April 2011

Damsel and I hiked up the hill behind our house today to look for any cactus flowers up there. We can’t see all of the vegetation on the hill from the patio, so we had to go up to look around. We also wanted to collect a few rocks for the expanded rock and cactus garden on the west side of the lot.

Image – view from the hill – click to enlarge.

While we were up there, Damsel took this photo looking toward the southeast. In the distance, above the garage vent, you can see Vulture Peak, which is one of the Hassayampa River Valley’s most recognizable landmarks. In the foreground,you can see our native desert vegetation which includes creosote, mesquite, cat’s-paw, cholla and palo verde. We have no plans to clear any of this since it is home to our desert critters that we enjoy watching.

We finished a lot of pending chores today, including installing our new area rug in the great room. We moved the furniture out of the way, laid down the carpet and moved the furniture back (whew). But it’s now done and looks great.

We also picked up our custom mirrors for the bathrooms to be installed next week. It’s all coming together. Click on the image to enlarge, but do it quietly so you won’t wake Cabela, who is taking a nap on the love seat.