Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Environment

Creek Bed Bank Line Reinforcement

Creek Bed

This is one of the projects that Damsel and I have undertaken to modify her rock and cactus garden on the west side of the property. This is to account for the effects of having built a retention wall adjacent to the RV drive that now diverts runoff from the hills to the north. After we built the wall last year, water now flows to the west of the property rather than across the RV drive as it has in the past.

In the image above, the west end of the wall can be seen at the right edge. We have started lining the edge of the little creek that formed last summer when we had a great monsoon rainfall last summer. The idea is to line the banks with rocks to confine the flow to within the creek bed near where the water comes out from behind the wall.

Further down the creek, the banks are less defined. We decided to use some very large boulders (seen at the left of the photo) to keep the flow going down the natural creek wash that was there before, rather than spilling toward the west where there are some decorations and the trash bins are over there too.

As you can see in the photo, we have partially completed the bank lining up near the end of the wall. Next, we will continue to bring more of the rocks and complete the lining from where the rocks end upstream to the boulders that are on the left. After that, we will dig down to where the original landscapers put the creek rocks five years ago.

We hope that we can complete this project a little at a time (rocks are heavy!) over the spring before the next monsoon season. Click on the image to enlarge.

Bed ProgressUPDATE: March 04, 2016 – Damsel and I spent an hour or so finishing the west bank of our little runoff creek today. We gathered small boulders and round rocks from other areas on the property and continued to line the far side of the creek with reinforcements for the runoff that we expect this coming monsoon season.

The top panel is the work we completed when we posted the picture above; the bottom panel is the work we completed this afternoon. Click on the image to enlarge.

01 Mar 2016 by Arizona Environment Home & Garden Retirement

Lizard Sunning on a Rock

Lizard Sunning on a Rock

I noticed this lizard sunning itself on one of the river rocks below the courtyard out front this morning. I went and got my Canon SL1 and the 300mm lens to get this picture. The little guy obliged me and sat tight while I went in to get the camera. This is another view of the same lizard.

Despite consulting a desert wildlife book and looking on the Lizards of Arizona webpage, I am unable to identify the common or taxonomic name of this variety. We see lizards all the time, now that the weather is warmer.

Maybe readers like Crotalus or Glenn B, being desert and reptile aficionados, can shed some of their wisdom on this one. Right now, I call it “Gray Lizard with two-tone brown pattern on its back.”

UPDATE: Thanks to Glenn B, the little critter has been almost positively identified as an ornate tree lizard. See Glenn’s comment below . . .

22 Feb 2016 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Fire Ants

Ant Hill with Amdro Pellets

We have several levels of pests in the desert (excluding the humanoid ones) to include several mammal species, a bunch of reptile species and, of course, insects. Damsel can’t abide having ants anywhere on the property, so, when she finds an anthill, she wants something done about it.

The fire ant nest in the image is located down by the roadway in front of our house. It’s an area where we walk the dogs and Damsel worries about the ants biting the dogs. She spotted this anthill a couple of days ago and yesterday, I sprinkled some Amdro fire ant bait pellets on and around it.

When we arrived in the desert homestead, we were relatively new at the game of coping with desert denizens. One of the locals suggested the Amdro product to me and I have to sat I’m glad he did. The little worker ants take the bait down to the royal chamber in their burrow and poison the queen ant with the pellet taken down. The hive is doomed thereafter.

I bought a one pound container of Amdro about five years ago, and I still have several ounces left in it since it only takes a few pellets scattered on and around the mound to do the trick. Nests are usually completely destroyed about a week after the application of the pellets.

The mound was still active when I took the image above. It should be inactive in a day or three. Click on the image to enlarge.

21 Feb 2016 by Arizona Critters Environment Home & Garden

Wet Weather Coming Followed by Cold

pacific-storm.jpg

The Pacific storm system currently going through California should be here in a couple of hours. All of the west needs the rain, but the colder nights are of little use to those of us with osteoarthritis and other cold-sensitive ailments (or just plain old hate the f@^&ing cold syndrome). The lows after the system moves through will be below freezing and the daily high temperatures are scarcely enough to thaw out the achy pains of old age.

The rain just started as I am typing this. I started the first paragraph of this post an hour ago while there was still some blue in the sky. Now, it is completely overcast and the rain and wind are apparent even from inside our secure little home.

We were going to watch a pass of the International Space Station this evening, but the clouds and rain (not to mention wind gusts to 30kts) preclude any stellar observations. If it clears up, there is another ISS pass tomorrow and a couple more evening passes early this week. We will bundle up and attempt to watch the flyovers in the cold.

31 Jan 2016 by Arizona Environment Retirement

Warm Hands

Little HottiesDuring the winter months here in Arizona, the temperatures don’t get extremely cold, but to an aging couple, both with arthritic hands, the lower temperatures can bring some discomfort. Add to that the fact that we don’t run the heater in our retirement house, the minor discomfort is not limited to the outdoors.

Damsel suggested that we acquire some hand warmers for those occasions when a little heat might go a long way to relieve the little aches and pains in our hands. I went on Amazon and found these Little Hotties Hand Warmers. I ordered a box of ten pairs of them and today, I opened up one pair to try them out.

It was cool in the office this morning when I activated the pair of warmers at about 10AM. It is now quarter to eight in the evening and these little guys are still warm in the front pouch of my hooded sweatshirt. I have not had cold hands all day and the discomfort due to the cooler temps is virtually nil. We probably won’t need to use these every day while the cooler weather persists, but, on those occasions when the joints are acting up, they will be a welcome addition to the pockets where the hands go when they feel cold.

24 Jan 2016 by Arizona Environment Technobabble

Sky Fire Sunset

Sky Fire Sunset

After I posted photo of Sky Fire Roses last week, I had been hoping to post an actual sunset photo with those gorgeous colors. Well, last evening the weather cooperated with me and presented this brilliant sunset. I took this image of the sky from our courtyard looking west. Click on the image to enlarge.

20 Dec 2015 by Arizona Environment Photography

Desert Moonrise

Desert Moonrise

We took an after-dinner walk down the road this afternoon as we usually do when we finish eating. I noticed the moon rising over the desert mountains in the distance and our local hills in the foreground. Having left the camera in the house, we finished walking the dogs and went back down the road for me to get this nice shot of the moonrise.

Later in the evening when we walked the dogs just before total darkness outside, the waxing gibbous moon was so bright, we could see our moonshadows on the driveway. Click on the image to enlarge.

22 Nov 2015 by Arizona Environment Photography

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