Palo verde blossoms~~SkyWatch Friday April 3, 2009

I have a palo verde in my front yard. Normally these desert trees don't have many leaves on them and are basically "green sticks" (palo verde = green stick, in Spanish). They do have very tiny leaves, to conserve moisture during the hot summer months. I bought this one at the Living Desert Reserve several years ago, in a 1 gallon pot. It is now over 6 feet tall and I have to trim it all the time! It is out front by our front fence, near the street. I have a couple of other ones in the yard and birds like to make their nests in them. I have another one, in the back yard, that naturalized, and came up on its own. It is now about 4 feet tall. The seeds need a LOT of water to sprout, but once they sprout, they grow very easily in our desert southwest. This one, however, has the most blooms, probably because it gets reflected heat from both the street and the fence behind it. SkyWatch Friday for April 3, 2009.

Dove and bougenvilla~~That's My World 0333109

I went outside yesterday morning to do some chores in my back yard and I spied this dove on my neighbor's tree. He didn't move, so I ran inside and grabbed my camera. I was sure by then it would have flown away, but it was still there. Can you see it? I also liked my neighbor's bougenvilla, which is in full bloom. I'm not sure why she has glasses on her roof. Who knows?That's My World for Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Monument Valley~~Sunday Stills 032909

One of hubby's favorite places is Monument Valley. He knows every rock formation there due to his interest in the John Wayne movies that were shot there. We've been there three times already and it looks like we'll be heading back there for spring break. We've never been there in spring, always during my summer break, so I'm hoping we'll get some interesting photos! Sunday Stills for March 29, 2009.

Bighorn sheep~~Skywatch Friday

Every once in a while, when we visit the Living Desert Reserve, in Palm Desert, the bighorn sheep are up on top of their mountain. We like to go early in the morning and this morning the keepers were just coming out with their hay. This bighorn was still up on top of the mountain and apparently hadn't heard the breakfast bell yet! SkyWatch Friday, March 27, 2009.

barn!

I found this barn at a nice horse ranch Saturday when I was driving around the mountains. I just had to post it as part of my "barn quest"!

Spring in the desert~~That's My World for Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A spring afternoon in the desert. The hills are alive with blooming plants. The skies are clear and blue, the plants are blooming, the wind is calm. The next day it was so windy that my front fence blew over and my sunflowers were damaged! (see post below) Ahhhh....spring in the desert! It can be perfectly calm one day, but the next day can blow trucks over out on the freeway. We are still seeing dust in the atmosphere and sneezing more than usual! There was a beautiful sunset Sunday night, with all the dust in the atmosphere, but I couldn't grab my camera and drive at the same time! The days are warming up this week and we'll be in the 80's...great photo weather! That's My World for Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

UPDATE on sunflowers

I am sad to report that a horrific wind storm came through our desert on Sunday. It took out about 1/3 of our front fence. It also destroyed several of my sunflowers. NOT the one with the caterpillar. That one survived. But one next to it, that was about to open, broke at its base and died. Another sunflower blossom bent and will have to be cut off. Such is the whim of the desert winds in March.
So sad to see, but part of nature. On the other hand, I have a new crop of sunflowers on the far side of the fence, right next to the mesquite tree. When I get home from school tomorrow, I plan to prune the dead sunflowers and take some pics of the new ones.
~~Cheryl Ann~~