Outside patio~Shadow Shot Sunday~033113

I absolutely LOVE this patio spot in the African village of the Living Desert reserve.  It's such a quite and restful spot to sit down and just REST.  We went there for two hours this morning with our very pregnant daughter and son-in-law.  Then, ate lunch, came home, and I took a two hour NAP!  HA!  Silly grandma!  Shadow Shot Sunday for March 31, 2013...To visit Shadow Shot Sunday, please go to:   http://shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com/

Footprints in the sand~Friday's Fences~032913

Somebody else was out here on this sand dune before I drove up one morning this week.  I drove down the street and by the time I returned, his car was gone.  He left his footprints behind...Friday's Fences for March 29, 2013.  To visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/  Don't forget to check out the other fences!   :-)

Desert wildflowers~Nature's Notes~032813

I stayed home today, mainly to visit the county animal shelter to look for my gray male outdoor cat.  He wasn't there and they didn't open until 10:00 a.m., so I drove out Thousand Palms Canyon Road to see the wildflowers.  NOT!  There were very few of them and the ones that were blooming were very straggly and unhealthy-looking.  Not enough rainfall this year...sigh...Plus there is a massive invasion of the darn Sahara mustard which is choking out the resident wildflowers.  These are the ones I found along the roadside...not very many indeed.  Nature Notes for March 28, 2013.  My cat showed up for dinner tonight!  He must have been sleeping in somebody else's house during the day because I combed both the front yard and back yard looking for him!  To visit Nature Notes, please go to:   http://ramblingwoods.com/

Palm Springs Aerial Museum

I had our tax appointment with our CPA Monday morning and I arrived an hour early, so I drove over to the Palm Springs Aerial Museum on Gene Autry.  I've never been inside the museum and there was a crew there doing some cleanup work on a couple of the planes, but I was able to wander around and take photos.  I'd never noticed the delicate artwork on the top of the building, so I took some photos of it.  It was very quite at the airport, but I did hear a prop plane take off and it turned out to be a biplane!   :-)  If you ever get out to Palm Springs, DO visit the aerial museum!

No posts this weekend...sorry! And Joshua Tree national park visit Friday

I'm sorry I didn't post this past weekend.  I was completely worn out from our field trip Friday to Joshua Tree national park!  28 3rd graders can sure wear me out!   :-(  Actually, the kids were well behaved except for a couple of boys who were "seat hopping" on the way back to school.  And, one of them had his father with him!!!???***  Eh?  Excuse me?  I had to stand up and yell at them to "SIT DOWN!"  I mean, REALLY!?

We had a great park ranger take us on the Barker Dam loop.  Unfortunately, the basin there is COMPLETELY dry.  BONE DRY.  Not a drop of water in it.  I asked why and the ranger said it was this year's lack of rainfall.  Plus, vandals took the opportunity to write their names (first and last, DUH!) on the concrete dam.  So, now they are being tracked down and when caught, they will have to pay a fine for defacing public property.

The day wasn't too warm (about 80 degrees) and we had a nice breeze.  In fact, I wore my windbreaker (SPF 30) jacket, but my face got sunburned.  I'm in the process of re-evaluating the sunscreens I wear and I just ordered one from Mountain Rose Herbs that has zinc oxide plus a lot of nice-smelling things (SPF 30)...I HATE sunscreens that have too many "unnatural" ingredients with names I can't pronounce.  I'm tossing ALL of them.  As a melanoma survivor, I do have to be careful and I do wear a wide-brimmed hat and I have several denim long-sleeved shirts, thanks to hubby!  It's mainly my face that I have to cover and they also had a tube of natural sunscreen, like a lip gloss applicator, so I also ordered one of those.

Anyway, here are some pics of Joshua Tree that I took with my little Nikon Coolpix.  I didn't want to take my big Canon or my Nikon along, as there are some parts of the Barker Dam loop trail that are kind of close...didn't want a camera swinging from my neck!   :-)  Sorry for the head in the last photo!  There were about 35 of us gathered around looking at the graffiti...click on the photo to enlarge and see the awful mess the vandals left.

Tree, fence, and bicycle~Friday's Fences~032213

I absolutely LOVE this fence, gate, and blossoming tree.  I often drive by this house just to check on it!  Oh, and the bicycle!  I'm trying to figure out what I can plant in my front yard to go up and over our gate...sigh...someday!  :-)  Friday's Fences for March 22, 2013.  Isn't this a restful yard?  To visit Friday's Fences, please go to:   http://lifeaccordingtojanandjer.blogspot.com/

"J" is for jumbo~~ABC Wednesday~032013

There are some jumbo rocks up at Joshua Tree national park.  These rocks are loved by rock climbers and every time we go there, we see somebody on top!   I love to watch the climbers.  These rocks are at Intersection Point, which is in the parking lot to Barker Dam, which I understand is now closed due to vandalism...sigh...ABC Wednesday for March 20, 2013.  To visit ABC Wednesday, please go to:   http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/