One of the natural consequences of aging, is the potential for bruising easily. Last night, while taking the dogs out for their last call, I banged my lower forearm into the jamb on the patio screen door (with a considerable assist from Cabela, anxious to get out to do her thing).
It looks worse than it is; my left wrist bone is just to the left of this three-inch long hematoma which should fade to nothing within a few days. Click on the image to enlarge.
The paint crew showed up here again today to renew the faded reddish stain that was applied to the beams and posts almost five years ago. This sort of maintenance is necessary in the desert due to the intense sunlight and extreme temperature changes. Click on the image to enlarge.
We will probably have the whole house repainted within another two years, but we’re good to go for now. We also need to get the roofer out here to inspect and repair the roof as may be necessary. More on that later.
Many of the cholla cacti around the area are in bloom for the second time this season. Some of them did this last year and many of them are at it again.
This cactus flower (click on the image to enlarge) is one of several that opened today on the cholla immediately outside of our courtyard. This is the same cactus where the Curve Billed Thrasher chicks were recently fledged from their nest here.
My tomato vine in the courtyard garden has had several tomato blossoms, one of which produced this one-inch green tomato. I am hoping that there were be several of these growing on the vine soon.
I have had varying success with growing vegetables in the courtyard; some of the plants simply fail in the desert conditions, while others are eaten by varmints like squirrels and rabbits. With the new courtyard gate at the rear of the wall separating the yard from the rest of the property, I am hoping that the pest problem will be minimized.
We shall see. Click on the image to enlarge.
Now that virtually all of the dust-generating construction is complete, we decided to fill up the spa for the summer season. In the image above, the water level is nearing the three hundred gallon level, which is the nominal capacity.
This year, we’re using salt, rather than chlorine, as the clarifying agent. Salt is composed of sodium and chlorine, but the odor and harshness of the agent is eliminated.
While we have the RV drive under construction, we parked the trailer across the road on our other lot. I was in the courtyard when I took a pair of images which I merged into this anaglyph image.
Tomorrow, the concrete crew will finish the last section of the RV driveway. About a week after that, we can pull the trailer into it’s place on the drive next to the hookups.
You will need your free pair of 3D glasses to view the image (click image to enlarge). As usual, I have posted a 2D version here.
