilla shrub, so I'll also have to go out and trim it.   They are returning today to cut 2 more heavy branches which are hanging up over the house.   Better to get it done NOW than risk one or both of them falling on the house!!!!

I'm still working on my journals, but business is SLOW.   One would think with Christmas coming, they would move out of my shop at a quicker pace...sigh...

I've already started planting my hollyhock seeds in the back yard.   I want to put in some sugar snap peas (I have 3 packets of them) and some herbs in the front yard, but the front yard will have to wait until these guys finish today.

So, that's all for now.

Gigondas stood quietly

 Quad stood like the pro he is.

 Sunni had to get sedated by the ranch owner and she also gave him his shots.

Sunni gets his teeth done.   He was SUCH a BRAT.

Just trying to survive the heat!

Not much going on here.   Hubby and I, the dog, and the cats are just trying to survive the summer's heat.   However, this summer has been NOTHING like 2018!   That summer nearly did us in!   We had many days over 118.   So far, this summer, I believe we've only had 3 and one was yesterday.   (okay, it was only 117!)....But today it will be 118...So, we just stay indoors all day. 

I go out in the morning, water my plants, feed the birds, change the hummingbird sugar water, and do about a 15 minute yard cleanup.   We have, however, been able to open up our windows until about 9 am. and then I run around and close them ALL.   Poor Bodie (our dog)...it is too hot for him to be outside during the day, so he sleeps ALL NIGHT and then naps ALL DAY.  I've never had a dog who slept so much!   Maybe he thinks he is a cat?

My hollyhocks are drying out and probably next week (or when it is a cool morning), I'll go out, rip them all out, and use the weeder.   I've been procrastinating doing this because they DO provide a nice barrier from street noise and views.   I still do have my sunflowers and my zinnias and cosmos, however.

Here's a link to my YouTube video (the most recent one).   I need to do one either this morning or tomorrow...     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFX88YW_jVM&t=9shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFX88YW_jVM&t=9s

I need to go out and do a garden update.   I didn't realize the last one was a month ago!

That's all for now!
~~Cheryl Ann~~

Just enjoying a few days before the HEAT arrives

All last week we were able to open up our home at night and let the cool 60 degree air inside.   NOT yesterday morning, however.   The remnants of hurricane Alvin came into the valley and it was 78 degrees at 6 a.m. and HUMID!   Ugh.   So, I hibernated all day and finished another journal.

Today, however, it is back to 68 degrees out on the front porch and so all our windows are open.   68 degrees on July 1st!   Incredible.   Northern California is supposed to have a hotter-than-normal summer, while Southern California is expected to have a less hot summer (THANK GOODNESS).   Our last 2 summers have been absolutely HORRIBLE!    We need a break.   Hey, as long as I can open the windows for an hour or two in the mornings, listen to the birds, and feel the somewhat cool air, I'm happy!

KERSPLAT!

KERSPLAT I went Sunday morning.   I had decided to clean off our side porch, sweep it, and hose it down.  I hadn't cleaned it since...last summer or last fall and the dog hair was piling up and there were cobwebs everywhere.   It really needed a good cleaning!

So, after hosing it off 3x, I went to turn OFF the hose, and I even reminded myself to be careful in one muddy spot (I had my flip flops on...)....but, OF COURSE, I went KERSPLAT right down onto the ground.   I didn't even have time to throw up my arms to protect myself.   I landed on my right temple, my glasses went flying (I was able to find them...) and I lay there for a couple of minutes not sure if I could hoist myself up.   Hubby was in the living room, watching TV and I knew he wouldn't hear me if I called to him, so I gingerly got myself up and stumbled into the house.   I must have looked like something out of Predator, the movie, because my entire right side was covered with mud and leaves and I even had mud on my face and in my hair.  I checked and didn't feel anything broken, so off to the shower I went.    After that, however, my right elbow stiffened up and I could barely move that arm.   I put ice packs on it and settled down to watch 5 episodes of "Band of Brothers" and changed the ice every 20 minutes.   That did help.   I took a couple of naps in between.

It is still sore 3 days later, but not as much, and I'm gradually getting back my range of motion.   Like I said, the darn thing happened so fast that I didn't have time to react.

Now, this is 3 years after Gigondas spooked and knocked me down in her corral.  I'm 67 now and I just don't have the reflexes to react to things like I used to, which is why I don't ride my horses.  ANY OF THEM.   PERIOD.   Not going to take that chance, no sir!

So, I'm staying indoors and working on a few journals.   Besides, it will be 115 here tomorrow and it is too dang hot to be outside except very early in the morning.

Well, summer is HERE!!!!

Until this week, we haven't had to have the air conditioner on 24/7.   We now do.   Temps are well up in the 100's and nights aren't cooling down, like they did last week.   Last week we were able to throw open the windows and let the cool nighttime air flow into the house until about noon.   Nope.   NO MORE....darn!!!

I did a video here about my summer garden.   Please excuse me constantly clearing my throat.   I had a NASTY, HORRIBLE stomach virus, which seems to now be a head cold and my voice was all scratchy, but you'll get to see my "babies"...zinnias, cosmos, marigold, and some other plants.  Here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vZJmHM0LMo

I didn't realize how NOISY the birds were!   Aren't they enjoyable?

~~Cheryl Ann~~

Yard cleanup on.... HOLD

Well, the yard cleanup is SUPPOSED to begin this morning at 8 a.m.    Yeah, right....It has been postponed now for so many days, I don't even remember WHEN it was supposed to start.   Oh, it was Monday.   Today is Thursday.   Apparently the guy we hired to do the job hasn't been able to find a trailer...LARGE ENOUGH to haul off all our dead tree branches!    His nana stopped by yesterday to talk to us (she and I talked) and that's his story anyway...so, we'll see.

I start jury duty Monday.   I had to go in yesterday and the judge let those of us (about 20 out of 100) go who didn't have EXTREME hardship sob stories.  He was going to hear everybody else's stories over the next 2 days.   And, yes, it is a LONG trial...sigh...

Temps are heating up here...triple digits by the weekend.   We HAD to turn on the air conditioner yesterday when it got to be 86 in the house.   SUMMER IS HERE!

That's about it for now.
~Cheryl Ann~

Yard cleanup

We had winds so bad last weekend that we lost a branch of our mesquite out front and about HALF of our Chinaberry in the back yard.   A crew is coming tomorrow to cut them and haul them away and do yard debris CLEANUP in the back yard.   We need help!   Hubby and I are both tool told to be cutting branches that size and we have no means of hauling them away.   So, there goes part of our tax refund.   BUT, the back yard will be cleaner and I'll be able to see the back fence again!

My hollyhocks survived all the winds, but they are looking, well...a little thrashed.   Poor things.   I keep watering them and they keep blooming, however.   I DID plant 2 curved rows of cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, and a light small sunflower out front, along with 2 mint plants and a Thompson seedless green grape vine!   And, it is in a semi-sunny area that will get afternoon shade, so they should do well.   Everything has sprouted.

I NEED to get up and visit the horses, but it won't happen today or tomorrow and I'm on jury duty "standby" for next week, so maybe next weekend I can get up to see them.   I let the ranch owner borrow our battery pack weed eater and I need to get it back.

So, things are moving along...slowly.   Life during retirement is sometimes slower, but I had to babysit 2 days last week, so I lost track of time!   Only 9 more days of school this year....YAY!   Then school starts up again about August 7th...right during the middle of our monsoon season when the humidity is... unbearable!

Have a great weekend!
~Cheryl Ann~

Hollyhocks and rainbow

I've been busy here.   I made a journal for a friend's birthday and that nearly did me in!   It turned out to be HUGE and I could barely shut it.   And, guess what?  Now I'm making another one to put in my ETSY shop:      https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertsandBeyond?ref=pr_shop_more

It was a grimoire (grimoire "light")...I'm not into spells or stuff like that, but I did find a digital journal kit with herbs, so I included 20 pages of them.  AND, the most exciting part:    I found a video posted by a mixed media artist on a STUNNING journal cover: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7JUF_Dn-6M&t=543shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7JUF_Dn-6M&t=543s

I nearly passed out fron all the work for the cover, but it is absolutely GORGEOUS!   And, yes, I'm planning on doing one for this next journal.    You can see my YouTube flip through here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lXbUIre5dI&t=5shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lXbUIre5dI&t=5s
This journal was a real work of art! 

But, I digress...
My hollyhocks out front are just STUNNING!   They are 8 to 9 feet tall. They sway in the wind and they don't break off, like my sunflowers did.   The sunflowers were decimated by the winds which come from the west.   They broke, they dried out, but NOT the hollyhocks!   They are thriving.   I planted last year's seeds and I'm going to do that again next year and plant them ALL across the front of the yard.   They really do make a beautiful hedge.   I went out yesterday morning to feed the birds and I could smell rain and I looked up and there was a gorgeous rainbow.   OF COURSE I took 10,000 photos of it, but I'll only post a few here.

 Hollyhocks and rainbow and palms

 Hollyhocks by the mailbox

Hollyhocks and palms

I put in a seed order with Botanical Interests and I now have over a dozen packs of seeds to plant:   cosmos, zinnias, Mexican sunflower (although I collected last year's seeds also), and a couple of herb packets (rosemary & lavender).   I really LOVE lavender and rosemary!   My rosemary bush out back is thriving in its 3 year here.   One chilly morning I went out to water it and it was so cold that when I sprayed it with water, mist rose from it and the most delicious smell!    We have had a cooler than normal winter and spring here and we are ALL hoping that this summer will be cooler than normal, too.   I remember a couple of years when we didn't even have to consistently turn on our air conditioner until AFTER July 4th!!!!!!!    July is our hottest month here and August we usually have our monsoon season, but that seems to be changing and it now starts in June and lasts through September.

Our pup is doing just fine.   He has grown into a good looking young dog (he is now 18 months old).   He sleeps with us every night ON THE BED and he snores.   he still loves to chase the cat, however, but one swat will calm him down.   He slept on the bed with me yesterday afternoon when I watched "50 to 1" on Amazon (about Mine That Bird, who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50 to 1 odds).  Good flick.   I LOVE horse movies, as long as the horse doesn't die.  My grandfather used to take my mom and aunt to Santa Anita to see Seabiscuit run there.   He told me stories about Seabiscuit, Whirlaway, and Citation. I, however, remember Native Diver, who also ran in Southern California.

But, I digress (again)...

So, eveerything is pretty normal.   I feed the birds in the mornings, do a little yard cleanup, take the kindergarten granddaughter to school, come back, eat breakfast, and work on my journals for the rest of the day.   I DO NOT watch the news (too depressing)...

Cheers!
Cheryl Ann

What DOES "organic" mean these days?

I'm really not sure what "organic" produce is these days.

Does that mean that NO pesticides were used?   What about neighboring fields?   Does the pesticide that they use drift over the organic fields?   And just HOW organic is organic?

I'm going to do some research on this.   If anybody has any, please let me know.

In the meantime, I'm buying some ORGANIC seeds from our local nursery:   yellow squash and beans.   They are from Botanical Interests.   Here's the link to their website:

https://www.botanicalinterests.com/

Rainbows, windmills, and wind...oh, my! SkyWatch Friday for March 8, 2019

It was another week of rain and wind here in our desert.  I'm not complaining, however, because by this time last year, we were up in the 80's and 90's, temperature wise.   So, on this morning I had grabbed my camera because I did see some rainbows and I wanted to capture at least one of them.

We have another storm moving in this weekend...

SkyWatch Friday for March 11, 2019.   To visit SWF, please go to this link:     http://skyley.blogspot.com/2019/03/skywatch-friday-7-march-2019-edition.html

Babysitting the 2 year old last week

So, the 2 (nearly 3) year old grandson had a bad spell of coughing last week and his Mommie FINALLY took him to the doctor on Tuesday and he has pediatric bronchitis.   OY!   So, Nana got to babysit him Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, which meant I had 3 13 hour days.   I was sick myself on Thursday with some kind of stomach cramp virus (24 hours) and I honestly don't remember much about that day except that both he and I took a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon!

by Friday I was feeling somewhat better (still no appetite).   However, hubby did run out and get me some of Sherman's chicken and rice soup, which our family always gets when one of us is sick and that seemed to help me A LOT.   I was actually thinking about getting out a syringe and pulling out just the liquid for the 2 year old, but I figured he would just spit it out all over the couch, so I restrained myself.   It probably would have helped him, don't you think?   Anyway, he is on 10 days of a liquid antibiotic and some prednisone (ugh...)...I don't think Mommie is giving him that any longer because it made him SUPER HYPER and we ALL don't need that!!!

I will probably have to babysit him ALL next week, so I'm taking a bunch of my fabric and crafting supplies AND my sewing machine with me.  I also still have to drive Miss Ellie to kindergarten, so we will venture out to do that and then stay at his house.   Poor hubby will be left to fend for himself.

Oh, well...such is life.
~~Cheryl Ann~~
Here's the little man with his Daddy at the Living Desert Reserve.  He IS a handful!

Farmers Market visit

So, our daughter and grand daughter went to our local Palm Desert farmers' market Wednesday.   This was Miss Ellie's first trip!   She had a visit from a tiny farmers' market during day care, but this was her first real one.   She did get to sample an orange, but refused a date or any other item!   She did get to experiment with an old fashioned scale and stop and smell the sunflowers.   She really seemed to have a good time and I found a vendor who sells some kind of small orange.   I bought 8 of them for $2.00 and they are sweet and delicious.  I'm going back to visit him Wednesday next week and buy 8 more!   We all had a good time.