toadstools

So far, living in the "desert" has been a curious thing. We have, of course, had our share of wild (and thankfully not-so-wild) animals visit our yard. And, we have experienced the desert weather. They say it is a "dry heat", although, this summer the humidity has been higher than in any of the other three southwest states that we have lived before. The extra humidity and sauna-like temperatures, is because the summer brings the "monsoon" season... which actually produced less rain than what we had in February during the "mild" winter. But that was a fluke... something the locals hadn't seen in years.

So, I have come to realize, that nothing is really what we expect it should be. For instance, mushrooms in the grass. In the heat of the summer. I guess I was surprised to see them at all. But then, if they are going to pop up, wouldn't they have popped up when we were getting all that rain in February? Or, is it because they like all the humidity of the monsoon season?
Every time we get just a sprinkling of rain, a new crop of mushrooms peek out of the grass. They start out like a small little dome. They have interesting patterns on their tops.
And then they grow bigger and open up.
They look like mini toadstool umbrellas.
Or mini toadstool huts.
Hello... anyone living under there?

six times the love

Last Friday morning I went on a field trip to my in-laws house. They live in Phoenix and had told us about some cute little visitors they spotted in their yard. I got there early, hoping to catch sight of them. They had seen them before I got there, but were gone when I arrived. My mother-in-law feared that I had missed them by about 15 minutes.

But, I patiently and quietly waited... with my camera ready just in case. I didn't have to wait long. This little guy came in and landed right in the palm tree where they have been living for awhile.

They are Peach Faced Lovebirds.

When my in-laws first saw them, there were just a pair. Then they noticed there were babies and they have been getting bigger right before their eyes. Just a few days before, they had noticed them flying back and forth between the tops of the two palm trees. The parents were nudging them out of the "nest".

Less then a minute after the first one landed, four more swooped in at the same time.

How. cool. is. that?
Their bodies are a pretty green. Their faces are peach or "rosy". They are also called a Rosy Faced Lovebird because of that. But their tails are something all together more amazing. They are bright turquoise! Look, these cuties were kind enough to turn around for us to see their pretty tails.
They are a small parrot, native to arid regions in Southern Africa. People raise them in their homes as pets. So, why here in Arizona, in the city, in the palm trees? Because escapees from captivity are frequent in many parts of the world and feral birds dwell in Arizona. Here, they are more commonly know as a Mexican Lovebird. They are a very social bird and congregate in small groups in the wild. Lovebirds are known for their sleep position, sitting side-by-side, turning their faces toward each other.

Here is another shot of the beautiful tail feathers. Don't forget you can click on any of these photos and they will enlarge for you.

We watched these five for quite awhile. They chattered back and forth with each other.
Suddenly, I noticed there were six. See the one at the bottom? Now very closely look up above him a little. About two layers up you can see a little peach head hiding.

Six little love birds playing in a tree.
I pulled back on my zoom because there was a little something else that had been sitting up in the tree too. Can you spot it?
A big fat pigeon. My mother-in-law says he usually hangs out with the doves. She had never seen him this high up in the tree. Extremely friendly pigeon or just wishing he would fit in?
Here are all six of them. It was hard to tell which ones were the babies because they had grown so quickly. Just several days earlier she said the babies were much smaller than the parents. The one down at the bottom is probably a baby because research says...the young one's faces are lighter in color.
Here is one practicing it's flying.
These two are well camouflaged in the tree. I imagine that these birds often go unnoticed in people's yards.
Hello pretty bird.
Hello to you too.
Here they are on the fruit that hangs from the trees. Since I read that they like to feed on seeds and berries, I assume that they probably snack on these little fruits.

And because they like seeds and berries, they have also been eating the seed that my father-in-law puts in his bird feeder. I also read that they like to drink water that people will put out for them. So, Grandpa Johnny...keep giving them your little fruit and berry mixture AND put out a little water feeder for them too. They might just stay around a little longer!
How cute are they?
My bird field trip was very enjoyable. Especially since I got breakfast and an early lunch.

Can't get much better than that!

nine eleven

stop and remember

photo taken in my in-laws back yard.

wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?

The first stop my sister and brother-in-law made after leaving their home in Waco, Texas, on their two week vacation, was the small town of Dublin, Texas. While there, they stopped at a corner soda shop and had themselves a Dr. Pepper float. When you live in Texas you don't drink root beer floats, you drink Dr. Pepper floats. Because, well...you are from Texas.

Waco is actually where Dr. Pepper was invented. It was a wild frontier town nicknamed Six Shooter Junction (sure, I did my research). A pharmacist working at a corner drug store noticed customers loved the smell of the soda fountain with it's many fruit, spice and berry aromas. So, he decided to invent a drink that tasted the way the soda fountain smelled. He named it Dr. Pepper, after the father of a girl he loved back in his home state of Virginia. A Texas business man was visiting Waco, tasted the drink and knew he wanted it in his bottling plant in Dublin. So, in 1891 he brought Dr. Pepper to his plant in Dublin, Texas.

My sister and brother-in-law brought us a case of these.

Cute little bottles of Dr. Pepper. The interesting thing about this bottling plant is that it is the only one that still sweetens the Dr. Pepper the original way, with pure cane sugar rather than artificial sweeteners. See, they even have that stamped right on the bottle.

And, another little tid-bit of interesting info...see the 10, 2 and 4 at the bottom? Did you know that researchers had discovered that our bodies naturally have a slump at 10:30, 2:30 and 4:30? I think I have felt that slump before. Anyway, the advertising agency at Dr. Pepper came up with a theme based on that theory. You need to have a little pick-me-up during the day to help with those slumps. Their answer to that?

"Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2 & 4".

Although never having lived in Texas, Chuck actually enjoys having a cold Dr. Pepper on occasion. Well, we usually have some cans in the fridge most of the time. Because we did have a can or two that day and we like a little excitement in our lives, we decided to have a little taste test. And, because it was probably somewhere close to 10, 2 or 4...we figured we needed to "drink a little bite to eat" anyway. So, here it is. We wanted to see if the Dr. Pepper in the bottle, sweetened with pure cane sugar, was better than that in the can with artificial sweetener. Or at least, could we tell a difference?

The Dr. Pepper Challenge: Bottle vs. Can
It was a blind test. The guys didn't know which was which. Florescent yellow cup A was the bottled drink from Dublin, Texas. As expert Dr. Pepper drinkers, they were certain they could tell the difference.
Florescent cup B was the can drink from...well Safeway of course. hee hee.
A & B. They looked similar. One seemed to have larger bubbles (not shown here) and one had a little stronger scent. Hmmm....the fruit, spice and berry aroma of the original soda fountain perhaps?
Expert number one. Wearing his not so florescent, but non-the-less bright yellow shirt. Seriously sniffing, swirling and sipping the sweet drink. Seriously?
Expert number two. Not so seriously sniffing, swirling and sipping the sweet drink. Ok...get serious.
It was noted that one was a little sweeter, more syrupy and more robust in flavor. One was a little more fizzy. I told you they were experts. In the end, they chose cup A as the Dublin Dr. Pepper and cup B as the Safeway can. I think they decided that the taste winner was...
Adding ice cream to the Dublin Dr. does make a pretty tasty Dublin Dr. Pepper float. I had to break out the root beer for our next float pick-me-up though, because I am a root beer float kind of girl.

The problem with floats... whether it is 10, 2 or 4, they are so refreshing and rather addicting (if you are partial to them) that you really are "drinking a bite to eat".

And frankly...my midsection could do without an extra bite to eat.

a visit from the south

Last week was a fun week. My sister and her husband were here from Texas. She is freshly retired and this was their first ever, two week vacation. Just because they could. They made some stops in Texas and then went on to New Mexico, rounding out the west here in Arizona. We had a laughter filled, relaxing time with them. It was like we were on vacation too. It was observed that my sister and I share the same laugh at times. And, that we have some similar sister tendencies. Isn't that what sisters do? Imagine what it is like when all five of us sisters are together. whew!

We took a nice day trip to Sedona. The weather was ideal, not too hot. And the scenery was very pretty. The fudge at the chocolate shop was pretty ideal too! yum.

We went to Slide Rock. It is just outside of Sedona and our family had gone there a couple of years ago on vacation... before Arizona even became a blip on our radar home screen. It is a natural rock slide that you can body slide through the canyon. When we were there with the kids we all did our fair share of sliding. The water is very cold and the rocks, although smooth, leave great slide burns in areas of your body that are rather... delicate. We learned on that particular vacation, that girls should wear long shorts. Fortunately, or unfortunately, on this particular visit, we left our suits at home. I don't think any of us would have braved it. It was more fun to people watch anyway. Did you know that men still wear speedos? They shouldn't. Especially at Slide Rock. Where people are watching...and where rock burns happen.
We walked through town. Had lunch. Ate chocolate. Posed like super models under a great tree.
Back at home...we spent some time in the pool. We learned a new game from new friends of the girls. It is called subs. One person is it. Goes under water. Counts to 10. Yells freeze. Then, has to keep their eyes closed and search around the pool until they tag someone. Everyone else is allowed three "subs" to get away before being tagged. It is pretty fun. Especially for the more mature players. I'll let you guess who provided the most entertainment. Oh Uncle Mark...how we love to hear you giggle!
Speaking of Uncle Mark. He was kind enough to introduce Rachel to lotto cards. They scratched their way to a win. Enough for a chicken dinner.
And then there were a few wild games of Sequence. Well, this one was wild because Karen had her "wild thing" shirt on. This game had just gotten started but, by the time it was finished, the board was nearly covered in chips. Wild!
And of course, we had to finish the week with a trip to Cherry on Top for some frozen yogurt. What are you winking at Chuck?
It was a great week. Eating out and stretching our meals was an all time record. The fun factor was high. Wildlife encounters were low.

Thanks for the visit!

bonnie's beans

In honor of Labor Day, I'd like to share our favorite bean recipe. Our good friend Bonnie shared this with me. She called it Mixed Beans. But, because we like her and we like this recipe, we shall call it...

Bonnie's Beans

1/2 lb. bacon- diced and then fried

After frying , in same pan, add 1 large diced onion(yep you are adding it to the bacon and the bacon drippings)

1/2 t. dry mustard

1 c. brown sugar

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 c. vinegar

Simmer slowly for 20 minutes (open windows)

Meanwhile, drain beans and pour them in a casserole dish.

1 can each Butter Beans, Kidney Beans and Lima Beans

2 cans of your favorite pork and beans
Pour bacon sauce over the drained beans. Cover and bake 60-70 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Serves 10-12 people.
They are really good.

We like to have them with brisket and potato salad in the summer. In the fall and winter with brisket, baked potato and corn bread on the side. They would be good with any meal that you would normally have a bean side dish. I have it on good authority that one of my sisters is making this to serve with steaks today.

I wish I were there!

hummingbird

It is not often that hummingbirds stay still long enough to get a picture of them... staying still. But this one did. It was a really hot day and I watched this little one sit on this branch for quite a while. It was so hot, I think he was panting. His little beak stayed open while he tipped his head back and forth. The light didn't capture the color of his neck but it was actually deep purple. Because I am taking pictures through the windows, I'm getting shots of things I normally wouldn't be able too. This bird would not have stayed put if I were outside. But taking it through the glass takes away from the brightness just a little.

It is amazing that these birds are so small and have to work so hard to get around. They flap their wings so quickly and keep flapping them constantly in order to get the nectar from a flower blossom. Obviously, the payoff for their hard work is rather sweet. I love the quiet racket their wings make when they fly by. A little mini helicopter. Flapping harder and faster when they are ready to gain speed and fly away. And it is always a bird that we are excited to see.

I think that we can learn from the hummingbird. Working hard for sweeter rewards and flapping our wings faster to get us where we want to be. But, still taking the time to sit and rest.

Happy September.