Afternoon Birds in the Brooke

Here is the usual owl, in the same old nest, right by our house.  Every day he/she sits higher up as her chicks grow bigger.  Pretty soon we will see her crowded out as the chicks start to stand up and look around.

These other shots are from a lucky find of a flock of Cedar Wax Wings.  I had no idea they were so close to our house, too.  But these are much more difficult to hunt down.  Now I know where to look! One of our favorite birds.

 

Big Snowfall

We got a 4" dumping of snow last night.  Now at noon it's melting fast.  But it was very beautiful.  I think this is the last we'll see of winter.

 

Animal Videos

We place the animal camera way out in the hills by a water source.  We got a few good images, until the Javelina got too curious and knocked over the camera!

 

Golf Cart Remodel

I finally got the golf cart seats finished.  This was very awkward to do, but it looks much better than the worn seats we had.  I also gave the poor thing a vacuum and a wash, which it needed since Dave always takes it to dusty places.

 

Javelina

 It is still always such a treat to "run into" Javelina.  At five o'clock we saw a herd of 12.  No tiny babies.  It was just fun watching them and listening to them snort.

Casa Grande Field Trip

 We started the day at an historic restaurant/cactus garden in Casa Grande called BeDillon's.  Very interesting place and great food.

Then we went to the Caywood Cotton Farm for a three hour tour.  I'd say it was 2/3 learning about farming and 1/3 learning about cotton.  It was a beautiful day and a fun adventure.

Our friend Linda came with us.  She is my Costa Rica partner.

Growing conditions

I finally found the pot seeds, after being stored in a cupboard for a month.  I planted about 12 seeds on 1/17 and today, on 1/22, one has sprouted.  My experiment is to see how large I can grow a plant and if I can plant it in the yard to see if it will survive an AZ summer without me!

 

Movies

Yesterday I went to a premier of a 22 minute movie called Glass Cages here at the compound.  One of the more youthful residents wrote and directed the film.  It was pretty interesting listening to her tell how all this works.  That's what she does now - make movies.

Then I found this great deal at the Desert View library.  The first 3 seasons for $1 each.  Seasons 2 and 3 aren't even opened!

 

Pickleball Tournament #1

I am in an Arizona Tournament league referred to as the Apple League.  My first tourney was down in Sierra Vista, a two hour drive from my house.  We played six games and won them all.  Which is really saying that the competition wasn't too tough.  But we had a nice sunrise on the drive down.

 

Cactus Wren

Trying to photograph birds one day.  Not too many birds out in the heat of the day but I did find this Cactus Wren.  He's so camouflaged in the first photo, but his call is so distinct I could find him.

Once he moved and I moved, I got this clearer photo.  Still no Cardinal sightings, yet.

 

Golf Cart fabric

Recovering the golf cart seats is my next big project.  I was able to sew one section in place.

I thought I could remove the covers and use the sewing machine but that's too difficult.  So I'm sewing them by hand, which is no picnic.  But I'll get it done this month.

 

Ostriches

 We went to the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich ranch and had a blast feeding and petting the collection of animals.  The last time we went was at least five years ago.

One of these ostriches grabbed the back of Dave's eyeglass holders after this photo was taken.

Christmas in Tucson

Typical Christmas morning in Tucson!

And a Peppermint Cheesecake for the Christmas dinner finale!

 

Golf Cart Parade 2022

 Our first activity of season 9 - The Golf Cart Parade.  There were at least 70 entries.  It's so fun to walk amongst the carts, while it's still light, and see all the work put into the decorating.  Some even play Christmas songs, lights flash on others, and two women playing the accordians!  Very festive.

And the sunset was sensational, too.