I captured the morning light in this bunny’s ears. We have bunnies everywhere, but I mostly see them on my morning walks as they dash across the road. They are frightened of big old me!
I was sitting in the waiting room of my husband’s PT yesterday, looking through the week’s photos I had captured. I am sharing the ones I like best — that didn’t make it into Monday or Wednesday’s posts. Enjoy a few of my week’s favorite photos.
It looked like Red was having a bad hair day or for some reason fluffed himself up.
A Mourning Dove looking grand in our backyard.
We don’t often see these guys. I looked up Arizona black bird with black beak and yellow eye. Grackle is what came up.
A rare appearance to see Red and Mrs. in the backyard at the same time — without any fledglings.
A quail baby growing up. They do grow up so quickly!
This was a baby pic I took a few weeks ago. We don’t have any quail this tiny anymore.
Here’s Red a few seconds after the fluffy look. Does anyone know what the fluffy feathers is about?
Actually Red is the one who I see most often — one on one with a fledgling. He’ll fly back and forth across the backyard and feed them himself from our bird feeder or a birdseed block on the ground. I think Mrs. must have been in the nest with the remaining little ones.
Red feeding a fledgling.
This week a cactus bloomed out my window. It only lasted a couple hours because it’s hot! High of 98 degrees today. Not as hot as it gets but a change from the cool weather we were having.
I was excited to see one male fledgling getting red splotches of feathers. They become fully red at one year. This photo is way out of focus because he was darting around and I was so excited my hands were shaking! I thought about not including it, but I wanted to share what Little Red looks like turning a blotchy color.
Here’s Mrs. on the planter. I was very happy to capture both photos of Mrs.
There’s always a few Gila Woodpeckers around. They look similar to Gilded Flickers that I wrote about Wednesday, but they don’t have a spotted breast and lack the cinnamon cap.
A Mule Deer was hanging out in the shade under a tree by our driveway.
Red likes to hang out in a tree over my head when I fill the feeder. When I call him — while holding onto a bag of birdseed — he comes immediately. He’s got little ones to feed and needs to be first in the feeder!
Happy Friday!
Which photos are your favorites? What are your weekend plans?
A cactus in the backyard with a bee enjoying the one-day bloom.
I learned something nice the first week of my husband’s surgery. We have a lot of kind and thoughtful neighbors. My husband got phone calls. People called me for updates on his surgery.
Then our friends from Palm Springs who moved a mile from us, three months after we moved here, called to say they were bringing over a treat. It was a pork loin roast with apple chutney and polenta. The husband is following Chef Jean-Pierre and is getting some amazing results from the chef’s recipes. What a treat. We got several meals. And I didn’t have to cook.
You can check out Chef Jean-Pierre at his website HERE.
Then another friend/neighbor came over to visit my husband and sit and chat. He’s been having his own medical challenges. He’s had a variety of diagnoses the last few months from rare autoimmune disorders to the doctors not having a clue. He said he finally got a diagnosis and it was something quite simple. Iron Deficiency.
When I heard that, I told him I would make him pate. Post my DIL’s surgery and six months of chemo, she was suffering from Iron Deficiency too. Our kids and DIL were coming to visit and I found a recipe for pate that she said she could feel the iron rushing into her blood. It includes chicken livers, butter, scallions, garlic, capers, thyme, brandy and heavy cream.
He was thrilled and said he’d be over with his famous ribs and corn and we’d exchange goodies.
Now those are good neighbors!
Another cactus with a one-day bloom I captured.
A hummingbird sat still and posed so I could get a few shots.
What do your neighbors or friends do for you to help out when needed?
This is a photo of the beautiful backdrop of Palm Springs, Mt. San Jacinto, from Ruth Hardy Park, which was a few blocks from our old home.
Why am I writing and posting photos of Palm Springs again?
Because I was there Friday through Sunday. It’s beyond gorgeous looking out the airport windows to the mountain. I forgot how much I missed that!
The night before we left, one of my best friends called and asked if she could pick me up at the airport. She’s the friend who helped us move five years ago. True friends. I wrote about that move HERE.
I was going to take a Lyft to my dad’s skilled nursing facility, but my dear friend drove me and came inside to surprise Dad. He was thrilled to see her. My dad was hospitalized several weeks ago and sent to skilled nursing to rehab. He realized at age 93 and 11 months that he can no longer live alone. It was a relief that he came to this conclusion on his own.
Friday accomplishments: Dad signed power of attorney to me. Dad listed his home with realtors we met in his home Friday. It was a long day for both of us!
The next door neighbors helped all weekend, too, popping in and out. They’ve looked out for Dad for three years.
Saturday was another long day meeting movers and getting them scheduled for Tuesday. Dad will be discharged from skilled nursing and needs a place to sleep by Wednesday night! I tagged what Dad wants moved including artwork, lamps, bed, dresser, dishes, clothing, etc. with yellow stickies.
I taught my dad how to use Lyft, in the event he decides to sell his car 🙏. Also, assisted living will drive residents wherever they want to go — at anytime without charge.
The realtors will schedule Angel View Thrift Shop to pick up everything left behind and prep the house for photos and to show. I don’t have to be there!
I’m exhausted. But Saturday morning I started the day with a walk and coffee with another Palm Springs good friend. We swam masters together, plus our daughters were friends from pre K through high school and beyond. My daughter was a bridesmaid in Kira’s wedding this past summer.
Here’s a crazy coincidence:
My daughter told me yesterday that she visited Kira on Saturday. On the way, my daughter got off on the wrong BART stop (Bay Area Rapid Transit). My daughter was frustrated with her mistake and was looking down at her phone to figure out what to do next. She looked up and saw Kira’s younger sister standing in front of her! The two got back on BART and went to Kira’s house together.
At the same time I was walking and having coffee with my friend, my daughter was with Kira and her sister (my friend’s daughters!)
What could have been a really tough weekend turned out to be special and possible — thanks to friends.
This was our home of 28 years downtown Palm Springs. Our backyard and French doors face Mt. San Jacinto, so we had great views.
This is Tahquitz Canyon Way. We had great views of Mt. San Jacinto on our morning walks.
Also, a great view Sunday morning of the Tahquitz Witch.
What is the Tahquitz Witch?
Cahuilla shaman named Tquits (or Tahquitz), is a malevolent figure from Southern California Native American lore, often appearing as a fiery ball or shadow in Tahquitz Canyon near Palm Springs, said to steal souls and cause strange phenomena like rumbling or earthquakes, with the legend popularized by stories and books, including a local horror tale about a witch-shadow that scares children.
The Legend Explained
The Shaman’s Fall: Tahquitz was a powerful shaman who used his abilities for evil, angering his people, who eventually banished him to a cave in the San Jacinto Mountains, near Tahquitz Canyon.
His Spirit: After his defeat by a chief, Tahquitz’s spirit was bound to the canyon and mountains, becoming a source of fear and mystery, notes the YouTube video and the Los Angeles Times.
Manifestations: Believers say he appears as:
A large, green fireball or shooting star in the night sky.
A shadow or silhouette cast on the canyon rocks at certain times.
Causes strange ground shaking, rumbling, or animal sounds in the canyon.
The “Witch” Aspect
While Tahquitz is a male shaman, the “Witch of Tahquitz” is a common local nickname, especially in children’s tales, describing a witch-like shadow figure that snatches misbehaving children. –AI OVERVIEW
This Harris’s Hawk made an appearance yesterday, which is my second or third sighting since I began my beginning photography class.
Harris’s Hawks
You might notice the difference in photos? The first one, I took yesterday. The hawk was on the next door neighbor’s roof after I shooed him out of our yard. The photo with two hawks was taken in December before my class began.
I used to love it when the hawks came to visit. But now I’m a mother hen looking out for Red, the Mrs. and their nest. When the hawk decided a good place to hang out was next to the Reds’ nest, I got in his face with my camera. He didn’t like that and landed on the roof next door.
This Mr. Harris Hawk right next door to Red and Mrs.’ nest. It looks like he could be staring into their nest — which could bring a new meaning to “empty nest.”
I got these photos of Red and the Mrs. after the Harris’s Hawk flew away.
Before my photography class and getting to know my beautiful cardinals, I believed nature should take its course. Now I have one eye nervously glancing out the window whenever I see a large bird fly by. I’m right out there with my telephoto lens to snap pictures, which also scares away the predator birds.
My next adventure is to learn some of Adobe Photoshop. I’m beginning today, and am thankful for a professional photographer friend of more than 30 years who has offered to help!
What are your thoughts on my wanting to interfere in nature and being protective of Red and his wife?
Baby back ribs my husband cooked with our Chef IQ Smart Cooker.
A few months ago, we went to a neighbor’s house for dinner. They told us they had perfected barbecued ribs and wanted us to try them. The best ribs ever. My husband asked for their recipe and it included a rub, but the big thing was a Chef IQ Smart Cooker.
I don’t like having kitchen gadgets that take up space. I have a crockpot that I’ve used once in the last ten years for a party — for meatballs. Before that, the crockpot showed up on the pool deck for swim meets for our snack bar, for soups or whatever was needed.
I’m also a fan of cooking the old fashioned way with pots and pans. Mostly I cook without recipes — unless it’s baking.
My husband asked me to order the Chef IQ. I was skeptical at best, but I bought it anyway. At first it was very confusing to use. It has an app on the phone and has step-by-step cooking instructions. I couldn’t figure it out, called our neighbors and they said they use the manual cooking method and press the button on the cooker itself.
We’ve done ribs a few times, and my husband’s are just as good as our our neighbor’s — fall-off-the-bone tender and juicy. The Chef IQ pressure cooks the ribs and then hubby throws them on the grill with BBQ sauce for a finishing touch. Yum!
I decided to get adventurous and tried seared chicken thighs this week which is a recipe on the phone app. The app talked to the cooker and gave me step-by-step instructions, complete with a timer!
Above is a screen shot of the the app my phone. Each step had a video, and the “Next” on the bottom was the timer. Once the white went across the bar, it was time for the next step.
Chicken thighs searing. FYI, they were delicious! Tender, juicy and done perfectly.
Now that I know the Chef IQ can sear and pressure cook, I’m curious to try more. It even weighs whatever you’re cooking and adjusts the cooking time.
I’ll try oxtails and soups in a few weeks. (I wrote about my oxtail recipe HERE. It originated in one of my great-grandmother’s Nellie’s cookbooks.)
The app on my phone for the Smart Cooker has tons of recipes including chicken, fish, beef, pork, Mexican food, Chinese, pasta — even desserts.
My husband wanted to hand out ribs to our neighbors. He said, “I’m going to be known as the Rib King of our neigborhood.” I reminded him that he was following our neighbor’s recipe…
Looking out our front door. Everything is so green after rainy days.
Today is the day of the total eclipse of the sun. It will be a partial eclipse in the Phoenix area. I found this nifty chart so I know when to look outside. I don’t have the “special” sun glasses, so I won’t look up at the sun. I’m just curious if it’s going to get dark outside. We had house guests in October during the last eclipse and we all noticed it got dark for a few minutes. Very eery feeling.
I have neighbors who traveled to Katy, Texas for the eclipse. The husband is an astronomer, has worked for NASA and gives lectures around the country on things astronomical. Unfortunately, it’s going to be cloudy in Katy with a chance of rain. I hope they get to see the eclipse.
I keep hearing words run through my head from Pink Floyd song “Eclipse.” Did you know that the Dark Side of the Moon came out 51 years ago? Yikes.
Did you know that there are playlists for today? You can google it and playlists are posted everywhere from NPR to USA Today. Some of the popular songs include Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Bill Withers “Aint’s No Sunshine,” Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” and Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and the Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” also made the lists.
Apparently, music helps set the mood and eclipse experience. But there’s so many songs and the eclipse doesn’t last long, so you need to make a choice on your soundtrack.
