30 Jun 2010 at 18:46:17 PDT
· Filed under Firearms, Shooting
Posted by Damsel
We went shooting today. Since we have been arranging for our new Arizona home, we have been remiss in going to the range. When we came home, it was time to get out the gun cleaning toolbox and scrub off all the crud.
I took this picture of my Warthog after I got her all cleaned up. The .38 special rounds are for my other gun. Click on the image to enlarge.
We shot our .38 special S&W 442, our .357 magnum S&W 686, our .45 ACP Glock 30, this gun and our Remington 870 12 gauge security shotgun. We were a little out of practice but we both felt better about shooting.
29 Jun 2010 at 17:20:37 PDT
· Filed under Arizona, Home & Garden
Posted by Damsel
I got this image from the archive. When we went to Arizona in May to buy our property there, a lot of the cactus were in bloom. There is a pencil cholla in our new back yard that will have flowers like this one next spring. Click on the image to enlarge.
The Pencil Cholla is a member of the Cactus Family. It is a shrubby cactus which can grow to 9 feet in height and has many cylindrical, smooth, jointed sections which are up to 6 inches in length and 0.5 inches in diameter. The plant typically grows in the southern portions of Arizona in sandy plains and washes at elevations between 1000 - 3000 feet. The Pencil Cholla gets its name from the many narrow jointed segments which comprise the cactus.
The Pencil Cholla typically blooms between May - June and produces yellow, greenish or brown flowers to 1 inch in length, followed by a spineless red tinged fruit to 1.5 inches in length.
26 Jun 2010 at 18:51:03 PDT
· Filed under California
Posted by Damsel
This subtropical succulent, Aeonium Arboretum, has been growing on our patio for years. I don’t think I have ever posted an image of it. Click on the image to enlarge.
Aeonium is a genus of about 35 species of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae.
The name comes from the ancient Greek “aionos” (=immortal).
Most of them are native to the Canary Islands. Some species are found in Madeira, Morocco and in eastern Africa (for example in the Semien Mountains of Ethiopia).
The rosette leaves are on a basal stem. Low-growing Aeonium species are A. tabuliforme and A. smithii; large species include A. arboreum, A. valverdense and A. holochrysum.
Aeonium are not frost-resistant. They are related to the genera Sempervivum, Aichryson and Monanthes, which is easy to see from their similar flower and inflorescences. Recently, the genus Greenovia has been placed within Aeonium.
Captain Kickass and the jackals in the Administration in D.C. are still holding our border security hostage for “comprehensive immigration reform” (amnesty, actually). Arizona Governor Jan Brewer posted this on her website today:
PHOENIX –– Earlier this month, Governor Jan Brewer sat in the Oval Office with President Barack Obama to discuss the critical issue of border security. The Governor personally related to the President the concerns of millions of Arizonans over the lack of security on Arizona’s southern border. During their visit, President Obama committed to present details, within two weeks of their meeting, regarding his plans to commit National Guard troops to the Arizona border and commit to spend $500 million in additional funds on border security.
Two weeks have come and gone and still it’s all talk and no action. (more)
I am so pleased with the late spring/early summer Asian lilies that I planted in pots on the front porch. These are not only colorful, but prolific in flower production. Click on the image to enlarge.
24 Jun 2010 at 11:05:06 PDT
· Filed under Environment, Science
Posted by Cap'n Bob
The 7.2 Baja earthquake of April 4, 2010 and numerous aftershocks have displaced the land around Calexico, CA, about 31 inches. From NASA:
NASA Radar Images Show How Mexico Quake Deformed Earth
PASADENA, Calif. — NASA has released the first-ever airborne radar images of the deformation in Earth’s surface caused by a major earthquake — the magnitude 7.2 temblor that rocked Mexico’s state of Baja California and parts of the American Southwest on April 4.
The data reveal that in the area studied, the quake moved the Calexico, Calif., region in a downward and southerly direction up to 80 centimeters (31 inches). The maps can be seen at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/UAVSARimage20100623.html .
A science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., used the JPL-developed Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) to measure surface deformation from the quake. The radar flies at an altitude of 12.5 kilometers (41,000 feet) on a Gulfstream-III aircraft from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
The team used a technique that detects minute changes in the distance between the aircraft and the ground over repeated, GPS-guided flights. The team combined data from flights on Oct. 21, 2009, and April 13, 2010. The resulting maps are called interferograms.
Overview of the UAVSAR interferogram of the magnitude 7.2 Baja California earthquake of April 4, 2010, overlaid atop a Google Earth image of the region. Major fault systems are shown by red lines, while recent aftershocks are denoted by yellow, orange and red dots. Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS/Google
The first of the summer Golden Torch cactus flowers opened up last evening. I took this shot of it this morning. This flower will be done within 24 hours. I’m happy to see that this cactus variety does well in Arizona too. Click on the image to enlarge.
The Devil’s Tongue barrel cactus had three open flowers today. I believe this is the first time that three were open at once. Click on the image to enlarge.
We went shooting today. Since we have been arranging for our new Arizona home, we have been remiss in going to the range. When we came home, it was time to get out the gun cleaning toolbox and scrub off all the crud.
M.D. Creekmore at 
