Today’s the first leg of our excursion to Page, AZ to witness the May 20, 2012 annular eclipse of the Sun. We had a good trip that took us from our Wickenburg home, through the Saguaro forests along AZ SR 74 to I-17, thence north to Flagstaff, where we set up camp for the night among the tall conifer trees. Tomorrow, we head towards the ultimate destination with a few scenic stops along the way. Click on the image to enlarge.
. . . get out of the kitchen. Now that the outside temperatures are regularly above 90° and frequently above 100° (see inset in photo), I moved the baking chores to the patio. Meet my new best friend, the TOAST-R-OVEN.
We prepared our meal this afternoon mostly outside; I baked three potatoes in this oven and Bob grilled steaks on the outdoor portable grill. No heat in the kitchen!
Two years ago, when Bob and I were just buying the lot to build our retirement dream home, the wild desert cacti on the hill and in the wash behind the graded part of the lot were teeming with spring flowers. That’s still true today. I walked up the hill a bit to get this image of a beautiful cholla flower. If I recall correctly, reader and commenter Crotalus says this is a buckhorn cholla, a.k.a jumping cholla or a dozen other names. Whatever it’s called, the flowers are gorgeous. Click on the image to enlarge.
We’re back in our Arizona home this evening after a week and a half on the road. We were in the California house for a few days and then headed back to the desert to relax and enjoy a nice visit with our friends who live on the Colorado River. One of the highlights during our visit was a cruise from Bluewater to Parker Dam and return on a pontoon boat. It was a great day and a wonderful river cruise.
This is the south side of Parker Dam as seen from the river. Just on the other side, is Lake Havasu whose water level is roughly at the lower side of the openings on the top of the dam. It’s kind of eerie seeing those openings and knowing that the dam is all that’s between us and the massive amount of water in the lake beyond. Click on the image to enlarge.
Unfortunately, the aerial image of the property prior to excavation of the pad where a house could be built is missing from the archives. However, the aerial views of our property above represent three stages in the construction of our house; before, during and after.
Click on the images to advance the slideshow.
We have taken Beethoven to the dog park several times since we adopted him. The first time we took him, he got in the little tub of water, splashed around a couple of times and then got out. Today, I had the camera ready for his dip in the tub. Enjoy the slideshow!
We have had our spa since last July. We enjoy it a lot, especially on the warmer days. If we get into the spa late in the afternoon, however, the sun going down on the west side of the house shines directly into the spa.
I asked the gentleman who installed the screen patio enclosure to come out and install a roll-down shade for us. He installed a couple more extruded aluminum supports (the same material used for the original patio) to hold the shade on the west end of the patio.
Image: Before and after – click to enlarge
I say temporary in the title since this shade is a cheap Chinese plastic shade that won’t last in the Arizona sun. We are already planning on getting a custom shade from one of the warehouse home improvement stores. We saw one we really liked at our friends’ house on the Colorado River. The supports installed today will be permanent.