Sunday photos of the week

 I still have some flowers blooming out front.   I water them daily and keep an eye on them.

Cottonwoods and clouds~SkyWatch Friday, June 12, 2026

 One autumn, when we were both working, hubby and I took an extra 2 days off work and drove over to Oak Creek, AZ.   We wanted to see the fall colors and we weren't disappointed.   These cottonwoods were gorgeous and all of the oaks in Oak Creek had turned, too.   I'm glad we did it.   We don't travel much anymore.   SkyWatch Friday for June 12, 2026.   To visit SWF, follow this link:   Skywatch Friday

Flowers in my front garden

 I don't have many flowers now, mostly sunflowers out back, some cosmos, zinnias, and black eyed Susans out front.   July and August are BRUTAL here in the desert southwest and by August, everything is pretty much DONE.   Even the commercial farms let their acreage lie fallow during the first two weeks of August.   Nature takes a rest and we ALL just hunker down and try to survive!

I went out front yesterday morning, however, and took some photos of the flowers out front that I currently have.

Enjoy!

/cd

Sunday weekly review 060726

 

Just some pretty snapdragons to share today.

Thunderheads on the Rim~SkyWatch Friday

 Hubby and I used to drive up to the Mogollon Rim in Arizona during the summer monsoon months and rent a cabin for a week.  We both loved this time.  Thunderheads would form in the afternoons and then there would be a thunderstorm and rain...REAL RAIN!   It was wonderful to see, hear, and smell the wet earth.   Living in the desert, this was a real treat for us!

SkyWatch Friday for June 5, 2026

To visit SkyWatch Friday, follow this link:

Skywatch Friday

Why should I bother with this blog?

 June 3, 2026

I have migrated over to Substack where I get comments daily.   I don't even know why I bother with this blog.   I guess it's the fact that it's been up since 2006 and has so many memories for me.

That's all for today.

/cd

Bakery St. Helena

 June 2, 2026

Years ago hubby and I used to drive up to the Napa and Sonoma valleys.   His sister had a 40 acre vineyard up there and about once a year we would drive up, visit her, and visit other vineyards to taste and purchase wines.   We found this French style bakery in St. Helena and made sure to stop by it eveery morning for breakfast and treats to go! The kids loved to visit it!

Sunday photos of the week

 My kitten is watching me in between boxes of fabric.

Cosmos out back in my back garden.

My little free garden out front.   Two guys came by today and took the "Blind Date with a Book".

NOT doing a garden this summer

 I'm not planting a summer vegetable garden this summer.   

I was worn out last summer from having to go out and water the squash and pumpkins every. single. day. and sometimes twice a day.   I planted the pumpkin seeds behind the squash mound to give them some shade and protection and it worked out very well.

Unfortunately our water bills doubled.  I couldn't give away all of my squash and quite a few of them just rotted on the vines (there's only so much squash one can eat!). I have the seeds.   I just don't have the desire.

So, I will forgo a summer garden this year.

Maybe next summer.

/cd

Monsoon clouds 052826 ~SkyWatch Friday

 The monsoons will soon be upon us and I'm not looking forward to them this year.   About this time last year we had about 1/3 of the roof over our house replaced and about 3/4 of our garage roof.   The garage roof had several leaks.   Our house roof was damaged when our gardener and his crew cut down an overhanging branch of our pine tree and shattered about 7 of our roof tiles.   It had a previous spot where a branch from the eucalyptus tree came down, so I hired a contractor to repair and replace the areas on the roofs where work was needed.   I'm glad we got that done because this year we are under a "severe" monsoon warning for the summer.

Phew!

Monsoons are part of our desert environment.   They used to come during July (when our daughter has her birthday), but now they seem to prefer August and September.  They blow up from the Gulf of California into our valley and from that direction there are no mountains to stop them.   We have 8,000 to 10,000 foot mountains to the west and north of us, which is why the Coachella Valley is a desert.   It's difficult for clouds to get up and over those mountains, but, if they come up from the south, there is nothing to stop them.

It is 52 degrees out front right now, which is unheard of for May.   By Saturday, we'll be in triple digits, probably for the rest of the summer.   I always like to track how many days are triple digits, and I'll do so this year.

Photos are of a couple of different monsoon storms from previous years.   I'll update you on this year's storms.

Linked to SkyWatch Friday:  Skywatch Friday: Skywatch Friday - 14 May 2026 Edition

/cd

Retirement

  I retired ten years ago when the grandson nearest us was born and I haven’t looked back at teaching since. I do miss my students, but I don’t miss my administrator.

The day after the grandson was born, I retired. I’d put in my paperwork with my school district, I filled out my retirement papers with the state, I cleaned out my room’s 30 years of teaching materials (about 1,500 books), and never went back to my school again.

Instead, I had TIME to spend with the grandson and his sister, who is three years older. I retired April 30. By August, hubby asked, “Why aren’t you going to work anymore”? (I didn’t even tell him!) So, he decided to retire, too. (He’s a little slow…)

I did nothing that first year of retirement. I was burned out mentally and physically. I slept a LOT. I stayed in bed. I did NOTHING. But, by the second year, I was bored, so I had a lot of paper leftover from my teaching days and I started making handmade journals. I’ve always loved to write and I hoped others did too. I ended up making almost 200 of them (I think I got to 193). At first I gave them away, but then I opened an Etsy shop. I don’t make them to sell anymore. I do, once in a while, make one for myself.

Then in 2018, two years after I retired, I bought a new Brother sewing machine. I’d sewn often with my maternal grandmother and I was eager to take the time to do it right. I sewed fabric on the edges of my journal pages, I made fabric tabs, I even sewed fabric onto the covers of my journals.

Then, this year, I decided to try to make some simple patchwork tote bags for either books or shopping. I’d made some aprons and sold seven of them at the granddaughter’s craft fair for girl scouts, so I was encouraged by that. Now I have ten extra large tote bags and some smaller ones for this year’s craft fair.

I also got interested in growing my own food, so I began a backyard garden. Unfortunately gophers got most of my first crop, so I switched over to using plastic tubs. I love the tubs and no more gopher problems! Last winter I grew celery, lettuce, peas, Swiss chard, early tomatoes, radishes, and even turnips. I’m not growing any summer vegetables because, well, I need a break. But, nexst fall I’ll plant another round of winter vegetables.

So, we are content. Hubby sits in his recliner and either watches TV all night or reads novels on his Kindle. He doesn’t drive anymore, so I have to run out and do all the errands. That’s fine with me as it gives me a break from him…ha, ha!

And, the two grandkids are close by. I pick up the grandson every Wednesday which is early release day (both of his parents are teachers) and either bring him her to our house or drive him down to his. We are very close now. (This is the one who looked at me when he was three and said, “When are YOU going home?” I guess he has forgiven me for putting him in time out!

The days now melt into one another and as summer approaches here in the desert, I’ll stay inside and sew and sew and sew. Soon it will be too hot to venture outside and I’m finding that as I get older, I can tolerate the heat (and humidity) less and less.

/cd

Just a little bouquet to share

 May 25, 2026...Memorial Day

Not much going on today.   I went out at 5:45 this morning and left birdseed for the ducks.   Good thing I got out there as Papa Mallard came flying in just as I finished.  Ravens showed up for leftovers.  Cats are fed, dog is fed, hubby has his coffee.

Just a little bouquet to share with you today.   These flowers were from my garden.   I haven't had many this year, unfortunately.  It was 100 degrees here in February, which is extremely unusual.   February is usually our coldest month.   Now it is in the low 90's and it will be in the mid-80's later this week.   GO FIGURE!  Last year I had so many blooming flowers that I gave away vases of them!   This year, not so much.

/cd

Sunday photos

 Taking the day off and posting some photos from previous years.   Enjoy your holiday.

Rainbow near the Santa Rosa mountains

Morning light

Mist and rain along Highway 74

Meadow and fence post along Highway 74 on the road to Idyllwild

Desert sand dunes

Do I have to have a desk to be a writer? 052326

 

Do you have to have a desk or laptop to be a writer?

May 23, 2026

So, I’m on Substack now and another gal asked if she needed a desk to be a writer.   Of course not!   It made me think, “Do I need a desk or laptop” to be a writer?

Nope, of course not!

I used to just take my journal, my pen, and my thoughts out back under our huge Chinaberry tree in the mornings and sit and listen and observe and write.   Now I do sit at hubby’s desk, right next to the window because I still like to hear the early morning birds and watch them come to the bird feeders and the orange slices that I put out for them.   I enjoy listening to the two wild Mallard ducks that come now to eat leftover bird seed and who enjoy sticking their heads in the rubber water bowl.   I HAVE to have my morning “fix” of nature!  

I’ve gone through a LOT of pens for writing in my journals over the past six years and honestly, I don’t have a favorite pen yet.   Sometimes I enjoy a good ballpoint (not too expensive!), but most of the time I just grab something from my desk.   I sure wish a pen company would send me some samples!  I can’t afford to buy a $40.00 pen.

Besides, it isn’t the pen that matters.   It’s the thoughts, the content, and some days are better than others.

I write about the weather, the birds out front, the grandkids, our dog, our two indoor cats, and my horses.  I try to stay away from politics unless I’m really upset.   Why bother with THAT nonsense?   There’s so much to observe, to hear, to feel…

I’ve been looking at all the photos I took for my three main blogs and realized I need to get out with my camera more often!   Some days, however, with these knees, it’s difficult to do much walking.   But, I’m going to try anyway.   I miss those days of just me and my camera.

 

347 words

/cd

Home grown veggies are so much better!

 

Home grown vs. store bought

May 22, 2026

Don’t let anyone tell you there’s no difference between home grown vegetables and store bought, even organic ones.   Home grown are so much better!

I’ve been growing my own vegetables now for several years.   I used to grow them in the ground, but one year we were invaded by gophers and they ate everything.   (Our dog caught and ate three of the little monsters right in front of me!) So, I was defeated.

Then I discovered container gardening.   I begged, borrowed, and bought every 18 gallon plastic tub I could find.   I ended up with about a dozen of them.  I put tree branches, pine cones, and pine needles in the bottom, filled them up with a mixture of potting soil and garden soil, and began planting.   I threw in eggshells and coffee grinds and even my green waste.

I bought two metal raised beds and had the son-in-law come put them together.   I’m actually not impressed with them.   They just aren’t deep enough and the plant struggle in them, so now I just put sunflower seeds in them.

My vegetables, however, did GREAT!  I had so many cherry tomatoes (I don’t plant the large varieties) that I couldn’t give them away. I also planted cabbage, lettuce, radishes, Swiss chard, beans, and peas.   Oh, and peppers.   Apparently I don’t have much luck with peppers because I only got a few.

It was a real learning experience for me. Here in the desert we just can’t plop stuff in the sand and expect it to grow.   We HAVE to add organic matter.  I used to drive the husband crazy with my bowls of coffee grounds and eggshells.   I now just buy bags of crushed oyster shells.

Our water is still pretty cheap and it’s just the two of us, so our water bill isn’t too much.  However, this year I’m NOT planting squash and pumpkins like I did last year.   We don’t need tons of yellow squash and I don’t have the energy for pumpkins, which I had to water every day last summer.

But, home grown vegetables DO taste better than store bought.   I gave away quite a few berry baskets of my tomatoes, or gave them away in plastic Ziploc bags.

At one point I did a price comparison of my berry baskets of tomatoes vs. the ones in the store.   They ranged from $3.99 a basket up to $5.99 or even $6.99, depending on the variety of tomatoes. But, the flavor and taste of my home grown ones were superior!

Maybe next fall…sigh…I need a rest and a break. Farming is HARD WORK!  

Oh, and I did plant sunflowers and I bought one lavender plant to put in a plastic tote near my tomatoes.   Also, I planted nasturtiums in two different bins to attract pollinators.  I let the sunflowers go until they are dry and then the little goldfinches come and gobble up the seeds. It’s so fun to watch them at the dried-out sunflowers every day now.

I don’t need to buy seeds for the fall.   I still have plenty left.   My plan is to revitalize my plastic tubs so that they are ready for fall planting and not plant anything for the summer.   Best to be prepared, right?

553 words

/cd

Sometimes I have to create and sometimes...

 

May 21, 2026

Sometimes I have to create and sometimes…

Sometimes I just have to go out and work in the dirt with my hands.   Being creative takes energy!   Whether it is making a handmade journal, or sewing, or yes, even writing, it takes mental and physical energy.  When I was creating journals, my craft room was a total mess.   I found that I couldn’t make journals and sew at the same time, so I ended up doing one or the other.   And, these gals that make twenty or thirty or fifty journals at one time?   FORGETIT! I tried making two at one time and ended up flubbing up the second one so badly I threw it against the wall and forgot about it.

But…ah…getting out in the dirt and planting seeds or plants?   LOVE IT!   I’ve never had long nails.  I think I’ve had a manicure twice in my lifetime.   Who has time for that nonsense?   My nails are kept short.   Mainly it’s because I was a pianist in my younger years and when my nails get to a certain point, I cut them off.

It’s also especially hard when you are constantly interrupted.   It’s either the damn dog wanting to go pee, or the damn cat wanting food, or the damn husband wanting something like, “Get me a glass of water.”   I SWEAR the minute I sit down to write or sew or create a journal, he’s screaming for something (he isn’t very mobile these days).   He must have a sixth sense that I’m sitting down trying to be creative when his MOST URGENT NEED of the moment HAS to be met.

He’s also a Type A personality.   You know, the logical, linear, laser focused analytical type.   And, I, OF COURSE, am the opposite.   Creative, loosey goosey, “go with the flow”.   We’ve had many clashes over the years about this.  Now when he stars his blathering I just get up and leave the room.   I’m DONE with that nonsense.

So, my days are filled with me trying to find a balance of creativity and taking breaks…LONG breaks.   I go out and feed the birds out front and back, I do a little raking here and there, I plant some new seeds, I pull a few weeds.   I have to do these things now before temperatures here get up in to the 100’s on a daily basis and it will be too hot to even go outside.

What are your thoughts or comments?

414 words

/cd

Journals and why I write

 

Journals and why I write

May 20, 2026

I’ve always been a writer.   I’ve always been a reader.   I’ve always been a good speller.   Hmmm….the three must be related!   I noticed that, as a teacher, my best writing students were those who read more.  They were exposed to more words.   They were exposed to more ideas and experiences and new worlds. Seems logical, right?

Anyway, I retired from 30 years of teaching in 2016 when our second grandson was born.  He’s one of the two grandchildren we have near us.   The other 5 now live across the country.  I was working when his older sister was born and I was bound and determined to be at home while he was growing up, so I retired at age 64.  I’m glad I did it.

However, I was so emotionally and physically DRAINED after 30 years of teaching that I did NOTHING for an entire year after that.   NOTHING.  I slept A LOT.  I didn’t read, I didn’t garden, I didn’t do much of anything.   I just destressed.

The next year boredom set in and I was restless.   As a former pianist, I realized that my hands weren’t keeping busy.  I found journal makers on YouTube and soon I was buying many different kinds of journals to see how they were made and I finally realized that I should be making my own, so I started making journals.   I had gobs of paper left over from my teaching years so I made them with those papers.   I added fabric to the edges.   I added lace.   I sold quite a few of them and started numbering them.  I think I got to about 197 or 297 (I’ll have to check) before I finally, just last year, quit making journals and focused on my sewing skills.  I bought myself a new Brother sewing machine in 2018 and I’ve been sewing up a storm ever since, mostly making aprons, tote bags, book bags, and other smaller items.

I started keeping journals in 2017.  I went through three of them fairly quickly.   They were large sized and I would take one of them out back, sit on a chair under our Chinaberry tree, and write while listening to the birds in the morning.   I even took one with us on our vacation to Arizona. 

I have three of my own handmade journals left and I’m already using one of them.  I don’t do art journals because, well, I’m NOT an artist.  I AM a writer.   I think.  I observe.  I listen.  I collect.   I write.

I write about the grandkids, my pets, my horses, my garden, the weather, what I’m reading (I have a separate reading journal), what TV shows I’m watching, and whatever else piques my interest. I don’t write about politics because there is already enough said about that subject.

If you want to see videos of my journals, you can look here on my journals playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/user/deserthorses5https://www.youtube.com/user/deserthorses5

More on this subject at a later time.

502 words

/cd

My current journal

Going outside in a desert environment 051926

 

Going outside in the desert environment

May 19, 2026

Both hubby and I were sick the entire weekend last week, but I’ve bounced back today, fortunately.   Hubby is recovering a little slower.   He’s also older than I am and he doesn’t get outside much.

Speaking of going outside, I awake every morning about 4:30/5:00.  I’ve always been an early riser.   I believe this is due to my maternal grandparents.   My grandfather was an old Midwest farmer, from Missouri/Kansas and my grandmother was from the same area.   Both were early risers and I spent many nights with them and learned many habits from them.   I’ve NEVER been a night owl, like my husband.

Therefore, I am “rearing to go” by 6 a.m. and now with it getting lighter earlier, I’m out puttering around in the front and back yards way before 9 a.m.  

And, there is MUCH TO DO.   I feed the birds, put out food for the visiting ducks, fill up the bird bath, water my plants, then I go out back and do the same thing (no ducks out back).   I did see 3 of them flying around in circles overhead the other morning and land in the yard of the people behind us who have unfortunately neglected their swimming pool and it is now a landing place for ducks.  From fall to just a few days ago I could hear the geese that winter down by the civic center park and its large ponds and who eat the grass at the local golfing center.  I haven’t heard them for about a week, so I guess they have moved on.

The desert environment is so different from most of the country, especially those areas with cold and snow.  Here we “hibernate” in summer.  I’m actually surprised that it is this cool here now (low 90’s and mid 90’s) because some years we would already be in triple digit temperatures by now.   This year has been unreliable weather-wise!

We survive summers here by going out EARLY in the mornings and then again in the evenings and staying inside during the daytime.   Really, who wants to go out to the mailbox when it is 110 degrees OR HIGHER?

I’m surprised the ducks are still here, but they DO get a morning and afternoon buffet and they do have 2 bowls of water, which they enjoy. I’ve also spotted a colorful Oriole who comes to visit the hummingbird feeders and the orange slices I put out for the finches and sparrows.

Soon, as the daytime temperatures hit triple digits, which won’t be for at least another week, I will only be going out in the early mornings and early evenings.  I’m enjoying our relatively “cool” Spring!

454 words

/cd

No post today~under the weather

 No post today...sorry.   Hubby and I have had a stomach virus all weekend and I have zero energy.   I slept almost all day yesterday and I didn't even get up and moving until 10 a.m. today.

See you tomorrow.

/cd

Sunday photos 051726

 

Kitten who sleeps most of the day.

She got tired watching the birds out front.

This beautiful moth was out on our side porch sliding door one morning.

Cosmos

Dark colored cosmos

Things we don't buy anymore 051626

 

Things we don’t buy anymore

May 16, 2026

 

We have drastically cut back on the items we purchase since our retirements. 

First, we no longer buy bottled water.   Our 22 year old Frigidaire refrigerator finally gave out nearly two years ago and hubby spent about a week researching which one to buy to replace it.  So, we now have one with a water spout and ice maker.  Thus, we have no need to buy bottled water.   I DO buy a few bottles every now and then for the grandson (I spoil him!).   We make our own coffee at home every morning (or, rather, I DO!) and I buy a 3 pound bag of coffee beans at COSTCO and I grind them here at home as needed.   We use a stainless steel 12 cup percolator that I put on the stove every morning.

Second, I don’t buy pre-cut vegetables and I rarely buy pre-mixed salads.   I prefer to make my own.   Have you ever looked at pre-mixed salads?  Half of the time the lettuce is brown.   Ugh!  NO THANK YOU. Waste of money!

 

Third, I no longer buy smoothies.  My doctor told me it’s better to eat real fruit, so I do buy strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.   If I have the two grandkids together on an early-release Wednesday, I take them to Whole Foods and they make up their own berry cup to eat as a snack at our house, but that’s a big splurge!

Fourth, I no longer buy any kind of flavored coffee creamer.   I’ve always had a fondness for the vanilla ones, but now I just buy half & half from Trader Joe’s.   Hubby likes the flavor and consistency of it and we have a Trader Joe’s about a block and a half away from our house.   Whole Foods is about 2 blocks away.

We only eat beef now MAYBE once a week.   We eat a lot of chicken and ground turkey.  We make turkey patties, “hippie” salad with turkey (turkey, kidney beans, green onions, and maybe radishes, along with Fritos chips.   I take out the Fritos from mine as I have to watch my carbs.) We eat a LOT of salads with chicken mixed in as protein.   NOT BEEF.

Fifth, desserts.  NOPE.  I have to count my carbs these days, so desserts are OUT and who can afford them anyway?   On rare occasions, I make an Amish zucchini chocolate loaf or a pumpkin loaf in the fall, but that’s about it.  The daughter makes a mean banana loaf.   I want to try more baking at home, but I DO have to watch my carbs! ☹

Sixth…WINE… Hubby was in the wine business for about 20 years and was a wine broker, but these days we buy a tiny box of 4 single servings of wine and it lasts us WEEKS.   We used to buy wine weekly.   Nope.   Can’t afford it.

Seventh, canned drinks like Arizona ice tea or fizzy flavored waters.  Nope.  Plain water or hubby now buys bottles of the seltzer water from WalMart for 79 cents each and we mix it with lemon juice or lime juice. NOT buying flavored canned drinks anymore!

What else?   I rarely buy paper towels as we have tons of microfiber cloths and I cut up old dish towels and reuse those.

Cleaning supplies?   Vinegar and Dawn dish soap, maybe some orange essential oil mixed into the mixture.   I’ve NEVER invested or like commercial cleaners.   HATE those stupid Febreze things and the sprays.   I’ve always used essential oils and I need to start using up the stash that I have!   Vinegar, Dawn, and an essential oil clean MOST THINGS.

Towels?   I recently did purchase two new bath towels from COSTCO because ours were so old that they hardly have any lint on them anymore! But, it was about 10 years since I bought any, so I figured it was time for a couple new ones.

I even wash our single car.   I HATE paying $10.00 and over for a drive through car wash!   I have a bottle of car wash soap that I use.  I do a better job than most car washes anyway, but there is one down by the daughter’s house that does a decent job for $12.00.

VEGETABLES:   Last year I grew a TON of vegetables.   I grew early tomatoes, green onions, radishes, turnips, cabbage (not this year), Swiss chard (yummy!), and green beans.   My peas did NOT grow.   I don’t seem to have luck with peas, but I bought a $2.00 bag of mixed soup beans at WalMart, separated the seeds by variety, and planted them and they did BEAUTIFULLY!   Easy peasy!  Unfortunately I am NOT planting squash this summer or pumpkins.  It just isn’t worth the extra water.

Any ideas/suggestions/ thoughts that you might have?   What are you doing to save money?

Oh, and hubby, back in 2018, purchased a Nissan Rogue HYBRID.   We love her!   I usually only fill her up once a month, and even though it is recommended to use the super unleaded gasoline in her (which I buy at Sam’s Club), I love how efficient she is!   I forget to check the gas gauge, but I did put in $30 worth of gasoline this past week, and that ONLY filled her up ¼ way…sigh…And that was at $6.49 a gallon here in California.

884 words

May 16, 2026

/cd