Sunrise and pinyon forest

 Saw this sunset one evening as I was driving up to the pinyon forest above the desert.

Skywatch Friday for August 7, 2026

To visit SWF, please go to this link:   Skywatch Friday

Time for the monsoons~SkyWatch Friday, July 3, 2026

 The monsoons will soon be upon us.   I took this photo this last Spring when one moved up the valley.   We are expecting a heavier than normal monsoon season this summer.

SkyWatch Friday for July 3, 2026

Monsoon clouds~June 24, 2026

 We have lots of monsoon clouds this morning coming up from the south through the Gulf of California.   Thunderstorms are expected by afternoon.   I've got the lawnmower covered and I covered up my birdseed, too.

RIP Abby, 2009 = 2026

 My 17 year old black cat, Abby, died this morning.   I knew she was going over the rainbow bridge.   She didn't eat for 3 days.   I put her on a nice warm towel and sat down with her yesterday and talked to her.   It's never easy losing a beloved pet.

We have a year old kitten now, Cassie, who our dog found on our side porch about this time last year in 106 degree heat.   I heard a squawking sound and he had picked her up in his mouth when I let him out for a potty break!   Fortunately, he's mostly a lab mix, so he does have a soft mouth, and I told him, "DROP IT!" (a command which he KNOWS) and out she tumbled onto the hot cement.  I scooped her up with her umbilical cord still attached, rushed her inside, put her on hubby's lap, ran up to the nearest PETCO, and bought kitten replacement formula and we got her started on that.   We never did find her mother.   I actually took her out back and set her (in the shade) on our back lawn and stayed with her while she screamed, thinking her momma might show up, but no cat did, so she is now our indoor cat.   We got her spayed and she sleeps with me and the dog most nights on the bed.   I can hardly roll over! She greets me every morning now and comes for rubs.

Hubby and I are at the point where our 8 year old lab mix just may be our last dog.   We don't know if we have that many years left for another dog, although I wouldn't mind eventually getting a senior one.   I still have 3 of my horses and, honestly, I only get up to visit them maybe twice a year.   It's a 35 minute drive on a very dangerous, narrow 2 lane road and there have been a lot of accidents up on it lately.   They have excellent care, so I don't worry about them and they get annual vet visits, shots, dental work, and they get their feet trimmed.   So, they are in good hands.  I wish I could visit them more frequently, but, after COVID, I just do NOT have the energy.   Most days a trip to the grocery store is ALL I can handle and even then I'm wiped out the next day.

So, it appears our pet ownership days might be ending in a few years.   Our dog is getting older and he's a larger breed, so I expect he will be with us maybe another 2 years.   After that, who knows?

/cd

Our lab mix, Bodie...

Cassie "helping" me with my fabrics. She is 1 year old now.

Sunday photo of the week June 21, 2026

 

Just one photo today.   I had car problems this week and in the heat, I nearly got heat stroke, so I stayed inside for 2 days after that.   This is my front yard garden from 2020 and it pretty much looks the same right now.   LOTS of black eyed Susans this year.

Sunset and bird~SkyWatch Friday June 18, 2026

 

Just a photograph of a beautiful sunset and bird.

SkyWatch Friday for June 18, 2026.   To visit SkyWatch Friday, follow this link:   Skywatch Friday

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