Good Morning From Arizona!

It`s not summer till next week. Yeah right! Phoenix will be 120 this weekend.  In this part of Northwestern Arizona it should be somewhere around 110.  I`m watering trees and plants more often this past month. What hasn`t turned brown the rabbits have eaten. The baby quail have arrived. They look like peanuts now.  No pictures because I don`t want to frighten them. I killed my first rattlesnake this season two months ago.  There are lots of snakes this year..  

The picture above is beautiful Indian Paintbrush.

My eye surgeries are complete.  Long distance vision is great. I need glasses for close up work, but that may change in the next month.  It`s nice to blog again, drive and sew.

The picture below is my friend from Iowa setting up his trommel so he can run the dirt he brought home from the  desert. The gold and small gravels drop thru the mesh into the sluice underneath. The  water running through the sluice washes the lighter gravels into a tub you can`t see and the gold being heavier than the dirt stays in the sluice box. This is a simplistic explanation.

My husband and I recirculated water in our clean up systems.  If there`s clay in the soil your water gets slick and slimy real fast and the clay dries your hands. After your clean-up (the equipment), you need a really good hand moisturizer so your fingers don`t crack.  Corn Huskers Lotion works  real well.  Make sure your hands are free of potions and lotions before you pan or whatever method you chose to use to clean up. Oils, as on greasy hands will float the gold out of your pan. We  dredged in Colorado, metal detected in Utah and here in Arizona. No matter how you find your gold it is hard work. I loved it!  I got used to scorpions dropping into my lap while sitting in holes. Sitting was more comfortable than standing. I was never stung. 

This wide bush is Mormon Tea or Ephedra. The small bush to the left is Sticky Buckwheat .

Last but not least. I `ve had 20 star blocks sitting in my room for two years. My favorite is the butterfly block below. All the blocks are sewn with different scrap fabrics.  Hopefully this is a quilt I will finish this summer!

 A few more blocks.

Thank you for visiting!  Sam the dog, Mr Cat (the cat of course) and I are happy. I wake up everyday to fresh air,  a sleepy cat on my pillow, beautiful views and the sounds of cactus wrens and quail.  

Cathy

Arizona Wildflowers. Another Page Turns.

We`had a beautiful spring thanks to late winter showers. My favorites are the white bells on the Agave farther down the page. It`s still cool, about 70. Nights are about 40. I`m well The year anniversary's of my family members deaths has passed. It was dreadful but I`m doing much better now. Rented space in a shop to sell my vintage collections and let someone else enjoy those things.  I had to bring Mr Cat indoors because he was making a major dent in the snake and lizard population. I don`t want him running into a rattlesnake. My life is good. God has been generous with his love and blessings.

Thank you for visiting

Cathy

California Poppy

Poppies and Desert Mallow

Desert Primrose

Bells on my Agave. This is a banner year for Agave blooms. Every one has these luscious creamy flowers. Very unusual.

Old yard tools sitting against a Joshua Tree.

More Desert Mallow

I don`t know the name of these snowball white flowers. The gnarly tree is the base of my Desert Willow.

Wind,Fire and Flowers

Wildflowers and sage on Pearce Ferry Road near Meadview AZ.

Good Morning!

I`ve been away from the blogs due to a middle ear infection. It is much better now and I am happy to be back. Still very windy but not as bad as yesterday. We will be cooler for a day or two then the hot temperatures will return next Monday. I`m still clearing brush and weeds from the yard. Rain would be a nice change. There was snow melt this spring bringing the lake level up and I hear the fishing is better. There is another fishing tournament  June 2 and 3. I am referring to Lake Mead, created by the building of Hoover Dam in the 1930`s. There is nothing better than living in high country as far as we are concerned, but the desert does take hold of you when you give it a chance. And Lake Mead is beautiful. And HOT.

I`m working on my block for the July 1 Blog Hop noted in the sidebar. Haven`t had much time at the machine. Didn`t want to be sewing fingers to the block when I was in the worst of that ear problem. A note about the picture above. I was crazy to get out of the car to take that photo. Skywalk tourists were flying up and down the road. Those people don`t slow down for a bull that weighs half a ton so a little old lady would be but a speck on the windshield.

Have to get back to the housework and outside jobs. My prayers go to the families affected by the our Arizona fires. I met very nice people from Crown King a long time ago.

Have a great weekend. Be back Monday!

Cathy