We bought this nice Sugar Skull decoration in a post-Halloween bargain pile at one of the supermarkets here in town. Other than a Halloween decoration, this could be used to celebrate “Dias de Los Muertos” or Days of the Dead that starts on October 31st through November 3rd to coincide with Halloween and All Saints Day celebrations.
The really hot days of summer are now over, it seems, with forecast highs ONLY in the 90’s. Some of the cacti around the yard are opening flowers like spring has sprung. This is typical of this time of year which the locals (and that includes us) refer to as “second spring.”
The photo above is the last flower of many that opened on our Devil’s Tongue Barrel cactus over the summer. We brought this cactus from the old place in California, put it in the ground here and it has been happy ever since, having grown to twice the height and a significantly larger diameter than when it arrived. Click on the image to enlarge.
Verna and I were doing some minor outdoor chores today. I was spraying to kill some weeds that had cropped up over the summer, and she was snipping off the “sucker” branches from the palo Verde and some Mesquite trees on the property.
After surveying some of her work, she snapped this photo of the house as it appears today. Our new retention wall in front has done its job this summer and kept the property from eroding in spite of a millennium rainfall and runoff last July 18th. Click on the image to enlarge.
After more than a week away from home, the birds that usually gathered beneath and on the bird feeders were mostly shopping elsewhere. It took a day or so for them to gradually start coming back to the (now replenished) feeders.
This is a shot of a woodpecker that snatched a tidbit from the seed bell and is (apparently) headed somewhere to either eat it or to share it with a mate or offspring. I’m not sure which.
The birds (quail, woodpeckers, curve billed thrashers, etc.) have returned, but not yet in the droves as before we left on our trip. I am sure that the numbers of birds will return to their previous state in a few days. Click on the image to enlarge.
Last February, we bought a colorful poster from the town Chamber of Commerce for twenty bucks. We intended to get it mounted and framed, but as life events dictate (read procrastination), we put it off until last week when we took the poster to the shop in town that framed our bathroom mirrors; we asked them to mount it and frame it suitable for hanging.
We got the call from the framers today on our way back from grocery shopping, so we stopped in the shop and picked up the masterpiece. We both think it looks great and it is now proudly hanging on the south wall in the guest bedroom.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Verna’s garden in the courtyard recently became infested with tomato worms. She has one pot with tomato vines and two others with pepper plants. The worms like both types of vegetation and have been found in both planters.
As of today, four of the little beasties have been removed from the garden. The first of them she found was as big as my index finger. The others were smaller, but at least a couple of inches in length.
I photographed the worm in the lower image on the right just before Verna plucked off the infested branch and tossed it out toward the RV drive, the same treatment given the previous worms found. I figure one or more of the enterprising roadrunners that hang out near the house welcomed the nice juicy treats.
Click on either image to enlarge.
