Butterflies in Bloom

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to the Desert Botantical Gardens.

The butterfly on the left is a Painted Lady. At first I thought it was a Buckeye since the coloring is very similar and the identification card showed that Buckeyes might be in the exhibit.

I wanted it to be a Buckeye since Buckeye is the Ohio state tree. It seemed fitting for 3 Ohioans (well 1 and 2 former) to viewing it. But I looked at my original photo again, magnified this time, and saw that it was a Painted Lady. Buckeyes have some circular designs on their wings. I looked at all of my photos, but I could not find one. Maybe they emerge at a different time. I´m not sure.

The butterfly on the right is a Julia.

This butterfly is a Malachite.

This sculpture is by Alan Houser, who was an Apache artist. The photo doesn´t show the detail and beauty of his work, but I had to include it. The DBG featured a number of his pieces, but this was my favorite of the ones on display.

Spring in the Desert

One of my favorite things to do in Phoenix is to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens, especially when they have their annual Butterfly House open. My friend Lynda visited us from Ohio a few weeks ago, and we went to see the Butterflies.

The one above is a Pipevine Swallowtail.

Here are Zebras and a Painted Lady.

More Zebras, a Julia, and another Painted Lady in the top left.

A white Sulfur possibly? The Identification Guide that I picked up didn´t show one that looked quite like this. So if there are any butterfly experts out there, please feel free to correct the ID.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Currently I am reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. An older book that you probably read years and years ago. It was published in 1974 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1975.

I had a baby in 1975, moved temporarily to Oxford, Ohio, and went back to college. The stint at Miami University was followed by a three-year sentence at the University of Dayton School of Law. For 6 years, if it wasn´t a book by Dr. Spock or on some prof´s required reading list, I missed it.

Now Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is over 30 years old, and no one talks about it any more. But it is wonderful, and I am glad I finally found it. If you missed Pilgrim, too, I heartily recommend it. Nature hasn´t changed, and Dillard is a beautiful writer. If you read it when it was new, re-read it. I love to re-read books, or at least passages of them. It is like visiting an old friend.

After reading Annie Dillard describe praying mantises ( manti?), I will never look at the creepy green bugs the same. She makes them sound like wonderous creatures, which I suppose they really are. Once, when Kent and I were living on the second floor of an apartment building, I came face-to-face with a mantis. It was sitting on the stair case right outside our apartment. I have no idea how it managed to get there. Suddenly it swivled its head half-way around its body to stare at me. I jumped like I had been attacked. It never moved, never did anything but look at me, but it creeped me out.

This fall I saw one here in Arizona, and I was amazed. It was only about an inch or so long and very bright green. It was sitting in a potted plant on my porch table. I had never seen any of them here. I thought it would have been too hot. I didn´t kill it, of course, but I had Kent removed it from my table. Maybe next time, after reading Pilgrim, I will let it stay on my table.

For more about Annie Dillard, see her website at http://www.anniedillard.com/

Happy New Year!

I always heard that what you do on New Year´s Day is what you´ll be doing all year. A harmless old wives´ tale--if you can control how you spend your day. It may not be true, of course, but since it´s never a good idea to mess with old wives, I try to plan as if it were.

So I wanted to have the perfect Retiree-Wannabe day. I started out with a long walk, beginning at 6:30 a.m., while it was still dark and very chilly. I walk every Friday morning with my friend Chris, but today I took along my camera. The moon is full and beautiful right now. On my way to work early Thursday morning, it was stunning. It hovered over the mountains like a giant silver ball. I had wished I had a camera with me then. But today, with camera in hand, I wasn´t able to get a good picture. The moon stayed too high, and the houses in SCG, while pretty, cannot compare to the rugged beauty of the Harquvar range that I drive by every work day.

After my walk I visited Dr. Verloop at Surprise Chiropractic. Yes, on New Year´s Day! I can´t seem to get an appointment with other docs at any time, but he saw 3 patients while I was there. Bless his heart. I had been wincing in pain for days with my back, but I am feeling much better now. I hope I don´t spend the rest of 2010 with him (or any doctor), but it is great to be moving pain-free again.

Kent and I had a really good time celebrating all afternoon with our friends Chris and Lou. We have a shared past in flying gliders in Ohio, and we enjoy a lot of the same current interests. Always have a great time with them.

Later I played with my new Cricut cutter that I received for Christmas from my son and daughter-in-law. I love scrapbooking and card-making, and this is a great tool to expand my horizons in that direction. My first project was a Thank You card that went in the mail this morning to them.

After that I retired to the couch with my ice pack. LOL. No writing, which I hope to do more often, and no computer visit to Second Life, which I love to explore.

I could have been happy without the ice and the doctor visit, but I know it could have been so much worse. Doctor visits here are more common than sliced bread, and they often do not have a happy ending. I am very lucky to feel good enough today to be writing without wincing.

All in all, New Year´s Day 2010 was as close to perfect as you can get in Sun City Grand. A day spent with my husband, dear friends, a little wine and more food than I needed. I wish everyone could be so fortunate.

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

What happened to the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas?!? One of my New Year´s resolutions (right after getting young and thin) will be to write more consistently. In the meantime....

We just returned from a great visit to Ohio. The time is always too short when I´m visiting my family, but we had a wonderful time. I will be posting pictures soon. In the meantime, I hope your holiday was happy and spent with the people you love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

Last weekend I met up with Toni, my former law partner and friend for over 30 years for a Spa-Girls Weekend in Las Vegas. I can´t believe it has really been 30 years, but we met the first day of law school in 1978. Neither of us has changed a bit, of course.



I had a blast, and I think she did, too. The National Indian Rodeo Finals, or something like that, was being held at our hotel, Southpoint Hotel and Casino, so we decided to go watch them for a while on Friday night. It had been quite a while since I had seen a rodeo, and I don´t remember it being this rough. The steers in the steer wrestling competition were big! And the bucking horses really went at it. Quite a few of the guys went limping out of the arena. In other words, it was a great show.



Even better than the rodeo was the Indian market that was held at the same time. Great jewelry, clothes, ropes, boots--everything the cowboy needed or wanted. I bought a pair of beautiful inlaid turquoise earings in the shape of the bear. Toni found a great vest and necklace. We had only been in Vegas a few hours, but we were off to a great start.

Saturday was Spa Day. I would love to tell you how great the Hot Rocks Massage was, but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Toni had the best one is all that I can say.

After getting all relaxed and soothed, we were ready for the Strip. We taxied to the Bellagio and stuffed ourselves at their buffet. I would tell you that Toni couldn´t eat just one crab leg, and I couldn´t eat just one dessert, but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But I did skip all those fattening vegetables.

After the great dinner, we waddled through The Bellagio. It has a huge display of Chihuli glass in its lobby. Looking at it and the flowers in the Conservatory are two of the best free things to do there. It makes donating a few dollars in the slots less painful.

Next we tried our luck at New York New York. I hit it big at the Wheel for 20 huge dollars. Seriously huge. They were gold disks about 5 inches in diameter. No hiding that win!

We decided to have a drink in the Big Spenders Bar, or whatever they call it, to celebrate. This was a fun way to donate back the 20 bucks since I was destined to lose it into a machine if I went back to playing. Better to sample their coffee and Amaretta. Yummy.

We were on the go non-stop from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Then we had to head back to reality. I would love to tell you all the wild things we did, but what happens in .....

Can´t wait to do it again!