Today is the nineteenth anniversary of our wedding day. We were married in the City of Avalon on Catalina Island. Dozens of friends and family were in attendance.
In addition to the 19th anniversary gemstone aquamarine bracelet shown above, Verna has another turquoise and silver rope bracelet. The latter two were purchased locally while the AQ came in the mail from an on-line vendor. Next year is the Emerald anniversary.
As the summer season winds to a close, the Red Bird of Paradise Flowers continue to attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. I captured this lovely black butterfly in my camera as the little critter lit on one of the flowers in the courtyard.
Click on the image to enlarge.
When we got back from our three-week vacation, we discovered that the Devil’s Tongue Barrel Cactus was covered with flowers and buds. It is sure to put on a good show as second spring arrives in our part of Arizona.
This cactus was in a pot when we lived in California, but now it is in the ground in my rock and cactus garden. It sure seems happy to be in the Arizona Desert!
We briefly stopped at Petrified Forest National Park this morning on our way to view the All American Solar Eclipse. Our route takes us by several interesting and beautiful places. This panoramic image was made from five 1.333 aspect images combined into the wide-angle view.
Click on the image to enlarge for the full sized panorama. Use the scroll bars to view.
Verna took this photo today of some cumulus clouds building up east of us with the big saguaro and ocotillo in the foreground. We have been getting storms since Thursday of this week and expect them to continue until Monday according to the National Weather Service.
This evening, we are surrounded by thunder cells with lightning very frequent. We were out in the courtyard a few minutes ago when the International Space Station passed overhead and visible to us through the gaps in the clouds. Very entertaining!
Last evening, we were in the courtyard after some light rainfall. When we looked west, we saw this nice array of colors. I went inside to get my camera to capture this nice colorful cloudscape. Click on the image to enlarge.
