Another Visitor

Today we had Trent our pest guy come and spray pre-emergent all over the yard.

Hopefully this will keep a lot of weeds from sprouting while we are gone during the monsoon season.

While we were in the yard he spotted a Gila Monster so I quickly called Michael on the phone to bring the camera.

The Gila Monster was seeking protection under a prickly pear and it was hard to photograph but Michael managed to get one good shot of it.

We all stood far enough away so that he didn't feel threatened and bite us!

But they are gorgeous!

A touch of Spring in the Desert

I won't bore everyone with so many pictures of our yard this year but I did have to get a couple in.

Because of the rains this winter the plants are much more prolific and the desert is gorgeous.

They also say that because of the unusual abundance of flowering trees and plants this spring it is the worst year for allergies in a very long time - but it is beautiful!

Visit with Friends

Last Wednesday, the 21st of April, our friends Pam and Kurt from Tacoma came down for a visit.

As you can see from the photos Michael got to play doctor with both Pam and Kurt!

Unfortunately, a weather front spent Wednesday through Friday afternoon passing through but Saturday the sun came out. We did make it to the DeGrazia Gallery and did a little shopping on Friday. Friday evening we went to the International Mariachi Festival's Espactular Concert at the convention center and had a great time.

The music was so much more refined than any Mariachi music I have heard in the past. There were a lot of Mariachi students there also who performed both music and dance during the show.

Saturday we visited San Xavier del Bac on the way to the airport.

The Mayers took us to dinner at Vivace and we had the perfect evening there.

We even saw a deer walk through our yard while they were here - the first deer we have seen in Tucson and we managed to get a couple of quick photos! How exciting!!!!!

It was such a great visit that last night we slept for 14 1/2 hours trying to catch up on our sleep.

BeadFest

April 9th through the eleventh my Mother, Sister and two nieces drove down from the general Phoenix area to have a 'beading weekend'. We started beading Friday afternoon and continued with a short break in the pool through Sunday morning.

Michael's (and my) cousin, Marj, came over for a while and made a necklace and earrings and our neighbor Penny joined us on Saturday morning for a while.

And, of course, our chef kept us well fed and entertained.

We had a great time and plan to make this an annual event.

The World's Best MailLady

We have become friends with our MailLady, Linda Cross.

Last year we had dinner at her home with her Mother and this year we convinced them to come for a last lunch/early dinner to our home.

Linda brought her Mother, Lois, who is now 94 years old and going strong.

Linda has to be the World's Best Mail Person/Lady.

Gila Woodpeckers

Apparently our Gila Woodpeckers love the sugar water in the hummingbird feeder.

Sometimes one is waiting in the background for another one to leave or sometimes one
is even perched on the top of the feeder.

We've never seen Gila Woodpeckers and Hummingbirds eating at the same time but
they seem to take turns - one coming right after the other.

Photos by Michael

Tucson's River Walk

We've been walking for about an hour (sometimes longer) most days with our neighbors, Don and Penny.

We drive about 2 miles to a parking area next to the Rillito River then walk along the river.

As you can see in the photo there are critters - although we've only seen prairie dogs and birds so far - and even water in the river this year.