Verna and Bob's Weblog

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Panoramic Image Before Wall Work Starts

Before Panorama

Next week, if all goes according to schedule, the masonry crew will show up to start building four walls on the property. Two of them, a short one on the left of the RV drive and a longer one to the right will fortify the front of the landscape against the rushing waters we seem to get annually in monsoon season. The panorama above (click to enlarge) is the “before” view of the property.

The other two walls will be behind the RV drive out back and a shorter one in the wash itself to divert runoff to the little creek on the west side of the lot. Both walls are to prevent runoff from coming onto the RV drive in back.

I will try to post an “after” panorama when the work is complete.

February 10, 2015 by Arizona Home & Garden Panoramas

Flowering Plum Tree

Flowering Plum TreeThe replacement flowering plum tree has been in the ground for about a month now, and it’s doing great. In a month or two, it will come out of its winter funk and start producing the beautiful purple leaves and delicate pink flowers that we enjoyed with our old plum tree which was snapped off at the bottom of its trunk when we had the monsoon microburst last summer.

When we asked David, our landscaper, to replace the tree, we asked for a more substantial, mature tree, that would withstand our harsh monsoon weather when, and if, we get it. David’s crew chief, Rigo, adjusted the irrigation so the tree could adjust to the transition to its new home.

Click on the image to enlarge.

February 9, 2015 by Arizona Home & Garden Photography

Honey Bee

Honey Bee

Today was a warm, spring-like day here in Wickenburg. We think, but are not sure, that the colder winter days are behind us now.

As soon as you walk out of the back door onto the patio, you can hear the buzzing of the honey bees gathering nectar from the seventy-or-so rosemary bushes that line the RV drive. I took my camera over close to the the rosemary and took several photos of the bees doing their thing.

The bee in the photo above had lighted on a blossom and I managed to get a shot of its stationary transparent wings. Click on the image to enlarge.

February 8, 2015 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Goldfinches at the Feeder

Goldfinches at the Feeder

I am still playing with the new camera and telephoto lens. A couple of days ago, I was out in the courtyard looking for photo shots. I stood about ten yards yards away from Verna’s finch feeder in front of the courtyard and captured this photo of several goldfinches perched there. This particular feeder has six perches and all are usually occupied. There were two open perches in this image. Click on the image to enlarge.

February 5, 2015 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

New Finch Feeders

Finch FeederThe old finch feeders which contain thistle seed were getting a little dilapidated, so we replaced them with some new ones that we found at Tractor Supply here in town. The new feeders hold a bit more than twice as much seed as the old ones.

In the image at the right, a pair of house finches are perched on one of the new feeders. The female is on the left and the male is on the perch in the center. We often see goldfinches perched and taking seeds as well.

This photo was taken during a break in the rain on Friday. The condensation from the humidity can be seen inside the feeder.

Click on the image to enlarge.

February 1, 2015 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

Always Something to Do

Gate Repair

Owning a home, as the title of this post suggests, requires a little tune-up here and there from time to time (pardon the repeated trite metaphors). I was in the courtyard to fill in a hole that one of the little varmint squirrels had dug by the new plum tree, when I noticed that the gate latch was not tightly screwed down. Verna got this photo of me tweaking the screws a bit tighter. Click on the image to enlarge.

The repair of the latch, however, generated another problem with the gate; the latch bar no longer lines up with the hole in the post plate. I couldn’t fix that problem on my own, but we have a crew coming in next month to fix a lot of these little gripes. This is just another on the list of stuff that needs work.

We’re also getting retaining walls for the monsoon floods, a new flagpole, a new bathtub enclosure, concrete driveway and the list goes on. I will post about the progress of the work we’re getting done.

January 27, 2015 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Avalon 1998

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