Numbers~address~Sunday stills Challenge 030810

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge was difficult for me. There are a number of reasons for this. First, I don't like taking photos of people. I just don't. PERIOD. My first cousin, Cindy Kyle, is a professional photographer who specializes in people, including weddings and baby photos! Go figure. Second, my husband is always yelling at me, telling me to take photos WITHOUT telephone poles, or lines, or things that obscure the object(s) I'm photographing. Third, I prefer landscapes and animals to people. And, alas, I just don't have a lot of photos with numbers in them in my archives. But, I found this one of an address on a block of granite. It does look rather elegant, don't you think? Sunday stills challenge for 030810.

Polo Ponies Friday

Well, I FINALLY got a decent photo of the polo ponies yesterday afternoon! YEAH! I took my camera with me (my Nikon D40) and was planning on getting some early morning photos, since yesterday it was clear and sunny (FINALLY!), but I got sidetracked at home running around trying to get hubby his coffee and wait on him hand and foot, so I ran out of time. But, I took the back road home (NOT the freeway!) and drove through the date groves. At one point, the polo grounds of Indio are on one corner, so I turned down that street and stopped to watch a couple of guys practicing polo. I saw on their sign board that there is an exhibition and game on Sunday, but, with rain forecast, I'm not sure if they will plan. And, yes, we have rain forecast! As I was driving away, I glanced down the lane where the ponies were last time and sure enough, a rider was coming with about 3 or 4 of them in tow! So, I turned my car around and just sat and waited! Hehehehehe! I used to take my camera(s) with me on Friday afternoons last year and drive out to different places and take photos. I guess I'll have to do that this year, too. It's a good way to end the week! Photos taken at the Indio polo grounds.

Not such good news...my arm

As some of you know, I had 3 little melanomas bubble up on my left arm about 7 years ago. They came up overnight and I took one look at them and my heart sank! Fortunately, I immediately went to my own doctor, Dr. Carol Renke, and she cut them out, sent them in for a biopsy, and they were confirmed as melanomas. I went in for the "deep cut" and we caught them in time. So, when I noticed another little red lump (with no black, however), I went back to my own doctor for a "look-see". She confirmed that it looked like skin cancer and offered to burn it off, but was out of nitrogen. So, yesterday afternoon I went to the dermatologist's office and there they cut it out and are sending it in for a biopsy to determine what kind of skin cancer it is. It is NOT melanoma, so that's a relief. And, being blonde-haired and blue-eyed, I always have to cover up and slater on sunscreen! I always wear my hat and I usually wear a long-sleeved blue denim shirt. I find that a men's large denim shirt is a good fit for me. It is loose enough that I can do my chores and work around the horses. I also have found that sunscreen just doesn't work well around the horses. First, they smell it. Second, most of them are GREASY. Does anyone know one that isn't GREASY? Finally, sunscreens gather all the dust and dirt and hay particles and pretty soon, I look like a scarecrow! So, I prefer a long-sleeved, high necked denim shirt. Denim is a good sunscreen itself and my dermatologist actually said that he prefers clothing to any sunscreen! I LIKE that guy! So, I'm on pins and needles until the results come back. Please send "happy thoughts" my way, if you can. Thank you!

Smoketree and desert morning~SkyWatch Friday 030510

I took this photo about four years ago. It was early one morning and I was driving out to where I had Sunni boarded, out in the Indio Hills. Some friends of mine had offered to board him for me and in exchange, I would drive out on the weekends and scoop up manure for ten other horses! Believe me, I was in good shape at that time!!! I'm always on the lookout for smoke trees either in the early morning or late afternoon. I've never posted this photo before, but since I now have to resort going through our archives, I'm finding all kinds of photos I have forgotten that I even have! SkyWatch Friday for March 5, 2010.

I've been grilled! ABC Wednesday for 030310

I've been grilled on "Grilling Grandmas"! Here is the link:
http://www.grandmasbriefs.com/grilled-grandmas/2010/3/3/grilled-grandma-cheryl-ann.html And, that isn't Jennifer with Ben! That's his mom, Claudia! Isn't he ADORABLE? He just turned one year old on February 26, 2010, the same day his grandpa Art turned 60! So, yes, we had a couple of parties last weekend. Hubby is off work this coming weekend, but...sigh...it is supposed RAIN again! Oye vei! It's been raining or snowing every weekend! So, hubby is getting off early today and we'll drive up to see the herd after school today. ABC Wednesday for March 3, 2010.

Palm Trees and ladders

Well, yes, it was muddy at the ranch this weekend and ANOTHER STORM is forecast for this coming weekend, too! ARGH! So, hubby and I are driving up there tomorrow after school. In the meantime, I thought I'd post these photos from last week's drive through the date groves in Indio. Can you see the ladders at the top of the date palms? That's so the workers can climb to the top of them to harvest the dates. Have you ever eaten a date? I used to HATE THEM! I could ONLY eat them in a date shake, but then my cousin, Valerie, introduced me to date bits, which are pieces of dates. Now I buy them all the time and sprinkle them on my cereal! I also frequently buy dates and munch on them! One little date has a LOT of nutritional value! The people of the Middle East have consumed dates, as a part of their diet, since centuries, mainly owing to its high nutritional value. Apart from being rich in natural fibers, dates also comprise of a lot of other nutrients, like oil, calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper, magnesium, etc. In fact, it is said that one date is a minimum of a balanced and healthy diet. I used to occasionally give Sunni dates (without the pit) and he loved them! They aren't cheap, in fact, organic ones can be quite expensive, but I figure...hey...they're ORGANIC! I used to walk down to our local college and pick up the ones that fell on the ground around harvest time (but they sprayed theirs with pesticides) when the kids were small, but their date palms have been removed for a parking lot! There are still a lot of date groves in Indio, but now I notice the farmers are planting further down the valley, toward the Salton Sea as some of the Indio groves are being removed to make way for housing deelopments. Ahhh...progress!

Rain, rain, go AWAY!!!

Well, I didn't get up to the horses (AGAIN) this weekend. It rained all day Saturday and the mountains completely disappeared behind clouds. At one point, as I was driving back to Palm Desert from our daughter's home in Indio, it was raining so hard that I couldn't even see the lines on the freeway! Friday was hubby's birthday and little Ben's, so we had a big family dinner and BBQ. Sunday morning was breakfast at our daughter's house, and we didn't get done there until 1:00 p.m. We decided against driving up the mountain since everything would have been muddy from Saturday's rain. Now, another storm is forecast for next weekend!!! ARGH! I have late meetings tonight and tomorrow night, so hubby and I are planning on driving up the hill Wednesday after school. I don't like to stay away from the horses too long, even though they get excellent care. But, as you all know, they need to be brushed and worked with, even if it is just a brushing. Two other boarders are up at the ranch and I haven't seen one of them since last fall, when she dropped off her two horses! The other one stops by about once every 3 months! I feel badly when I haven't seen mine for two weeks! Oye vei! And, with this class this year, I really NEED to get up to the horses and relax! The top photo is the All-American canal, in Indio, CA.