After target practice today, we pulled over to the Everett Bowman Rodeo Grounds where a practice session was underway for an upcoming rodeo event. There are a couple of cowboys in the photo that are doing some calf roping practice. Click on the image to enlarge.

We were fortunate to purchase a piece of the Sonoran Desert when we bought our lot in Wickenburg, AZ. I took this photo of one of several cholla growing on the property. I like the way it looks against the blue Arizona sky. Click on the image to enlarge.

The red amaryllis I posted a few days ago now has all four trumpets open. There is actually a fifth flower developing, but I don’t know if it’s going to amount to much. Bob held the amaryllis against the blue Arizona sky for this photo. Just beautiful, if I do say so myself. Click on the image to enlarge.

Have a good weekend, everybody. And, please enjoy this beautiful Arizona sunset that I photographed this evening from our courtyard.

By now, most of us have seen the photo of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer wagging her finger at the President. The real story behind the incident is Governor Brewer met Air Force One at the airport to welcome the president and extend an invitation to return to Arizona to inspect the US/Mexico border. Rather than deferring an answer or thanking the governor, he griped to her about being characterized in an unflattering manner in Brewer’s new book.

I support Governor Brewer in standing up to the president, who like most socialists, tend to bully others in to thinking their way is better. I just wish she had used the same finger as I do when seeing the president. Now THAT would have been newsworthy.

On the topic of self-centered, let me quote Mark Alexander’s “short” version of the State of Disunion speech . . .

The short version: “I went … I know … My … My … I took office … I’m president … I will work … I intend … I will oppose … I want … I took office … I refused … me … my … my … me … I will sign … I set … I will go … I will not … I promise … I hear … I want … me … My … I want … I am … I spoke … me … I believe … my … I took office … me … I will sign … my … my … my … I will not … I will not walk … I will not cede … I will … I’m directing … my … I will sign … I’ve … my … my … I’ve ordered … I guess … I will not … I will … I will not … I will … my … I told … my presidency …me … my … I get … I don’t … I recognize … I bet … I’ve … me … I will … I ask … I’ve … me … I believe … my … my … I can … I have … I will take … I mean … I intend … I’ve … I’ve … I’ve … I’m a Democrat me … I believe … I began … my … I sat … me for president … me … I look … I’m (Applause.)”

Last March, we had the landscaping crew plant rosemary bushes on the embankment behind the house along the RV drive. They planted approximately sixty one-gallon bushes in diagonal rows of two or three down the slope of the embankment. They set up the irrigation tubes and started the automatic timer for the watering cycle. The photo at the right shows a section of the embankment with the newly-planted rosemary bushes.

Yesterday, Damsel took this picture of the embankment. The two photos were taken looking toward about the same area of the embankment. The top photo was taken in the morning while the bottom photo in the late afternoon. It has been roughly ten months since the rosemary were planted and the progress is obvious. Eventually, we’re hoping that the rosemary will cover the entire embankment to help stabilize the erosion and to make a pleasant backdrop along the RV drive.

Click either image to enlarge.

This nice saguaro lives about a mile and a half from our house in the shopping center down by Vulture Mine Road. We went grocery shopping today and I snapped this photo as we were heading out of the parking lot. We love this little town. Click on the image to enlarge.

We made our monthly trip to the Phoenix metro area today to shop in Surprise, Peoria and Glendale, AZ. We had to get some supplies for the yard and garden at Lowe’s and to shop for some hard-to-find-in-Wickenburg food and kitchen items at Smart and Final. I snapped this photo of The Sonoran Desert with craggy mountains in the background as we drove through Morristown on our way home. You can see the BNSF rails that parallel US 60 between Phoenix and Morristown in the foreground. Click on the image to enlarge.

Maybe it’s not exactly a castle, but our little house in Casandro Wash seems just like that to us. Besides, Arizona is a Castle Doctrine State. Click on the image to enlarge.

We paused along the road a quarter mile north of our new house to take this photo of the Bradshaw Mountains that lie between Wickenburg and Prescott. It was a nice, clear and sunny day today with blue skies and a high temperature of 65 °. Click on the image to enlarge.