Cabela has developed a dislike for the printer in the office. She completely ignored the printer until over the past couple of months. Now, when we print something out, she will charge the printer and try to stop it from making all those whirring and clicking noises. She can be sound asleep on the love seat in the great room and will suddenly bolt into the office and snap at the printer at the first whirrs and clicks. Click on the image to enlarge.
I have been adding wind chimes and other garden decorations to our mesquite tree that is next to the RV driveway. When the wind blows, the chimes begin their musical serenade. Click on the image to enlarge.
As a president, Barack Obama has been a force for mediocrity. He has banked more on the hopeless interventions of government than on the exceptionalism of the people. His greatest weakness as a president is a limp confidence in his countrymen. He is afraid to ask difficult things of them.
— Hoover Institution’s Shelby Steele
We traveled from California to our new Arizona home-in-progress on Labor Day weekend, 2010. Damsel took this picture of the house while the framing was in progress.
What a difference a year makes. Mouse over the picture to see our house as it appears today. We are truly blessed and fortunate to have been able to build our dream house.
After we ordered the Smith & Wesson tactical flashlights (right), Cheaper than Dirt offered their “Guard Dog” 240 lumen tacticals (left) for $19.95. Of course, we had to order them as well. Click on the image to enlarge.
And, after Crotalus suggested UV illumination for lighting up scorpions after dark, we ordered a couple of Scorpion Master 32 LED Ultraviolet Flashlights.
I do believe that we will eventually get a couple of the tactical SureFire flashlights as well. We will outfit ourselves as necessary for our personal defense.
Xeriscape gardening techniques are used throughout our desert communities. The xeriscape philosophy is compatible with the Sonoran Desert where we live. Designs incorporate low water usage plants such as cacti, palms, ocotillo and lantana. Xeriscape comes from combining the words landscape and xeros, the Greek word for “dry.” I photographed these lantana flowers in the Glendale, AZ Xeriscape Demonstration Gardens yesterday. Click on the image to enlarge.
Our little dog, Cabela, flushed this nasty-looking fellow from behind the compost bin today. She was about to investigate further (and probably would have been stung) but I held her away from the scorpion while I administered a stomp that ended the threat. It was still twitching a bit when I took the photo. Click on the image to enlarge.
