We had a semi-surprise visit from my son and his girl friend today. I gave them a tour of the house and grounds since this was their first visit. My son remarked about the rock garden where I stacked up several flat rocks beside the RV drive. I took this photo of my stack and some of the other yard decorations. Click on the image to enlarge.
I collected some more rocks from around the lot and placed them along the road to shore up the rocks I placed there on Wednesday. Damsel came out to help also. She took this picture of me working on the project when she brought the dogs out for their run.
I took the panoramic image seen above after the day’s work was complete. I still want to move more of the one-inch red gravel to cover some of the bare spots. Click on the image to enlarge.
About three weeks ago, I posted an item about some erosion along the front of our property. Today, since the temperatures were in the comfortable range of mid-eighties, I started transporting boulders from the back property and placed them along the edge of the path that the runoff takes when we get our summer gully-washers.
I still have a way to go before I will be done. I have some more one-inch red gravel to place on the bare strip on the right end of the area. I also will be transporting more medium-sized boulders to place in front of the ones I brought down today. I also intend to extend the rock wash at the right end a couple of feet to the confluence with the runoff coming down the road.
Click on the image to enlarge.
I had my annual eye checkup today. It was mostly the routine “Which is better – 1 or – 2?” At the end of the exam, the optometrist showed me some information about cataract surgery which, she says, ‘could’ be required at some point.
In the meantime, I still can enjoy corrected vision in the 20-20 or 20-25 range with eyeglasses, of course. I have a set of sunglasses from last year, that work just fine. I ordered a new set of single-vision clear glasses, mostly for watching TV and after dark junkets out with the dogs. I stopped driving at night after I retired.
The interesting thing about cataract surgery is that they can, with minimal invasive surgery, replace the natural crystalline lens affected by cloudiness with a new artificial lens that compensates for both nearsightedness and presbyopia. Of course, there are caveats like astigmatism and muscle range, but it sounds like someday we can get rid of contacts or corrective glasses altogether.
We finally got around to hanging the second birdhouse that our friend at the river, Ron, made for us. This one is closer to the color of our house and contrasts nicely in the palo verde tree where I hung it today. Click on the image to enlarge.
I hope everyone is having a lovely Labor Day weekend. We were walking the dogs this morning and I noticed how pretty our little castle looks with the blue skies and cloudscapes beyond. I went back into the house and came back out to capture this picture. Click on the image to enlarge.
We drove to the old part of town to do some shopping at the “other” supermarket. We drove past the old train station which is along the still active BNSF railroad track. I took this picture of the station next to the track.
The station is now used by the Chamber of Commerce as a tourism center. To facilitate this, the building had to be rotated 180 degrees such that the boarding platform is opposite from the track side. No matter, though, The BNSF trains no longer stop in Wickenburg.
Click on the image to enlarge.
