Morning in the desert~SkyWatch Friday~072712

We had some monsoon clouds here in the desert last week and more are expected this next week.  I always miss the clouds.  We've had 5 days of absolutely clear blue sky.  That means low humidity, which is good.  However, clouds make the sky more interesting, even if they do bring moisture.  I noticed that Daisy, one of my outdoor cats, ran into the house every day last week!  I don't think she likes the humidity!  The other two outdoor cats disappear either into the garage or they sleep along our fence with the neighbors (between the two fences...where it is nice and cool!).  It will be interesting to see what develops next week.  To see more of SkyWatch Friday, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Who wouldn't want to be here?

I mean, just look at this!  I love this park, although it was crowded last Sunday.  The place was packed with screaming children and families.  I was up there for 5 hours, waiting for my family to show up.  They never did because the grandson wouldn't take a nap at home and he screams when they drive up the mountain road (his ears hurt...).  It was actually hot on that day, and I fell asleep in my camping chair for an hour.  I actually prefer to go up mid-week, when it looks like this, so that I can see the woodpeckers, blue jays, mountain bluebirds, and robins.  There was a red-tailed hawk screaming last Sunday, but I never spotted it.  Awww....the joys of summer.

I've been AWOL lately because I got involved with tracing my ancestors.  Our son started to work on both sides of our families.  My dad had originally done a lot of work on his English ancestors (his male line) and now I'm busy tracing the females (who are actually more interesting that the males!)...I found a male ancestor  on one of the female lines whose wife and three of their 13 children were killed during an Indian raid in Deerfield, MA.  He and two other children were taken prisoner and sold to the French.  They all made it home after a couple of years.  Then he remarried (having 11 children to care for....)  His second wife was then killed in another raid.  He remarried again and this one actually lived, although they had to go through another Indian raid in 1709. Another ancestor of mine was run through with sabers and left to rot in an English forest...sigh...Another one was the first Englishman to be beheaded in his town, which then became infamous for beheadings...sigh...What can I say? However, I did find several ancestors that were sheriffs.  LOTS and LOTS of Normans, but I did find one line that was actually Saxon and who managed to hang onto their lands after the Norman invasion.  It appears that my dad's male line were actually indigenous English (Vikings), but it also appears that they married into Norman nobility.  I've been working nonstop for about a week on all this stuff and I'm ready for a break.  Time to go up and work the horses!

If you are interested, here's a link to the Belden story:  http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2011/10/daniel-belden-and-deerfield-massacre.html

Hurkey Creek county park

Our son and girlfriend and their son (our grandson) and my aunt and a couple of our friends all met at Hurkey Creek county park last Sunday.  We ALL wanted to get out of the desert heat.  Today, we'll going back.  It is expected to be 114 degrees here in the desert and we all need another break.  Hurkey Creek apparently DOES have a creek (I'm going to go looking for it today unless I run into mosquitoes!)  The grandson, who is 3, enjoyed the kids' playground and soon went down the big slide all by himself!  He and I took a couple of walks in the park.  We found pine cones and a pretty flower for mama.  I showed him the woodpeckers and TRIED to get some photos of them, but it was difficult juggling him, pinecones, and my camera!  And, today I'm going to take my folding chair with me.  There were lots of robins in the park, too, and we enjoyed watching them.  I'm not sure if it will rain on us this afternoon, but thunderstorms ARE forecast for tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to our return!  All these photos were taken last weekend.  I'm always glad to spend some "outdoor" time with the grandson.  I'm teaching him about nature and how to respect her and understand her.  He's at a good age (he's 3...).  He enjoys going on walks now with Grandma and I'm always pointing out things for him to see.  We have fun together!   :-)

Sunset in Deep Canyon~SkyWatch Friday~072012

 We had dinner last night with some friends who live at the end of Deep Canyon, in Pinyon.  They invited us up and it was so enjoyable to get out of the desert heat for an evening!  I looked up and saw the Milky Way.  This morning I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and saw Jupiter and Venus on the eastern horizon.  But, I certainly enjoy last night's show of colors.  I took a walk and found this dead pinyon silhouetted against the sunset.  SkyWatch Friday for July 20, 2012.  To visit SWF, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Kestrel~World BIrd Wednesday~071812

I took my friend Sue out to Fobes Ranch Road on Saturday.  She had never been there before.  I was hoping we'd see a red tailed hawk soaring out over the meadow.  Instead, we came upon this little guy.  When we first drove out to the meadow, he took off, but on our way back, I spotted him up on the same fence post and I drove VERY SLOWLY toward him.  I actually took these photos from my driver's seat position.  The passenger side window was open and I zoomed in on him!  :-)  Isn't he adorable?  We also have Kestrels down here in the desert.  We additionally have a Cooper's hawk who terrorizes the neighborhood and all the mourning doves were huddled up on the telephone wires this morning (and not eating), so I went out to investigate and I heard and saw the Cooper's hawk.  World Bird Wednesday for July 18, 2012.  *** Apparently World Bird Wednesday is no more.  It is now Wild Bird Wednesday and here's the link:   http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/

Saturday's rain~Our World Tuesday~071712

On our way back down the mountain Saturday, my friend Sue and I stopped several times along the road to take photos of the rain on the mountains.  You know, living in the desert, we "desert folk" just LOVE the sight and smells of rain!  I especially love to see it coming down on the Santa Rosa mountains along Deep Canyon.  Our World Tuesday for July 17, 2012.  To visit OWT, please go to:   http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/

Monsoon days

We've had 3 days of monsoon weather.  Actually, in spite of the humidity, it's been WONDERFUL!  It's a break from the cloudless days and hot temps (119 degrees) which we had for a few days.  I took these photos on Saturday, when a friend went with me up to the horses and we brushed all 5 of them and gave Quad a bath.  Believe it or not, that morning there were only a few clouds in the sky.  By noon, the thunderheads were gathering over the mountains, and by 2:00, when we left to drive home, there were isolated rainstorms all around the mountains.  We actually drove through Garner Valley to look for red-tailed hawks (we found one!) and by the time we were heading back down Highway 74, it was covered with water from a downpour.  It was so nice and refreshing to smell the sage and pines!  Thunderheads formed yesterday, but we didn't get any rain in the mountains or desert and today it is clear again.