Verna took this shot of me relaxing in the spa this afternoon.
Arizona
Return of the Red Bird of Paradise
Since the Red Birds are coming back to the courtyard, it won’t be long until the beautiful flowers start appearing. I posted this item exactly a year ago today explaining why I just LOVE these plants and their flowers . . .
This is probably my favorite desert shrub. The shrub is called “Red Bird of Paradise” or “The Pride of Barbados.” They are native to Central America, parts of South America and the West Indies. Desert Tropicals, a Phoenix based garden information website, has information on cultivation and care of these pretty shrubs. They recommend planting them six feet apart and after summer in November or so, to cut them almost to the ground to keep them compact. In mid-spring, they will grow quite rapidly to between six and fifteen feet high.
I took this photo today while we were in Glendale, AZ, doing some shopping. Very soon, we will be having our landscape contractor install several of these around our house. Click on the image to enlarge.
Varmint Control
Before we left for California last month, there was a white-tailed antelope squirrel burrowing under the quarter minus landscape topping in our courtyard. The burrowing would have endangered some of the shrubs in the courtyard, so I caved in the critter’s excavation, patched up the holes and covered it with a large flower pot to keep it from trying to burrow there again.
When we got home last week, there were no signs of additional burrowing, so we thought the problem had gone away. Yesterday, however, Verna saw the little critter gnawing on a decorative scarf she tied around the neck of a small statue of a coyote. So, I set the little Havahart rat trap next to the statue and baited it with a couple of dog kibbles. Sure enough, the trap sprung this afternoon with the critter inside. I took the trap over to the neighbor’s unimproved lot and let the squirrel run off into the underbrush.
I do not know if catching the squirrel will discourage it from returning to the courtyard, so I set the trap again. We’ll see what happens. Click on the image above to enlarge.
Cholla Flowers
Just this week, the cholla flowers around the house have started opening. These two are on the cholla near the road below our courtyard (see inset). Click on the image to enlarge.
Home From The River
We had a great few days with our friends Jim and Karen on the Colorado River. Today, we got back home after a relatively short drive across the Arizona Outback. We’re looking forward to visiting them again, maybe in June. Meanwhile, back to the grueling task of being retired. 😉 Click on the image to enlarge.
Cluster of Plum Flowers
Spring is in full swing in the desert. Our flowering plum tree in the courtyard is covered with spring flowers and growing new purple leaves. Very pretty – click on the image to enlarge.
