THE DUST WILL WAIT

I was very thankful that my husband encouraged me to learn a deep breathing technique to deal with stress.  Because, the moment on our two week road trip when I needed stress relief the most, the only relief available was deep breathing. We spent the night at a Casino/Hotel where we got the best deal of our entire trip.  Room:  $24.99, dinner $9.50.  We were ten stories up -  and “up” I was at dawn!  Awake, and taking pictures of the sun lighting up the high desert rocks. After an equally low-priced (but palatable) breakfast we headed for Hoover Dam, a spectacular view and tour that our good friends encouraged us not to bypass.  So, we beat the traffic jams (road construction and security check-point) and parked in the huge garage of the visitor center, cut out of and built into solid rock. We quickly passed through a second security check point, much like you do at the airport, but were shocked to find that the  $30.00 Hoover Dam tour was sold out until after noon.  The employee

We've been on a road trip for two weeks.  Last night we drove I-84 over Cabbage Hill (Blue Mountains) and stopped to look at the last 45 minutes of road to home. It was our welcome quilt. There is no place like home.

Spring has been cool, windy, and a season of catching up on annual precipitation.  That last bit has been threatening the local cherry crop.   I wonder if that is why the small orchard close to where I walk has been surrendered to the birds.   If the rain splits the cherries they aren’t very marketable. Or, maybe the farmer wasn’t prepared for the birds .  (Insert a little Alfred Hitchcock mood music here.)  The past week provided the valley with an unusual migration population of Western Tanagers.  Like I’ve never seen.  Thus, the orchard was full of Tanagers chowing down on the partially ripe fruit.  They were accompanied by a fair number of Cedar Waxwings, Robins, Finch, Starlings, and probably more.  There was no saving that crop. WR captured the Tanager with the cherry in its mouth.  I snapped the gorging Waxwing and Robin. I’ve not walked the creek as often in the past few weeks because of

  Frog duet from pamela on Vimeo . The week before last I recorded a froggy duet coming from our fish pond.  Yes -- the pond is covered with a net to protect our little fishy from the hungry Great Blue Heron and his side kick, the Kingfisher. Conjoined Frog from pamela on Vimeo . This morning I was cleaning the filter when I spotted what I thought were two frogs mating.  We've had so much wind lately - and the pond has been a magnet for all the flying debris. Part two of Freaky frgo from pamela on Vimeo . The second part of my video shows what appears to truly be a conjoined frog.  I think there are two sets of eyes, two sets of back legs.  Two backs.  But the front set of legs on the top half appear to be atrophied and do not move. UPDATE:   Two frogs.  I put on a different pair of glasses and I can see  the little guy hanging on for the ride of his life.  Naughty boy.