Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Arizona

Telescope Adapter Kit

Telescope Adapter

The kit for adapting the Canon camera to the Meade telescope arrived in the mail today. I tried it out and found that it basically works but I still have some issues on stability because the moment arm of the camera is large compared to just an eyepiece. I experimented with objects across the hollow from our house, including the neighbors electric meter, just to get a feel for what I am up against. I am yet to be satisfied with the first attempts, but I’m sure it will get better.

We won’t be doing any experimenting tonight, but we will go out and see the celestial triangle of the gibbous moon, Mars and Saturn. We plan to continue experimenting next week since our plans don’t include astrophotography until then.

14 Jul 2016 by Arizona Astronomy Photography

Tiny Pink Cactus Flower

Tiny Pink Cactus Flower

This is the little Mammillaria yaquensis fishhook cactus that our friend Crotalus presented to us last fall when we met in Palm Desert. The cactus had this flower open yesterday and there are two more buds that may open soon.

This cactus and the other two Crotalus brought to the RV campground now reside in the courtyard in front of our house. There are several other cacti out there plus some tomatoes, squash and basil that we hope to be able to use in the kitchen.

Click on the image to enlarge.

08 Jul 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Throwback Panorama – Vacant Wickenburg Lot

Six years ago this month, Damsel and I had purchased our property in Arizona and were awaiting for the financing to fall into place so the construction of our new home could begin. Despite the unpleasant delay, we still had plenty of business to do in Town, so we continued to spend about a week per month here. Construction would begin in August and the contractor had already placed the stakes in the ground where the corners of the building would be. Click on the image to view the large panorama.

Vacant Wickenburg Lot

We had considerable difficulty getting a title lien released on our California property which was preventing our Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) approval. Finally, I found the lien holder and had it released and the funds were then in the bank to start the Arizona home construction.

Reminiscing about our experience six summers ago, Damsel and I are very happy to be where we are now. The California property is sold and the HELOC and primary Mortgage are completely paid in full.

07 Jul 2016 by Arizona Panorama

Clearing the RV Drive

RV Drive Now Clear Pile of Cut Branches

I took the Roadrunner (our 32 foot Georgetown RV) to top off the fuel tanks yesterday in anticipation of a planned excursion this month. On the way back in the RV drive, I noticed that the large mesquite adjacent to the concrete was hanging in the way and I made contact with some of the small branches as I drove up to the back of the house.

Damsel and I cut a lot of the tree down before, but it has grown a lot since then. We cleared the tree in June when we brought the RV back, so it must have grown a bunch in less than a complete month since then.

We removed three large branches and sawed the closest to the driveway trunk flush to the ground. The remaining part of the tree is growing away from the RV drive and shouldn’t be a problem anytime soon.

I didn’t take a before photo of the tree, but the after is the image on the left above. On the right is the pile of branches that we drug across the road to be further cut up and disposed at another time, possibly later this week or next. Click on the images to enlarge.

06 Jul 2016 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Red Bird Close-Up

Red Bird Close-Up

All three of my Caesalpinia pulcherrima shrubs in the courtyard are now producing flowers. I took this close-up of one of the flowers this afternoon.

The individual flowers only last a day or two, but the racemes have dozens of flower pods opening from bottom to top which gives the appearance of having perpetual orange, red and yellow flowers in the courtyard. We have the colors all summer and into the fall.

Click on the image to enlarge.

05 Jul 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Pruning Day


The little lemon tree next to the RV drive has been sprouting a bunch of new growth this spring and summer. The new stuff is fine, but it obscures the lemon fruit currently growing on the tree. Since it was a cooler day today (only 98 degrees), I decided to prune off some of the excess. The images above are the before and after photos of the lemon tree. Click to alternate between the two.

Damsel came out with me and took the shears to the mesquite tree by the drive (not shown) and took off a lot of the “suckers” (unwanted new growth on the lower branches). There were a lot of them even though we did this not too long ago.

The cooler weather is due to a moist parcel of air in the southwest that has, and will continue through Saturday, triggered thunderstorms and light rainfall. Well, light meaning not at flash flood stage yet. It also has made the humidity climb way above that which we are used to (NOT our famous Arizona “dry heat”). It feels as muggy as it does in Florida at this time of year.

30 Jun 2016 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Monsoon Sky

Monsoon Sky

Damsel took this photo of the mountains to the north of town on our way home from the optometrist today. This view is of a giant cumulonimbus buildup over the Weaver Range between here and Prescott. Click on the image to enlarge.

Monsoon season is here. We have had several minor rain showers over the past week with lightning shows and the works. We enjoyed a brief rain shower this evening to wet the dust down a bit. The shower wasn’t particularly heavy, but it did block the satellite TV feed for a couple of minutes. It is still hot and sticky outside – feels like 80% humid, but that’s probably an over estimation.

We’re expecting more of this weather through Saturday (20-30% chance of showers), but it should clear for Sunday and Independence Day – we’re planning to cook out of doors all weekend. The cooking will involve the smoker, the steamer and the grill, all of which keep the heat and humidity OUTSIDE of the house where it belongs.

29 Jun 2016 by Arizona Environment Photography

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