Arizona

The Courtyard Entrance

Courtyard Entrance

Bob and I were in the courtyard a couple of days ago trimming up some of the shrubs there. Our Cleveland Sage bushes had their usual spring flowers and by the end of July, the flowers had mostly dried up with the protruding flower stalks remaining. We also trimmed the Cimarron Sages along the driveway where they were encroaching the driving space.

I stood on the driveway and took this photo of the courtyard entrance with the gate open. It stays closed most of the time, so it is somewhat unusual to see it open. Click on the image to enlarge.

Compass Barrel Cactus Flowers

Compass Cactus

I hiked up on the hill behind the house to look at some damage caused a couple of weeks ago by a severe thunderstorm that came through the area. There were some broken limbs and two toppled palo verde trees. There were also some uprooted cholla cacti. Luckily, none of our favorite cacti were damaged. I took a photo of the lone compass cactus on the hill with its crown of flower buds, one of which is open. Click on the image to enlarge.

Cimarron Sage Flowers

Cimarron Sage

It seems that after a sizable rainfall, we get a lot of these little bluish purple flowers on the Cimarron sage bushes. I took this image on Thursday evening as we were out walking the dogs.

When the flowers drop off in a few days, we will take the trimmer to these bushes in that they are encroaching the driveway. Click on the image to enlarge.

Spraying for Weeds

Spraying for Weeds

With the rain, comes the weeds. I took my 2 gallon Round-Up® sprayer around the lot spraying wherever I saw weeds. We get quite a variety of unwanted sprouts, most of which I can’t identify. We have weed season from early spring right up through the first signs of winter.

Mini Carnations

Mini Carnations

For the weekend, we have this lovely bouquet of Pink/Pink & White Miniature Carnations on display in the vase on the sofa table. I got them at the flower concession at the supermarket on Friday. This batch has a faint carnation fragrance. Click on the image to enlarge.