It’s time for the administration and the Secret Service to “cover up.” Regarding the current prostitution scandal, Ramirez offers this simple cover solution . . .
Pea Hen Sighting Just Down the Road
I spotted this pea hen on a neighbor’s roof. Their house is about eight-hundred feet down the road from our house. We have seen peafowl in the downtown area, but never this far out into our semi-rural area.
I looked at peafowl on the internet and think that this is a female Indian peafowl. She was just standing on the roof in the shade of a couple of eucalyptus trees. Click on the image to enlarge.
The Titanic 100 Years Later
Damsel and I watched the interesting two-hour documentary “Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved” this evening. It was the story of one of the latest expeditions to document the disaster and to try and determine the actual cause of the sinking of the RMS Titanic (Damsel says “It was the @$#! iceberg – get over it!”).
Underwater image of Titanic’s Stern on the ocean floor
All that aside, it was very interesting. The team of scientists, oceanographers and archaeologists sought to explore and map the entire debris field at the bottom of the North Atlantic. Ultimately, their conclusion agreed with Damsel’s assertion; the accident was a result of the overwhelming force of the vessel striking iceberg. There was no actual fault in the construction and design and the crew was following standard procedures and because of unusually calm conditions, they were unable to see the iceberg until it was too late to maneuver the immense vessel around it.
If you’re a history and archaeology buff or interested in the technologies used by the expedition, we recommend you watch the documentary. We saw the premiere tonight, but I’m sire it will come on History Channel again.
Prickly Pear Trio
These are three flowers on a prickly pear cactus up the road from our house. New flowers are blooming every day, so expect more pictures of them. I love spring and the desert. 🙂 Click on the image to enlarge.
The Evolution of Our Desert House
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.
A Desert Lizard
I was taking pictures of some of the beautiful spring cactus flowers in the neighborhood when this little guy dashed out from under one of the cacti. A quick scan through my “Desert Critters” reference book and couldn’t find a lizard exactly matching this one. A “zebra tail” was listed but had different markings elsewhere. Click on the image to enlarge.
Ocotillo – Signs of Life
At the end of rather inhospitable looking spikes on the canes (stems) of the ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) planted in front of the house, some flower buds are beginning to appear. Our ocotillo has been dormant, but now we’re hoping that the monsoons will bring it back to actively producing leaves and flowers.
Currently, three of the canes have flower buds. Two of them have bigger buds than this, but are too high for the camera without a step-ladder. I’ll have more pictures when the flowers become mature. Click on the image to enlarge.
Wikipedia says this about the Ocotillo:
For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (1-2 inch) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.
Individual stems may reach a diameter of 2 inches at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 30 feet. The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that the branches are pole-like and only infrequently divide further, and specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine.
The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.