The last day of June brought us the first thunderstorms of the monsoon season. The forecast is for more chance of thunderstorms over the next couple of days, although the probabilities are down in the ten or twenty percent range. We had no precipitation here today, but the humidity popped up a bunch and we can hear thunder in the distance. We need the rain, so let it come.
We are indeed blessed that we can witness the majesty of our beautiful desert environment on a daily basis. This gorgeous sunset marked the end of yet another wonderful day of retirement in our dream home. Click on the image to enlarge.
One of the guys that installed our satellite TV dish proclaimed that “Nothing lasts in Arizona.” While the TV dish is doing fine, our magnetic mailbox cover that we installed shortly after the mailbox post went in the ground did not faire so well. The colors faded and parts of it started to peel away, so we ordered a couple of new covers. The old cover was basically an American Flag pattern and the new covers (we ordered a spare) have the images of the US Constitution and an American Bald Eagle in addition to the red, white and blue. I think it looks great! Click on the image to enlarge.
I flushed this Desert Spiny Lizard the other morning when loading some aluminum cans into the truck. The lizard didn’t scurry under a rock right away, so I was able to get this shot of it still on the rocks where the bags with cans had been.
We have seen it several times since hiding near the compost where it (presumably) eats insects attracted to the heap. Cabela tries to give chase to the lizard when going out for a walk, but we don’t let her get close.
Congratulations to Damsel on her first visit to the Los Caballeros Spa. She richly deserved a pleasurable manicure, pedicure and facial after her first couple of seasons in the high desert. Her report on the care and pampering was excellent!! Click on the image to enlarge.
We happened to be in the old historic downtown district yesterday to donate some bags of crushed aluminum cans to the local American Legion. While Bob was in the lodge getting a receipt for the cans, I took this photo of a nearby historic warehouse made from stone and corrugated steel. The fisheye effect is from combining two images to get the complete building in one frame. Click on the image to enlarge.
I added an additional hummingbird feeder at the other end of the patio last week. Now there are two feeders, but the little hummers still seem to bicker over who gets to feed where. No matter, though, we have seen as many as four at a time perched or hovering at the feeders. The fact that they go dry every few days says someone must be getting fed! Click on the image to enlarge.