Our beautiful little cactus George is blooming and he's not just blooming, he's a blooming fool! He currently has FOUR big flowers and two buds.
It's really fun to have plants in the yard that are beautiful and interesting even though we live in the desert.
The plants near the Riparian Preserve (where I walk on Saturday mornings with Cindy) are doing interesting things, too. This is a wolfberry bush. Its berries look like tiny tomatoes!
Right now there are baby ducks in the canal and in the ponds at the Riparian Preserve. I love ducks!
Strangely, there are a lot of seashells along the canal. Cindy grew up in Arizona and told me it's probably because Arizona used to be under water.
Here's a cormorant. We saw him diving for fish!
When the blooms are done, they leave behind little cups!
I wonder if these are helpful for gathering the sparse rain water that falls in the desert?
The clouds have been extra interesting this spring.
Bougainvillea
Lantana
These are palo verde trees and their flowers have been gorgeous this year!
Cindy and I saw wild turkeys in a field.
We stood on a stump and looked over the wall to see this backyard because it was so beautiful. We got some ideas for our own yards.
Our neighbor Tia gave us a huge bag of oranges
and lemons!
Greg trimmed our Chinese elm trees. They are shaped like an umbrella and branches underneath die off. Greg cut them away.
We shared some of the oranges with Cindy and Greg's friend Joe, and I juiced almost all the lemons (and froze the juice). I chopped up a couple of lemons into small pieces and froze them to use for cleaning the garbage disposal.
Greg and I did a bunch of yard work a while back on a Saturday and we noticed a lot of interesting things happening. Keep in mind that EVERY PLANT in our backyard was planted BY US (me, mostly). The ones that have survived have proven to thrive in our harsh environment with minimal care.
Our big night-blooming cactus is growing baby arms.
What a peaceful oasis!
We have baby birds who have been born in our yard. We now are seeing them at the fountain and at the feeder.
Cindy gave me this pencil cactus, which I mostly abandoned, but it survived a challenging hot summer and the (mild), so I trimmed out some dead arms and it's looking great! It's growing new little baby arms and everything. I'm proud of it.
Cindy brought me this strange and slightly frightening rambling cactus from a trip she took to Payson. She dug a piece of it up and brought it home. This plant has not grown as much as I expected, which is good because it's very strange and I fear that it might take over the world.
I love this pretty spiral cactus.
This is the oldest totem pole cactus in our yard (no spikes!) I have planted quite a few babies from this one because they have no spikes! I just break off an arm and plop it in the ground where I want some extra interest in the yard. Over the summer, a huge part of this beautiful plant got black and shriveled up. I didn't know if it was going to fully die, so I took off some of the small arms and planted them in a pot. BUT she survived! In fact, the black part simply fell off and now the spot where it was is green and looking healthy again. And she's grown some fresh new arms!
Our agave bloomed. Don't the flowers look like small bananas?
Our friendly backyard squirrel has been making regular appearances.
The cats love her.
It's that time of year when my outfits get pretty simple (and kind of repetitive because I can't really layer). But I try to keep them interesting!
top: ? Ross
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
shoes: Target
bag: The Sac (Amazon)
mask: Etsy
This was my first trip to Target after my Mom went back to Minnesota and I missed her!
(Miss you, Mom! xoxo)
Even though I have a LOT of denim jackets, this one from Everlane went on sale and I snapped it up. I haven't ordered anything from them before. I am very happy with this purchase. It's their denim chore coat, and I love the fit! It's longer than my other denim jackets, but still slim-fitting. There are lots of interesting pockets, and the color is perfect.
I bought these heeled clog sandals and this mustard scarf at Target and love them both.
That day I was wearing this.
blouse: Adrianna Pappell (Ross)
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
shoes: Target
bag: Target
I found these cute vintage gold earrings on Etsy and have enjoyed adding them to my earring rotation. They feel happy to me.
I recently cleaned out our freezer and it's very well-organized now with all the veggies (and ice cream and mini doughtnuts for Greg) on the top shelf:
Fruit and smoothie materials (and compost!) on the bottom shelf.
Since we're talking about food, I should share that I made a cobbler! This is a cherry blueberry cobbler and I can't wait to make another one! It was VERY good (though the recipe was a sugar-free one and my fruit wasn't sweet enough, so I will add sugar or maple syrup next time).
I also made a chickpea salad, in the style of tuna salad. I ate it on flat crackers and it was very good! This recipe is another keeper.
I adapted a recipe and it turned out being quite different from the original, but you could start with this one if you'd like!
I love making chili and casseroles! This one was a 2-bean chili macaroni.
My parents left us some of their leftover food when they went back to Minnesota. My Mom left Greg some oatmeal raisin cookies on purpose because she knows he loves them especially. Here is is eating the last two . . .
Moving on to the cat photos!
Greg & Stephen:
Stephen bundled in a nice clean towel:
Allistair helping Momma with yoga:
Allistair appreciating the fresh air and pretty bougainvilleas:
Stephen looking out the window:
Stephen studying:
Stephen drooping:
They're very soft, too!
I was less nervous this time, but still a bit tense because I suspected we would have some side effects with the second shot (we didn't with the first outside of some slight muscle aches and a sore arm for a couple of days).
It was amazingly well-organized. We drove into a huge warehouse, which was air conditioned. They air was pushed through so that any germs would get expelled from the area. The staff was cheerful and efficient. I had some lollipops in the car, so I handed them out to everyone.
On to home things, my summertime polka dot sheets wore out.
Allistair & Daddy:
Claude being pretty:
Allistair up close:
Three cats on the couch:
Claude looking grumpy . . .
Momma & Allistair snuggles:
Stephen yawning . . .
What a strange little guy!
and taking a swipe at the camera!
Momma & Stephen snuggles - and Allistair is in that blanket tent!
Switching topics again, our precious niece Cora was baptized recently! We got to participate online.
My brother, her Dad, baptized her.
Here are some books I'm reading lately . . .
Another fun thing: my neighbor Tia bought me a little gift - socks that say "vegan" on them! Isn't that thoughtful?!
More good news: Greg and I got our second Pfizer vaccine shot!
Greg started feeling icky later that evening, and the next morning he felt pretty lousy with aches, sore eyes sensitive to light, joint pain, headache, and a lot of tiredness.
I made him a big antioxidant smoothie and then he went back to bed.
He stayed in bed all day outside of 1-2 hours when he sat in the kitchen trying to drink water.
I felt pretty much fine! I did not expect to be the one who felt okay. I did have some joint and muscle aches, and my ankle flared up slightly for about a week, but nothing that prevented me from doing what I would normally do.
I got a kick out of doing a video for my family and realizing that from this angle I look like a helicopter!
I decided to add some more mustard yellow into the bedroom! These sheets are from Target and they are wonderful! They're 100% cotton, but they stay fairly smooth rather than getting wrinkly. I love the pattern and the color is perfect.
As a sweet BONUS for you, here is a note from my niece Cora to my Mom.
Happy weekend to you!
xo
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