ITBS is being a bitch, so I'm taking it relatively easy this week. One of the things I've learned about chronic pain is that it can induce a brain fog of sorts. Plus it's just freaking exhausting. So this week is heavy on pictures and light on serious discussion. Hope you don't mind.
A monsoon storm rolling in over Mingus Mountain.
This year's monsoon season has been pretty active. We always welcome the rain even though it means wind and thunder. On 10 August however we had a real doozy; like nothing I'd ever experienced. The rain was blowing horizontally, so hard that it came in around and through doorways and windowsills. I was getting worried that the windows would break. My daughter and I used every towel and blanket in the house to soak it up before it could reach the carpet. Our back fence blew down, and part of the roof above my bedroom peeled off. The noise was unbelievable. It went on for several hours, unusual for a monsoon storm. Much later that evening my daughter checked her cellphone and discovered we'd had a tornado warning. I can believe it; you couldn't see beyond maybe a foot outside our windows at the time. There was all sorts of damage and debris everywhere you looked the next day. Our unpaved road was a mile-long track of deeply rutted mud, rubbish, and large rocks.
A neighbor about half a mile away had severe damage to a well shed and a play structure was demolished, some windows broken.
I could do without that sort of excitement.
Thankfully the rest of the monsoon season has been pretty normal. We've had amazing numbers of hummingbirds coming to our feeders. I have two, they each hold about three cups. And I've been making about a gallon of sugar water each week to keep up with the demand.
You can see bits of what's left of our shade cloth dangling in the background.
I sit out there to watch and they buzz past me close enough to move strands of my hair with their wings.
We've also had more quail than ever. Several families live here and parade their babies around the place; they set up a cheerful ruckus and they're really fun to watch. When it's especially hot I set an old ceramic quiche dish full of water out for them. The rabbits and squirrels appreciate that as well.
One of my bottle trees surrounded by blooming heavenly cloud sage.
The biggest and most beautiful tiger swallowtail I've ever seen, at another heavenly cloud bush.
Following that very heavy rainstorm everything burst into bloom, and the butterflies and bees responded. This guy was as big as my hand.
My son met a couple of tiny toads while working last week at a ranch down by the Verde river. He's always on the lookout for critters in the tall grass, and gently moves the littlest ones to safety.
This one was just a bit bigger.
This summer has brought us a lot of amphibians and reptiles; I met our resident toad a while back and recently had to convince a very pretty little gecko that, no, he really doesn't want to come into the house. We've had scads of tiny baby lizards, and my son has seen a horned toad out by the big mesquite tree. I'm so envious!
For a while there was a rattlesnake hanging around in our carport, he liked to park himself right at the bottom of my ramp. He seems to have moved on; getting splashed with cold water a few times might've helped make up his mind for him. This place is surrounded by acres and acres of open, undeveloped land. I hope he lives a long, good life....out there.
Little green olives on my potted olive tree. The first I've seen on it.
The pot it's in is a very large, heavy terracotta pot that sits atop an even bigger ceramic pot that's stood upside-down; after that big storm I found it tilted at a crazy angle. I'm amazed and grateful it didn't topple over and shatter.
A recent monsoon sunset.
The view from behind my house last Sunday morning.
I hope everyone is having a good summer. Myself, I'm really looking forward to fall. The nights here are already cooler and a few yellow leaves have appeared on my little mulberry trees.
Think I'll have a gummy, grab a cold compress, and call it a day.
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Thank you for reading. This is an open thread, all topics are welcome.
ETA shout out to the lovely person who gifted me with a year's subscription! Thank you! 🌹
