September Chill

     Okay, so it's not anywhere close to chilly, but the weather IS cooler.   We were able to take walks on Friday and Saturday, and twice today.   Last night and this morning I actually sat out on the back porch for a little bit before the heat chased me inside.    Still, it has been much more comfortable than a few weeks ago.

     When I was out walking this morning I passed a number of people that I don't usually see.   They were the later set; the people without dogs.  Dog people are early people, and today I didn't walk until around 8 a.m.    

     This is a picture of the golf course that is closest to us.   I always stop to look for coyotes, even though I can't remember ever seeing any here.   Lots of bunnies, however, so the coyotes are probably close by.  

     On the other side of the street is a retention pond.  Yesterday a giant Blue Heron was standing in the water, fishing.   I didn't have my camera with me then, and today when I did he wasn't there.    But I should be able to get a photo of one soon.  They winter here and are wonderful to watch. 

     Kent is going into Parker with me tomorrow so we can get our flu shots.   I used to skip them, but not any more.   A real sign of aging is when you want to get a shot.  

     Yesterday we had lunch at Corta Bella, http://www.cortebella.net/Social-Club~131880~14243.htm, a gated community that was built shortly after Sun City Grand.   It's much smaller and has an Italian flare to it.   The thing we like is their restaurant.  It is upscale but affordable for lunch, with a great view.   Lately it has been almost empty, which is bad for them but wonderful for us.   

     Since we have moved here, we don't eat out very often.  Since Kent is home, he usually cooks much tastier meals than we would have in a restaurant.  When we do go out, it tends to be for lunch.   In fact, I can't remember the last time we ate out here for dinner.   

     Corta Bella has Kent's favorite restaurant, and I enjoy it, too.  With great views and nice music, it is a wonderful lunch time treat.

      

        

New Neighbors

 

          The new neighbors are a family of mice that have taken up residence under our Hesperaloe (red yucca) plant.   We disagree on which species of mouse.   Actually Kent denies that they are mice.  He also says they must go.  Soon.   

          Neither of us has seen the new wildlife, and neither of us knows anything about desert mice or rats.   That doesn't keep us from having an opinion and being certain that our opinion is the correct one.

          Kent says they are pack rats.   I know this is wrong because I saw a pack rat nest at the White Tank Mountains.  It was at the nature center and labeled.   It was larger and much less tidy.

          I think this is the home of cactus mice.   We have golden barrel cacti and a few other species of cactus nearby.    My Pocket Naturalist, Southwestern Desert Life edition, shows 5 local varieties:  Desert Shrew, Kangaroo Rat, House Mouse, White-Throated Woodrat, and Cactus Mouse.     Of the choices, the Desert Shrew grows to a mere 4 inches, which would be acceptable.   The Woodrat, on the other hand, grows to 16 huge inches.   Not so acceptable. 

         The Cactus Mouse is a medium size, 8 inches, light brown or beige in color, with cute ears.   So I am convinced that, if we have to have this variety of neighbors, I want them to be from the Cactus family.  
          The Pocket Naturalist doesn't show Pack Rats or Citrus Rats, two local varieties that I know exist here.  So it is possible that our little friends are something entirely different.   For now, however, I choose to believe they are cactus mice.

Here's a closer view of the nest.    Does anyone really know what they are?

Moving On

      I can't believe it has been a month since I posted.  The past few weeks have been filled with moves and changes, which is partially the reason for my absence.   The other reason is my involvement with Second Life, which took on a life of its own in August.
     But since I am here in this reality, I'll only talk about it.   August in Arizona wasn't all that great.  I'm a creature of habit, and I don't take change easily.   And I don't particularly like it when other people make changes that affect me either.  Once I'm in a comfortable rut I like to stay there.   But the universe had other plans.

      The major change involved my mother.   As you know from earlier posts, she turned 95 this year.   For the past five years she has been living in a "Seniors Executive Apartments" called The Waterford.   This seniors-only complex provides lunch and dinner and has a nurse on site during weekdays.   The staff organizes trips and entertainment routinely.  They have a "doctor" bus that takes the residents to medical appointments, too.  It really is a wonderful place, and it was  perfect for Mother when she moved there. 
       At that time she was a young 89, still driving and had her own car.  About the only things she couldn't do were balance her checkbook and keep her medicines straight.   I had taken care of her checkbook for years, mostly because she didn't want to do it.   I didn't mind, and she was happy to be rid of that chore.   When she moved to Waterford, I hired someone to come in daily to make sure she took her pills correctly, which solved that problem.  Since she was able to drive short distances to the grocery, doctor, and little shops, Mother never used their bus system.   When she gave up driving a year or two later, I had to arrange transportation to the doctor because she didn't want to use the bus.   Arranging transportation was getting progressively harder, but I was managing.        

      Then other problems arrived.   The medicine person became unreliable and had to be replaced.   Waterford changed some of its policies.  Mother kept aging, and her memory continued to fail.   Still, she liked it there and didn't want to move.   I did try to get her to move last year but she balked, and I caved.   (I'm beginning to see where my dislike of change comes from....) 

      But where aging is concerned, time never stands still.   

      I had worried about a crisis happening.  That had occurred to many of the elderly parents of friends or acquaintances, and occasionally it was tragic.   When it happened to Mother, it was fortunately not a big crisis.  It didn't incapacitate her, but it was a wake up call to me.   It was plain that she could no longer safely live in a seniors apartment complex.  She was no longer capable of handling even a small emergency on her own.  Ironically, there were at least 3 people hired to do things for her, but none of them noticed the problem or called me about it.   Even more worrisome, although I talk to her by phone routinely, Mother couldn't remember to tell me that something had occurred that needed fixing.   It was clear-- She had to move to a more structured facility. 

                   So here is her new home, The Inn at Renaissance Village.  http://innatrenaissancevillage.com/   

     A true assisted living, there are attendants to make sure she not only gets her medicine, but also a shower, clean clothes, and three meals a day.    The adjustment wasn't easy, but she is now enjoying it as much as her limitations allow.  She plays Bingo and visits with people.   The food is delicious.   

     Getting older is no picnic, I'm discovering.  Posts in the future may start to deal with some of these issues.  I'm having a real problem finding information, or correct information, about various issues related to elder care.  And the politicians are truly clueless.  

     But for now, at least, Mother is safe and content.

     The other change that occurred involved a co-worker.  My favorite co-worker left the office to seek fame in the big city.   (No fortunes are there in this economy, but that will come soon.)   He is a bright, young attorney, and it was always fun to watch him discover the law as it IS, not as its taught in law school.  He has a funny sense humor, too, which will carry him a long way.    I miss him, but he keeps in touch and seems to be adjusting very quickly to his new job.  

     So that was August.   

     We did take a quick weekend trip to Prescott at the beginning of the month to celebrate our anniversary and escape the heat.   The weather here has been hot, hot, and hotter.

      Now that we're into September, I'm hoping that nothing changes for a long time.  Except the weather, of course.   

                

Monsoon Season

Before I moved to Arizona, I thought monsoons were something that only happened in India and exotic islands.   But here in Arizona, they have their own version of the Monsoon.  

Officially we are in the middle of the season now, although it only just started raining here in Surprise a couple of weeks ago.   For a few weeks we could see the storms building but they never reached us.   Then last week we started getting some rain.   I took these photos on a day when we didn't get much rain, but we did get a beautiful rainbow.

Then Thursday the real thing hit.  I was on the road, driving home from Parker, when the storm hit here.  Luckily it had stopped raining hard by the time I got home.  I drove through a bit of rain near Wickenburg, but nothing dangerous.

On Friday morning I went walking with my friend shortly after dawn.   We saw a number of tree limbs broken and damaged and a few agaves uprooted.   Water filled the retention basin, too.  




All weekend it has been raining, which is really unusual.  Much more common are fast, hard-hitting rains that don't last very long.   Instead of that, we have had a weekend of clouds and slow, soaking rains that are wonderful for the plants.











Our ocotillo loves the rain.

Happy 4th of July!

I'm cheating on this pix--it didn't come from the neighborhood.   I tried to get a picture of our local fireworks, but the neighbor's trees have grown too tall.   When we first bought here, the trees were tiny versions of themselves.  At holiday time we would pull our lawn chairs to the sidewalk and watch the fireworks from the comfort of our front yard.  

Lately we have had to stand to watch, and this year even that didn't work very well.    I could only see the top third of the fireworks over the tree canopy.   Plus someone added a streetlight that is strategically placed to block the best ones.

So this picture actually came from Second Life.   My very good friend Grey Lupindo took it there and sent it to me.  They know how to do fireworks in the metaverse!

Even though the firework watching didn't work out, I was able to meet my neighbor on the sidewalk and catch up.   This time of year in the desert is like the winter in the East.  Everyone tends to do inside activities except in the very early morning and after it cools in the evening.   She had been out  for an evening walk as I was standing on the sidewalk staring at the sky.   It was good to chat and catch up.

We had a very nice Holiday weekend.   There's a new Japanese restaurant, Hayashi, that we checked out with our other friends.   Very different from our usual Mexican or Bar-B-Que picks.  I had some excellent shrimp.  We'll go there again when we get a chance.   

I listened to a reading of the Declaration of Independence for my official holiday celebration.  If you haven't looked at it or the Constitution for a while, take a peek.  So often the country seems to be cracking under the weight of the politics.  It's good to remember the foundation.

Quail Corner

   There's a new family in town.  Potentially, at least.   Kent found a nest of Gambel's Quail in the flower pot at the entrance to the courtyard.   This is right below the spot where the house finches nested earlier this year.   A popular spot.  

Gambel's Quail are interesting desert birds and very plentiful here.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambel%27s_Quail
They usually travel in a group with a couple of males acting as look-outs for the group.  Although they usually walk and won't fly unless startled, the sentry males will fly to the roof top to get a good look-see.   You have to admire that kind of dedication.

I didn't see as many baby quail as I normally see this year.  Last year we had a batch that nested in the courtyard in a larger flower pot.  They were hatched and gone within a day or two of Memorial Day.   This year that pot was empty.   So now we may be privileged to have some late-nesters.  

I counted 7 eggs today.  Usually they lay about a dozen or so, one egg a day.  Then momma quail sits on the nest for a while.  I'm not sure how long.  Suddenly in one day they all hatch and are almost immediately out running around.  The desert isn't a good place for tasty little creatures to linger too long. Lizards, coyotes, and bigger birds are always on the hunt.   In fact, we have two courtyard lizards that would probably eat the eggs if given half a chance.    

Newly hatched baby quail look like puffballs balanced on matchsticks.   They blend so well into the gravel that I have never been able to get a decent picture of them.   They grow rapidly.  

There was a batch that came to the water feature everyday earlier this spring.  While the chicks were very small, the adults kept them away from the water.   When they were a bit bigger and able to fly they climbed onto the top ledge to sip water that had pooled in the rock crevices.  We only run the water feature once a day, in the afternoon, but there is a trickle of water that flows continually.  That way the wildlife can drink without getting blasted off the water feature by the actual water falls.   Kent just installed this system recently, and the birds love it.

Right now I worry about whether this particular flower pot was a good choice.  It is right by the walkway that we use to come and go from the house.   We have been hunkered down avoiding the heat recently, but we still come and go through there.  Plus Kent walks by it everyday as he waters the plants.  I would think they could have chosen a quieter spot.   I'm concerned that they will abandon the eggs. 

But what do I know?   I have yet to hatch my first batch of quail.  Maybe Momma Quail does know best.  I hope so.  

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Me!

     June 29 was my birthday, and it was a very good one.   Since I love ice cream, I wanted a Hot Fudge sundae instead of the traditional cake.   Yummy!    Pizza was on the menu for my birthday dinner, at my request.  

     Three of us at work have birthdays that are close together so we celebrate them all at the same time. We had Kentucky Fried Chicken with all of the trimmings. Thanks, Dorothy! It was great. Most of us don't get KFC very often so it was a super treat.
      My son called me that evening to wish me a Happy Birthday.  It's always great to chat with him.  A few other good friends mailed cards, e-mailed or Facebooked their greetings.   Technology has definitely expanded the ways we can keep in touch.   

      At the end of the day I was thinking about my Mother, who turned 95 in May.   This was my 59th birthday.   If there are any Numerologists out there, let me know if this is a lucky sign.  (If it isn't, you don't need to write.)    

      We have both seen a lot of changes in our lifetime.   More for Mother, of course, but it is amazing to consider all of the new things that have occurred.   Computers would have to top my list.  I got a new one for my birthday, and it is fantastic.   More about it soon.   

      So now I am working toward the big 6-0 milestone next year.   Hmmm.  Maybe for that one I'll splurge on a banana split.