Clouds, clouds, and more clouds!

I love driving up to the horse ranch where I board my horses because they often have clouds up there that we don't have here in the desert.  These photos are from a couple of weekends ago.  There weren't any clouds in the desert, but as I drove up the mountain, I could see them further ahead.  And, by the time I got to the horse ranch, the sky was painted by these soft strokes.  Aren't they beautiful?

We have another storm system pushing in today and it has already rained overnight.  Can't wait to go out today and see the clouds!

Now, go out and enjoy YOUR day!   :-)
Cheryl Ann

Weekend

Just a relaxing scene from Whitewater Preserve...

Not sure what I'll be doing this weekend.  Hubby has to work, so I'm on my own!

Cottonwood~SkyWatch Friday~013015

There's nothing quite like an old cottonwood against a sky!  This one is in Andreas Canyon, one of the Palm Springs Indian canyons.  SkyWatch Friday for January 30, 2015.  http://skyley.blogspot.com.au/

Just catching up ~Whitewater Canyon

Having lost last weekend to the flu, and then taking Monday off, I've lost track of time and what day it is.  I'm taking it SLOW this week.  Hubby went to immediate care yesterday and came back with a Z pak and some kind of steroid pill for his sinus infection.  He ALWAYS gets a sinus infection.  I ALWAYS get bronchitis. I have a bronchial cough, but I CAN sleep through the night, at least.

Our son has it, our daughter is on day 10 of hers, her husband has it, their daughter has croup...and so it goes.

Please stay well!

It RAINED here yesterday!

I had to take the day off school yesterday.  I felt a tickle in my throat Saturday and knew what that meant:  incoming flu!  By Sunday, I slept 14 hours, and most of the day.  Yesterday I could barely stand up. Hubby took the day off work, too, and today he's coughing as badly as I was...sigh...it's going around the desert.  Our baby granddaughter has it, too, so James went up to Yucca Valley to bring HIS mom down to babysit all week.  I can't do it...I have to go back to school today.

Anyway, I wandered out front with my camera a couple of times on Saturday and that was it.  I don't even remember Sunday.  Yesterday we both sat in bed and watched the blizzard on the east coast.

So, I really don't have much to say today.  It started raining here in the afternoon and continued until evening.  I'm glad I got more of my wildflower seeds planted ahead of the storm!

This FLU is no fun!!!!

Well, I have the upper respiratory illness which a bunch of my kids had at school and our daughter had and I had to babysit two afternoon last week...sigh... I'm taking the day off today since I can barely walk.  I get dizzy and I've nearly fallen a couple of times!  This is NO FUN!  I'm diffusing some essential oils and plastering other ones on my chest to relieve the cough. I slept 14 hours Saturday night and slept almost all day yesterday.

Please, be careful out there!  This bug is NO FUN!

Take care.
~Cheryl Ann~

Are YOU quiet?

Once again, Al over at Travel with the Bayfield Bunch, has provided me with a topic for discussion!  (Thank you, Al!)  He is currently reading Quiet, by Susan Cain.
http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2015/01/almost-had-myself-day-with-nothing-to.html

This is THE book to read if you are an introvert, like Al and myself!  And, many others out there, apparently.

I get my quietness from my dad.  He NEVER liked crowds and avoided them at all costs.  He preferred to stay home and listen to his stereo and his recordings of South Pacific and Oklahoma.  (Yes, I know them by heart!).  He had a "man cave" before they were popular.  And, being an accountant, he preferred numbers over people!  I almost didn't come into this world because he was also a stutterer.  And, he stuttered BADLY.  I remember, as a kid, I used to finish words and sentences for him and he would lightly slap my hand and glare at me.  I thought I was helping him.  Apparently I was annoying him.   Ahhhh....the hindsight of an adult, right?

Anyway, I uploaded the book to my iPad and I am now engrossed in it.  Little did I know that Chopin was an introvert!  I played many of his pieces as a child, playing the piano!  And Einstein...Well, I kinda figured that out by myself!  I mean, he obviously didn't like crowds!

So far the book has explained my near phobic feeling of panic in large crowds.  I USED to go to the Riverside County Fair down in Indio.  Now, I don't even bother.  I worked 7 months in downtown Los Angeles until I came back to our desert home and announced one weekend, "I can't go back there."  I worked on the 28th floor of a 40 story building and there were just too many drivers, too many people in elevators, and too many people on the ground.  We had kept our desert home here and would "escape" back here on weekends until I got to the point I couldn't go back.

So, thank you, Al, for pointing out this book to those of us who need it!

If you would like to order a copy, here's the Amazon address for it:
http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422101358&sr=1-1&keywords=quiet&pebp=1422101418960&peasin=307352153

I just used my iPad and went to the iBooks store and typed in the name.  The author is Susan CAIN and the full title is:  

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking 

Please let me know, if you read it, your thoughts.  Like I said, I wish I'd had this book 40 years ago!  I'm going to ask my husband to read it, since he is NOT an introvert.  Maybe it will help him understand WHY I need my "alone" and "quiet" times?

Mountain gate~Good Fences~012315

Sometimes when I'm up near Cahuilla Mountain, I'll just drive around and see the ranches and houses up there and wish I had the money to move there.  But, I don't, so it's off to work I go every week...sigh...

I absolutely LOVE this ranch gate, don't you?  I feel like I could just relax, watch the clouds, listen to the quail, and enjoy life at a place like this!

Good Fences for Friday, January 23, 2015.  http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/

Fall color~SkyWatch Friday~012315

I promised you some fall color, so here are three photos I took up at the Whitewater Preserve last weekend.  It was a pleasant surprise to still see these leaves on the trees up there.  I do believe that the sycamore trees have the little balls on them because the sycamores up at the horse ranch also have them.

Enjoy your weekend!   SkyWatch Friday for January 22, 2015.  http://skyley.blogspot.com.au/

Whitewater Preserve

We make a run up to the Whitewater Preserve, off Interstate 10, a few times each year.  We usually go during winter break, but honestly, hubby and I were so dang EXHAUSTED that we just pretty much stayed home.  We didn't go to Arizona.  We didn't go to northern California.  We just stayed home.

Since I had a 3 day weekend last weekend, however, and the weather was GORGEOUS here, on Sunday I suggested we drive up there and hubby agreed.  He took his camera with him and once we got there, he went out on his own to take photos.  His photos are ALWAYS better than mine!  He went one way and I went another.  Neither of us had a plan in mind~we just wandered around.  We missed the beautiful fall leaves on the trees there (I've posted pics of them on this blog before), but there were still a few left on the trees.  It's such a nice, quiet place!

Not much water in the river right now.

Still some trees with leaves...

I love all the ponds up there.  I believe they have four.

Pretty leaf.

Little sticky balls.

This is the upper pond.  Last year, it was dry the entire year.  Glad to see water in it this year.

WHY do short weeks always seem longer?

I have a 4 day work week this week and I'm already... EXHAUSTED.  The kids went home an hour early today, but then I had an hour's meeting.  Then I had to go buy some decorations for my room and get my car washed.  THEN I had to go to our daughter's because she took the day off with a sore throat and wanted some company (us) to help her with the granddaughter (a toddler...need I say more?) So, hubby brought chicken soup and sandwiches and we all feasted!  But, I'm exhausted!  And, tomorrow afternoon, I drive from school 12 miles, pick up the granddaughter, drive back another 11 miles, and babysit her for the afternoon.  PHEW!  No wonder I'm exhausted!  Here, there...back there, babysit, then home by 8:00 p.m.

And, I have two 3 day weekends in February!   :-)  Whoopie!  I can hardly wait!  I need some rest time...

I find places like this very restful and peaceful...Whitewater Preserve.

I came home to a wiggling dog in the front yard yesterday!

Ripley is an escape artist.  I know it.  SHE knows it...sigh...

We have a 6' wooden fence all around the front yard which we had installed about 20 years ago.  We kept having strangers pound on our front door at odd hours (we are 1 block off a major street) and we got tired of it, especially with 2 children at home.  So, the fence went up.  Now, the city just grandfathers it in, but we occasionally get a notice to clean up the old boards (which we do...).  Anyway, we need it with Ripley because, as I said, we live one block off a major street here in town and I wouldn't want her to get loose and wander out there.

So, to my horror, GUESS who greeted me at the front gate yesterday?  Yup...Ripley. There is a small hole in the gate by the side of the house and how she can wiggle her body through that, I'll never know.  I guess it is "mind over matter".  I've plugged it up with a piece of plywood, but now she's dug out the boards next to the plywood and getting out.  I put our chain link GATE over it.  She crawled behind the gate and got out!  Next, I've put our two huge green trash cans supporting the gate, so I'll see today if that keeps her in.    She doesn't ever get out of the front fence (THANK GOODNESS), and I need to call Jennifer's neighbor and have him come out and build us a new gate for the side of the house!!!!!!!!

THIS is the escape artist!  See the 6' fence in the front yard?  She gets through the side gate and has now nearly demolished it.  BAD DOG!

Before Palm Canyon

Hubby was really in a good mood yesterday when we drove out to the Indian canyons in Palm Springs!  He actually had some energy and was eager to take some photos.  Frankly, his photos are ALWAYS better than mine!  He has a different lens and it is wide angle and he can capture things that I just can't with mine (16 to 300 mm).  And, he actually has a much better eye.  He should...he's very spatial and is a graphics designer and newsletter writer!

Anyway, we stopped at a turnout before the end of the road at Palm Canyon.  We were both eager to see how much water was at the bottom.  There was a trickle...enough to be seen and heard.  After our big snow storm back in December, our mountains are now shedding that snow through water, which is coming down the Indian canyons.

Here are a couple of photos from that turnout.  Tomorrow...Palm Canyon!

Palm Canyons (Palm Springs)~~Andreas Canyon

A couple of other bloggers have posted about Palm Canyon, but theirs is the one down by Anza-Borrego.  We went to the Indian Canyons here in Palm Springs, CA.  They are on Agua Caliente (Cahuilla) land, and we each paid $7.00 (over 62) to enter for a total of $14.00.  Unfortunately, the clerk gave me $1.00 back from a $20, so when I pointed that out to her, she apologized...(so, check your change!)  There's a toll booth as you enter and every car has to pay.

The first canyon, on the right, is Andreas.  Hubby used to ditch high school and come here and play.  That was before the days of tollbooths!   :-)  It's very shady, calm, and peaceful here.  In fact, I sat on a picnic bench and just listened to the water running over rocks and I imagined what it could have been like here 300 years ago...I've always loved Andreas Canyon.  It's very beautiful, with rocks sticking right out of the earth.  And, of course, I always get a couple photos of hubby!

Cameras and vitamins

Wow!  I had a lot of comments about "point and shoot" vs. digital SLR.  You know, I STILL can't take a decent photo with my cell phone!   (...pulling out hair...)  So, I've pretty much decided just to use my Canon EOS 7D.  I just take her everywhere with me.  In fact, on weekends, I don't leave the house without it.  And, I ALWAYS take my trust Nikon D40x with me, as my backup camera.

It was interesting today...we drove out to the Palm Canyon Indian canyons in Palm Springs.  I was watching about 6 hummingbirds visit 2 feeders there and a gentleman had attached his Go Pro to the edge of the feeder!  I asked him what it was and he explained it.  AND, that was the 2nd one we saw today.  We also went up to the Whitewater Preserve and saw another one there!  I guess that's the newest thing???  The guy at Palm Canyon just got his and was experimenting with it and he mentioned that he would like to attach it to a drone.  Hmmmm....

Gosh, you know, I've been taking some vitamins I bought at Whole Foods and my energy level is WAY UP!  In fact, I started hubby taking them tonight.  They are the 365 brand herbal formula "Immune Support" with Elderberry extract & Vitamin D.  They are REALLY making a difference in my energy level.  I no longer take an afternoon nap and I kept going all afternoon and when we had dinner with our daughter & her family, instead of curling up on the couch, I did the dishes!  And, I stayed awake!  That truly is a drastic change from last fall.  At that time, I would eat dinner and crash on the couch!  The baby and I went to bed about the same time!!!  I noticed that today I was able to hike longer distances and hike FASTER than I've done for a LONG TIME!!!  I hope these vitamins help hubby because he's become a real "couch potato"!

View of Palm Canyon, looking South toward the Santa Rosa mountains.  Not my best shot, but it was right at noon...

Cell phone vs "point and shoot"

I used to have a little Canon Coolpix.  It's so OLD I can't even find a photo of one!  I actually had a couple of them.  The first one just quit one day and the lens wouldn't pop out, so hubby bought me another one.  I believe, at that time, they were about $98.00...(if my memory serves me correctly...)  Anyway, the second one I kept in my purse.  This was pre-cell phone days, when I didn't wish to lug around my huge Nikon camera or even my little Canon that I used to have.  I'll TRY to get some decent photos of these two cameras with my cell phone, but it is my son's old Samsung and I'm still getting used to its camera!  (I'm NOT that impressed with it.  So far, the photos I've taken with it are blurry!)

Frankly, my iPad (from school) has a really decent camera in it and I can also shoot video of the grandkids.  I often have it with me, but I usually forget to use it!  My big Canon takes video, but I haven't used that yet...

Ahhhh.... so much to learn and so little time!  (see what I mean about the blurry photos?)  By the time it focuses and I move my hand to take the picture, it is OUT of focus!  ... sigh...

Anyway, this was before the days when you could instantly upload your photos onto Facebook or whatever...I had to plug the memory cards from these camera into my computer and upload the photos onto the hard drive!  I still have to do that with my Nikon and Canon.  In fact, I have a bunch of photos on my Nikon that I haven't even uploaded yet.  This was BEFORE the days of "instant, instant, instant"!!!  And, I still have the first camera my dad ever bought me, but that's another story for another day!

Sometimes simple things are best~Good Fences~011615

You know, I'm getting to the point that I like simple things.  A simple salad with dinner.  I enjoy just sitting at my desk, with my laptop, looking out the window at the birds in the front yard.  One afternoon last week I washed off the patio Adirondack chairs and took one out front, under the porch, and just sat and listened to everything around me.

Up at the ranch, I just like to watch the horses... well... just being horses.  There's something soothing about just watching.  In this photo, Scout is in the arena, just eating weeds.  Boring?  Not to me.  To me, it was refreshing!

Good Fences for Friday, January 16, 2015.   http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/

Clouds from the Living Desert~SkyWatch Friday~011515

The afternoon I visited the Living Desert Reserve last week, I noticed some pretty clouds in the sky.  I had my camera with me, so I stopped to take a couple of photos.  We haven't had many clouds since then, but this weekend, we should get some again.  I always love the clouds over the desert and mountains!  SkyWatch Friday for January 16, 2015.   http://skyley.blogspot.com.au/

How much do we socialize?

We don't socialize much at all.  I am an only child, but I do have two first cousins.  One lives in Alaska and the other one has 3 kids and lives in Orange County (2 hours away).  We NEVER see her or her family...oh, well.  I occasionally see my second cousin, Valerie, who is also an only child, but she's a professional artist and has quite a following.

I DO socialize with a couple of my colleagues from school and I'm good friends with another colleague, Barb, who lives up in Pinyon.  That's about it for me.

Hubby has a couple of friends and that's it for him.

We DO socialize with our kids and grandkids and for us, that's enough!  Sometimes it is even too much!

We just enjoy coming home, having a home cooked dinner, and watching Netflix.  I toddle off to bed around 7:30 and hubby stays up later, but he doesn't have to be at work as early as I do!

If you wish to see my cousins, here are links to their web pages:

Cindy Kyle Photography (she's a professional photographer)
http://www.cindykylephotography.com/

and Valerie Trozelle, my 2nd cousin, who is a professional artist:    http://trozellestudios.com/   We are the same age and are only 3 weeks apart in age.  She started drawing animals as a child and has done so ever since!  She has 4 horses and spends her winters down here in the desert and her summers up in Garner Valley.  She took my mare, Beauty, and trained her, and fell in love with her.  Unfortunately, Beauty died one night in her corral and we don't know why.  I found her the next morning...THAT is a very sad part of our lives.

I don't follow either of them on Facebook, but they are there also.  I'm pretty much a loner.  I prefer my horses to humans anyway!   :-)  I DO, however, enjoy all of my followers here.  It's much easier for me to write than to talk person to person!  And, I've met some very nice folks here online!

                                                                 Hello there!

How do YOU blog?

So, my question today is this:  HOW do you blog?

I sometimes have a photo in mind that I want to share and that motivates me.  However, other times I don't have a photo in mind, but I wish to write on a certain topic.  I often just sit here and look at a blank post!

Other times, I get inspired, especially from Al over at Travel with the Bayfield Bunch!   :-)  He's pretty down to earth and often speaks of topics which I then mull over in my mind.

It is hard to try to blog daily when I really only get out to take photos on the weekend.  Weekdays are too busy and I'm too tired in the afternoon to deal with anything other than coming home and resting!  I spent my last few days of winter break staying at home and cleaning the house, so that wasn't too exciting!  Hubby had to return to work, so we didn't go anywhere...and now, it's back to school and I already am sneezing and probably coming down with something!  EGADS!  1 day back at school and my throat hurts already!

Oh, and there's an outbreak of measles at Disneyland and my good friend and colleague just went there over winter break!  I had measles as a child, but can you get it again???  Especially 50+ years later?

How I make a watermark

A couple of readers have now asked how I make a watermark now on my photos.  I just decided to do it and protect myself.  Not that my photos are that great, but I resent Google Images STEALING every single one of them!!!

I use a website called PicMonkey. You can do what I do FREE, you don't need their Royale program.  It's easy enough for anyone, like me, who isn't PhotoShop proficient.  Hubby is a graphic arts designer, but doesn't have time to teach me PhotoShop, so I'm on my own!  Other people use Picasa, but I haven't used that, so I'm ONLY going to talk about PicMonkey, although I imagine the process is the same...I'll be posting a few links for you to follow.

PicMonkey:  Here's their link:   http://www.picmonkey.com/

First, go to "edit" at the top of the bar.  You have to select a photo to edit.  Now, my photos are on my desktop, so I just go to the file I want, and open up the photo I want.  Your photo will open up.

Next, look at the menu on your left hand side of the screen.  On the very left, you'll notice some symbols.  The frame is for crop, the T is for text.  You'll want the T to add text to a photo.  There are a lot of free fonts, but if you see one with the crown, that means it is the Royale version and you'll have to pay $33 a year for Royale.  I don't do that  (too cheap!)

Anyway, click on the font you want. This time I'll use Sue Ellen Francisco.  Click on the box above the list of the left that says "add text".  That will make a color scheme appear on the far right and a box will appear on your photo that says "Add text here".  I always choose a very obnoxious color, like yellow, if I can, or even hot pink sometimes!  You DO have to select a color.  You can make it brighter or softer by using the little "fade" circle.  Really, I try to be as hideous as I can, so I make mine pretty noticeable.  You may not wish to do that, however.  I'll do yellow for this photo because the yellow will REALLY stand out!  (he,he!)  Oh, and you CAN adjust the size of the watermark.  Again, look in the box below the colors and you'll see a number.  That's the font size number.  You can adjust that.  I chose "144" for this photo.  Now go ahead and type your text in the text box.  I usually put "(c) C. Dean 2015", but sometimes, like if I put a photo on Facebook, I'll add , "All rights reserved"...ha! (Not that it does any good!)  For some reason, you have to click OFF the text box to move it around to where you wish to place it on the photo.  Do that now.  Drag the text to where you want it, click off, and VOILA!  You are done!

Finally, go BACK to the top menu back, where you clicked "open".  Don't click on open, but click "SAVE" so that you can now save this photo.  Again, on the left, a menu will appear and click on "save to my computer".  I always add "txt.jpg" to the photo.  You HAVE to save it as a jpg file and I just add text.jpg to let me know that I have watermarked it.

Then, you come back here, click on the photo icon on blogger, and select that photo:

Here's the photo I just did:

You may have to play with it for a while.  I know I made a lot of mistakes at first.  You DO have to save your photo as a jpg, which was one of my first mistakes!  Shoot me a comment if you need help.
Oh, and I put the huge watermark on the photo I now use as my header by choosing the largest text size I could on PicMonkey, again, as a watermark.

Just looking at the birds!

I just love to sit at my desk now and look at the birds in the front yard, like this dove coming in for a landing!  I could sit here all day! I took this photo through my newly-washed office window. In fact, I have done just that for a couple of days of my 3 week winter break!  Lately, however, I've been on a cleaning spree.  I completely emptied out my car, vacuumed all the alfalfa stems, rocks, dirt & debris, completely wiped it down, and washed the mirrors.  Phew!  I got rid of a whole pile of clothes in the bedroom and hung up 19 of hubby's t-shirts.  He was so happy that I "found" them!  I also vacuumed and dusted the bedroom (coconut oil & lemon essential oil).  I rearranged some of the furniture in my office to make it more comfortable for me while I SIT and look out this window!  :-)  I also cleaned off the kitchen table, mopped the floor, and got rid of a bunch of useless boxes from the kitchen (I threw them OUT!).  Getting ready for spring, I guess!

Anyway, tomorrow it's back to school for a week, then I have next Monday off for Martin Luther King's birthday.

It's been a wonderful winter break, but I have to work and pay the bills!   ;-(

I found these cuties at the Living Desert!

The Living Desert has a new exhibit about Australian birds, so Tuesday afternoon, I visited it.  It is $1.00 to enter for members and $2.00 for non-members.  I could hear a lot of parakeets, and YUP...that's what it had, along with some other birds.  You can get a stick with food on it to feed the little guys, but I had my camera with me and I knew I couldn't balance the stick plus my camera, so I declined.  Instead, I focused on people who were feeding the birds!   :-)

I didn't know they love corn!

Living Desert fence~Good Fences~010915

I love this fence up at the Living Desert Reserve here in Palm Desert.  Don't you?  Good Fences for Friday, January 9, 2015.   To visit Good Fences, please go to this link:   http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/

Up at the ranch~SkyWatch Friday~010915

No words needed for the glory of our world.  SkyWatch Friday for January 9, 2015.

To visit SWF, please go to this link:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

More from the Living Desert Reserve

I went back to the LDR yesterday afternoon to buy some hummingbird-friendly plants and I bought 3 one-gallon ones.  One was a salvia, another one a penstamen, and the third was something with long purple bells on it.  The little hummingbirds are loving the lavender plants out front (I've planted 3 of them) and the other flowering bushes.

Here are a few more pics from last Saturday's visit.  There is always much to see there and, at my age, I just can't see EVERYTHING in one visit any more!   :-(  I remember the days when I could teach all day and then take a 1 3/4 mile hike up by Eisenhower Peak!  NO MORE!   :-(  I just kind of saunter along these days, stopping to take photos!

 This guy just would NOT turn his head around!  He was focused on something the other direction.

 The war hogs were eating their breakfast.  Look how this one is down on his front legs!

Taken through a glass partition.  He was VERY interesting in our 22 month old granddaughter!  Thank goodness the glass was there!