Rains and cooler air

I haven't talked about the munchkins in awhile, but they're still around. The other day they were so comfortable sleeping on the bed, I couldn't disturb them to straighten the covers.

The monsoon rains came back this week with nice storms over several days.

I've always loved seeing the rain sweep across the valley, and here at the ranch, the views are better than ever.

This is from the mailboxes a couple miles east of the ranch, looking west.

Luckily, we made it home before the rain hit!

The moisture is good for the garden, of course. Most days, Sam comes home after his morning bus route and works on a project or two.

And it's paying off. We've harvested big cucumbers that feed us for several days.

Our "mystery plant" that grew from a seed in the compost pile is spaghetti squash and it's huge! Still not ripe yet, though.

Peppers and corn are growing well.

And cherry tomatoes!

Fortunately our nearest neighbors aren't bothering the garden plants, preferring the sweet native mesquite pods.

The storms always lower the air temperature and by morning we're sometimes able to open the windows to fresh air.

Dingus says, "thanks, mom," while Frankie just wants his turn at the window.

It's almost the weekend. Enjoy!

Sunflowers

Sam brought us sunflowers the other day on his way home from work. Aren't they beautiful?! They've really brought a lot of cheer to my day. Sam is back driving the school bus this week, learning his new route and new kids. And already counting the days until his next break!

Mom Vae and I went on an outing last Thursday, just because. First stop was Wendy's for a frosty. She loves ice cream. I don't mind it sometimes, too.

We spent a little time at the Benson Historical Museum, looking at the courtyard, murals and outdoor displays, but it was closed for the summer. So instead we visited a resale shop near where my mom and dad lived in Benson. The owner talked to Ma several times, which she likes, and she actually had a good time browsing.

We drove to the monastery in St. David, a beautiful spot, and saw some peacocks. It was too hot to take a walk.

Finally, we tried a new restaurant for lunch. Altogether, a successful day!

In other news, the Honda is finally running again. Yay!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Crafts and Careys

Last Saturday we all went over to Paul and Gaye's house for a really fun day of crafts. It turns out it was Anita's idea over a month ago. Thanks to all three of you!

The ladies started with decorative paver stone kits. (From left, we have Anita, Mom Vae, Gaye, her Mom Thelma and sister Kit, and me.)

We read the directions and traced the outline of the mold onto butcher paper.

Then prearranged our design on the outline using pieces of colored glass.

Everyone contributed over the next couple hours.

Paul decided his "craft" would be producing his world-renowned four-hour ribs on the smoker, despite the monsoon rains.

Paul and Sam also supervised the concrete operation in the garage.

Piper was a big help, as cats always are.

Sam put off making his paver stone to assist with mine.

Here's the final product, two butterflies and two dragonflies, still drying and a bit rough. But so pretty!

Thank goodness that's behind us; we want food! Anita made a scrumptious salad, Paul's ribs and beans were incredible, and we seemed to have a lot of other food as well. The perfect end to a fun day, and Anita's husband Ross even showed up! I was too busy eating to take photos. [Many of these are courtesy of Sam and Anita].

The next day, Sam cleaned up the extra bits of concrete on the decorative glass and we placed it in Ma's front yard under the trees. I chose a lime green dragonfly to remind us of the beauty we saw in New Orleans last month. Dragonflies at the ranch are nothing like that!

Have a good week, ya'll.

Still summer

As usual, we've had a varied week. Varied and harried! With some relaxation mixed in. The garden seems to like the twice weekly feeding.

This is our corn after only one week. Twenty-four stalks in 4 buckets!

On Sunday, we made our usual church and shopping trip to Tucson. Multiple stops included a craft store for half-price paving stone kits (hopefully featured in next week's post after a group crafting day at the Careys!).

And we scored a cool(er) parking spot close to the building at Costco! Shade is such a coveted commodity in the summer in Tucson, especially since the monsoons are hit and miss so far.

Back at the ranch, our pleasures are simpler. This chubby six-inch Clark's Spiny lizard didn't want to give up his territory near the back steps off Mom's deck.

He eventually conceded that I was bigger.

One evening on a quiet walk, I noticed the beautiful sunlight grazing the grasses on the west side of the ranch.

And a sunset with a different variety of color.

Last night's activity is a bit harder to see. Sam read that Saturn, with its rings, would be in its opposition (closer to Earth), so he set up his 4 inch telescope.

He amazes me all the time. I don't know where he learns this stuff. It's an Orion reflecting telescope he found at a yard sale and it takes a lot of sighting on the North Star, then manually finding and tracking the planet you want to look at.

As I waited in my lawn chair in the balmy half moonlight, I tried a few photos with my phone. I use my phone for all my photos anymore, but this time I experimented more with the "pro" setting.

Can you see Sam lining up to find Saturn? We also saw Jupiter and its three moons. They were small, but awesome!

Then he focused on the moon. This is the lower magnification lens. Beautiful, eh?

With the higher magnification lens, you can see the mountain ranges and craters so clearly! Photos courtesy of my local astronomer, Sam himself. It was a fun, relaxing evening.

I hope you all have a few of those, too.

Fireworks, fur and foreign cars

Ever been to "The Thing" out on I-10? The Thing .. Wikipedia . It was recently remodeled, so we drove over to see what they've done. Plus, they have a Dairy Queen!

Yesterday we took Mom Vae into Tucson to spend the weekend with Becky and Juan. We had quite an adventure getting home; more about that later. While in Vail, Sam noticed a lot of vehicles along the edge of the shopping center overlooking the valley. Fireworks!

We joined dozens of locals and the festivities soon started. This family brought sparklers.

It was a fun show!

The other day, Sam brought home some vintage books from a bookstore in Willcox. I broke out the ginger snap cookies as I perused this 1915 book of the same name.

We were hoping for a few quiet days together with the cats. Frankie likes a good shoulder rub in the mornings.

Dingus isn't so happy with Sam's  version of the evening entertainment.

Oh, yeah, our adventure last night was an unexpected brake fluid leak on our little Honda Fit. Sam's skill using the hand brake got us home safely, but he spent a good part of today trying to fix it. Life can be a chore sometimes.

But we are blessed to be here at the ranch. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!