There is also a little House Finch perched atop the cactus. Taken with my Galaxy S23 this morning. Click on the image to enlarge.
Cactus Wren on Saguaro Buds
This is a throwback to the end of our May 2018 excursion to Northern California. We had been on the road for several weeks and upon returning to our home, this Cactus Wren posed on our big saguaro for this photo. Click on the image to enlarge.
Classic Ford Stake Truck in 3D
We posted a 2D picture of this truck about five years ago in the Other Blog. It is a classic old Ford stake truck that sometimes sits in the QuickLane Showroom, just up the street from our house. We have seen other old cars on display there, but the old truck keeps on coming back. Today, I took an image pair to render this stereoscopic anaglyph while waiting for my truck to be serviced. Click on either image to enlarge.
In case you don’t have a pair of red/cyan 3D glasses handy, here is the non-stereo view:
Imbolc – 2024
Imbolc Cross-Quarter Day
Celtic Feast today: Irish Beef Stew with Soda Bread. The stew had low-carb vegetables (i.e. Turnips, not Potatoes, Butternut Squash, not yams, etc.). The Soda Bread was made with Keto-friendly ingredients. The feast was delicious and served with an Irish Coffee on a cool, windy day. Click on the image to open in the image viewer.
About Imbolc:
Celts celebrated Imbolc as the beginning of Spring. Imbolc corresponds more or less to Groundhog Day in the USA, February 2, when tradition has it that if a sleepy groundhog creeping out of its burrow at dawn sees its shadow, there are 6 more weeks of winter. (If not, we surmise, only 42 days remain.) Christians celebrate this holiday as St. Brigid’s Day.
RV Battery Service
Our RV Technician came out today to replace the Chassis Batteries (upper image above) in the motorhome. He also serviced the House Batteries (lower image). Everything is working like a champ again. Click on the image to enlarge.
Warmer Weather
Image cropped from GOES. Click to enlarge.
Much of the country received a “polar vortex” event, which caused temperatures to drop dramatically. Our version of the event was probably much milder than a lot of places north and east of here; we only had temperatures drop below 32° for a couple of nights the lows reaching maybe 29-31°. We got no ill effects from the cold save for some damage to the leaves (and not the fruit) on our little lemon tree.
Now, the temperatures are looking more like our normal Sonoran desert conditions for January with lows in the 40s and highs in the 70s. We like it.
The almost cloudless image above was taken from the GOES satellite imagery a couple of days ago. Our location is on the top of Maricopa county just to the left and below image center. In the image within Arizona you can see white areas of snow along the Mogollon Rim and in higher areas in Northern Arizona.
