It Rained !

Corona de Tucson

July 5, 2021

We have had rain showers skirt all around us for the past few days.  We welcomed a few drops here and there, but Saturday evening around 5:00 it began to rain and it was still raining at 6:00.  What a joyous time...the sounds of thunder rumbling in the distance, the sweet smell of the wet earth, the breeze on our faces and arms, and splashes in the birdbath all excited our senses as we sat on the patio in awe.  Jack was so funny as he walked to the edge of the patio and stretched his neck out to smell the air.  We are sure he was thinking "What is this phenomenon? " Yes, our pups are geniuses...well maybe Sally not so much, but the girl has a lot of common sense to make up for it. 

Jack standing on his hind legs smelling the air. 

I enjoyed capturing a few photos...

I love it when they visit together.

At night we can see the lights of the city waaayyyy off to the northwest.  It's a very thin row of colors and brightness across the horizon.  Friday night as we were sitting outside and waiting on the pups we saw fireworks.  It was a nice surprise and so pretty.   

During coffee yesterday I spotted a glow at the hummingbird feeder.  It wasn't the usual purple glow, but was a reddish orange glow.  We now have a Rufus Hummingbird visiting the feeder !

He is a beauty...his cinnamon color glows as he darts around the yard and feeder.  

When we were driving just north of Phoenix on our way home from Moab, the saguaros were dotted with lots of red color.  When the flowers have been pollinated they mature into bright red fruit.  When the fruit ripens, it splits open showing juicy red pulp. We have seen the fruit before it ripens, but had never seen it after it ripens.  

I captured this saguaro last week on one of our early morning walks.  Each fruit can contain up to 2000 small black seeds.  

This photo, taken in February '21, brings back lots of feelings...mostly excitement with some dread also thrown in.  The ceilings, walls and doors and trim in our home were all freshly painted with an off-white flat base paint.  Did we need to paint ? No. But did I want to paint ? Yes. 

We like a warmer color on the walls with a contrast for the doors, trim and ceiling.  I also prefer an eggshell base for the walls and a semi-gloss base for the trim and doors.  Thank goodness the ceilings were good to go.  The door hardware was shiny brass.  We needed a more "westerny" look with aged bronze so along with 12 gallons of paint we added new hardware for the 10 interior doors and 2 exterior doors.  

I painted the foyer first.  I am always a little nervous until I actually see the color on the walls and this was the smallest space to complete.  

All the interior walls are painted the same color which has a way of "changing" depending on the light source and shadows.  And the door hardware added just the touch we had hoped it would.  AND I am very happy all the painting is done ! 

  

So until next time, enjoy the day...

The early morning glow...photo taken today.

HAPPY TRAILS !