Sunday, June 19, 2022

Close, But No Cigar

Corona de Tucson

June 19, 2022 

I know I quote my grandmother a lot.  I was 9 years old when my mom, my brother and I moved from Manchester, GA to LaGrange, GA (a whopping 35 miles) with my grandparents.  I was very close to both my granddad and grandmother growing up and a lot of childhood memories include them.  Summer afternoons rocking on the front porch with Mama Nell nibbling on warm chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven and sipping a Dr. Pepper which she and I halved come to mind.   "Close, but no cigar" was one of those sayings I often heard her say that has stuck with me through all these years.  The phrase doesn't make much sense to folks these days.  But, Mama Nell grew up in a time (1920s) when fairs and carnivals would hand out cigars as prizes.  At that time, the games were targeted towards adults, not children.  Even back in the day, carnival games were almost impossible to win.  When a player failed to get enough rings around the bottle or was just shy of hitting the target, the "carny" would announce to the world, "Close, but no cigar!"  

Close, but no cigar was the case yesterday afternoon.  Just look at that sky and all that rain.  Not a drop at our house !

Fingers are still crossed !












But we were rewarded with a pretty sunset later.




It has been one of those weeks...crazy, lazy days of summer even though summer doesn't officially begin until 5:14 am EDT June 21.  Two appointments had us heading into Tucson.  I had a dentist appt for a check-up (all is good) and Joe had the dreaded dermatologist appt (6 biopsies were taken with more the end of the month scheduled).  A quick stop at the grocery store and that was it for the week...no more outings and nothing "fun worthy" to write about.  



I spent one morning being somewhat crafty.  I made a summer wreath using bandannas that I cut and tied to a styrofoam wreath frame and then added glittery stars.  I love summer and the Fourth of July.  





Right now it is hanging on the pantry door in the kitchen.   I am not sure I will like it on the green front door, but plan to hang it there later.    




The baby birds are still entertaining.










I have no idea if this is the mama or the daddy that stays so busy feeding these babies.  There are four baby Cactus Wrens that visit off and on during the day.  I am not excited they have discovered my potting table, but so far we haven't had to shoo them away.



















A family of Gila Woodpeckers visit early in the morning...some mornings they are waiting on me.  









This particular morning, the little one on the right was not getting any food.  After waiting patiently, he scooted a little closer, and was rewarded with a sweet bite of orange...his sibling was none too happy ! 













One of my favorite photos this week was a baby Mourning Dove.  I was happy to see his feathers all puffed out...












...he obviously was not as happy about puffy feathers as I was! 













And the baby Gambles Quail are growing and learning fast.











Learning new things can be a little scary sometimes.  He (she) stood for awhile looking all around before carefully making the step onto the fence.  




















The Desert Rose has a "first" flower.












I often forget to post pictures of the hummingbirds.  
















Sally continues to enjoy each new day.
















Dover still enjoys breakfast on the patio.













Jack finally gave up racing me to the rocking chair...well, this week anyway !


And Joe and I are still in awe at the wonder of it all !

June 17, 5:27 am...our 39th anniversary sunrise.

5:27 am

 

5:38 am









 

 



Until next time, wherever life takes you...









 

HAPPY TRAILS ! 

12 comments:

  1. Happy Anniversary !!! (belated - June 17th is also National Eat Your Vegetables Day)
    Your entire back yard is blog worthy, I'm partial to the quail - they're so quick as they scoot along.
    Sorry the rain missed you, continues to miss us too. :((

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    1. Thank you Jeff…the Quail families are so funny. I counted about 15 babies around the bird bath yesterday morning, but didn’t have the camera.

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  2. Our friends in Pearce called just a few minutes ago to tell us we had rain today--so I guess we got the cigar today. I too had a great relationship with my Dad's parents. We lived near them, stayed with them in summer while my parents worked. Lots of memories. The pooches look good as does your wreath--I love it!

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    1. Thank you Janna. I’m not very crafty and usually things don’t turn out the way I thought they would, but I do like the wreath too. Hoping for that first storm of the monsoon season any day now. Temps have cooled off here to mid to low 90s and I am not sure if that helps or not.

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  3. Love your wreath. Very clever. We got a wee bit of rain but not anywhere near enuf. Your pictures of the baby birds are so fun. And, of course, I love the pups.

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    1. Thank you Sandie. We spend a lot of mornings and evenings on the patio. I don’t remember having so many babies in the yard last year…they sure are cute and funny!

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  4. I loved your "baby" photos and, of course, the "puppy" photos too!
    Hahaha! Close but no cigar.....Another one of my mother's favorites (and mine too).

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    1. Thank you Sue! It’s funny the things that pop in my head from days gone by. I can’t recall the last time I heard someone other than my grandma saying “close but no cigar”. We grew up worlds apart…that is so cool your mom said it too.

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  5. The stories behind some of our common sayings are so fun, and often reflect a life we hardly remember. Sure wish those clouds would dump big buckets on our poor dry desert! The look on that fluffed dove is hysterical :-)) Love your baby Quail taking on new challenges.

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    1. That is so true Jodee. “no cigar” makes no sense in todays world. I’m loving all the babies!

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  6. Love the Wreath! Great job! You really have a jackpot location with so many babies. I love seeing all the photos of their antics. I finally saw two quail families during dinner last night. Sadly, they only had two babies each. Not a good sign with so many unfriendly birds. We just arrived back from the east coast Sunday so I'll have to pay close attention. Good to see the Tan Clan.

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    1. Thank you Pam. I am so not crafty, but the wreath was easy with only cutting and tying the knots. I don’t do any harder than that…🤪. The baby quail are all sizes now…from really little to pretty big so I hope you get to see more of them. I’m sure you had a wonderful time with family and hope they are all well.

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