Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season.

A Visit with Ayla in Marin

Ayla and her mom and dad were visiting her grandma and grandpa in Mendocino County and staying in a house in Berkeley.

I was visiting my mom in Marin and we met one day and went to the Discovery Museum.

Ayla is such fun at 16 months! The world is just a wonderful and exciting place to be.

Water play in the moat was especially enjoyable. A change of clothes was necessary after this activity!

She met my mom and they had fun playing the piano together.

I so wish she lived closer to us.

Photography Class Photos

We took a trip to our local plant nursery to practice close-ups in photography class last week.

I did a good job on this one……nice sharp focus.

Threes are always better than twos.

I liked the imperfectness of this rose.

More roses….and bugs.

Love the leading line of this branch.

I saw this sunset out the window and grabbed my camera…..it only lasted about 2 minutes.

We went to See Canyon in Christopher Creek to try and find fall color. It's tough in Arizona.

There was a bit….but not much. But it is a pretty area with a creek running through the canyon.

Pumpkins!

We harvested 20 pumpkins from the garden this afternoon.

I had fun spreading them around the front of the house.

We also gave some away so that our friend's kids could carve them up for Halloween.

Battle of Big Dry Wash Jeep Tour

Our Rim Country Museum hosted a Jeep Tour up to the top of the Rim (7200 ft.) to see the area where the Battle of Big Dry Wash took place. This photo shows a wagon trail that was used by soldiers and settlers.

The area is beautiful with picturesque overlooks.

The battle was the last major fight between the whites and the Apaches in Arizona. This cabin was built in 1918 and used as a fire guard station.

The area is getting ready for winter. All of the ferns were brown as the temperatures have been in the 30s at night.

This monument is located on Battleground Ridge and was erected by the Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. On one side it gives a 99-word summary of the fight and on the other it lists all the soldiers and scouts who actually participated.

We also took a look at the Blue Ridge Reservoir (green water in the middle of the photo) as this is where Payson is going to get additional water. The pipeline has already been started and they hope to have it finished in a year.

The veggies keep coming from the garden.

Garden and Hiking

The vines are drying up and we are looking forward to harvesting our pumpkins….about 10.

Nice shapes this year…..

Enjoying the flowers before our colder weather sets in…

Tomatoes are still coming….

We bought this bed to put out on the deck for the dogs but Cooper decided he liked it too much to put it outside.

We went hiking this past weekend up in the Pine area.

We have had some rain so things are greening up a bit. An inch yesterday but nothing like the flooding that Phoenix endured.

Miscellaneous

We are enjoying blackberries this year. I can't believe the elk didn't find them! They are delicious with yogurt or with peaches and a "crisp" topping.

Lots of veggies coming from the garden each and every day. We cannot keep up with the cucumbers. We have given bags to our neighbors. We are headed to the food bank with them next week. Randy has made some great spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes….eight bags in our freezer for the winter. He also made some great sweet pickles…..a 12 day process.

Randy was headed to the golf course to give the dogs a run this morning. He spotted a group of elk in front of our neighbor's house. He said they looked like they were waiting for a bus. (Click on the pic to enlarge it.)

Randy is teaching a beginning photography class at our local community college. I am in his class (with permission). Our assignment this week was to use the various modes of our camera and to look for pattern.

How did I do? I have a new camera….Sony RX10…..and am learning about everything it can do.

Garden Update

Window box plants are thriving. Both upstairs and

downstairs.

View of the garden from above….the Russian Sage has really taken off this year.

Randy uses alfalfa pellet tea for once a week fertilizing….stinks but it works.

The pumpkins are going crazy.

We have some pretty flowers all around the garden this year.

Lots of carrots.

Tomatoes are coming but we are still dealing with the curly leaf issue.

Raspberries too! I can't believe the elk haven't found them as they are planted along the fence line.