Author: Steve

  Right before we got to our destination for the day, the skies opened up in a deluge; an afternoon thunderstorm attached to a weather front moving through.  Wouldn’t you know though, as we pulled up to the park gate, where Judy had to run inside to check us in, and I had go out and unhook the tow-car, the wind and rain stopped until we got checked in and settled at our campsite.  Just our luck.   We’re at Choke Canyon State Park for the night.   2018 May Colorado Trip   The afternoon storms pushed down about a hundred Mississippi kites for the day.   Glorious after-storm in-between-showers cool weather, but terrible light for photos.  Nothing but silhouettes.   Then a bunch of cattle egrets.     Then black vultures.     We’re headed north again tomorrow.    

    Mottled duck and youngsters.    

  This is Barb and Henry’s.   This is JoAnn’s.   They’re both on our deck.  We babysit each of them all summer, then take them home where they belong in the winter, and they bloom.  We have them all year while they’re plain, but not when they’re at their best.  We’re led to believe they look something like this in December: (not my photo)   So Judy decided we should have one of our own that we can keep all year-long.  She tried to buy one, but none of the nurseries around here carry them.  She took matters into her own hands and planted some starts from the existing stock.   Now we can have our own Christmas cactus.  However, when researching propagation she discovered that we don’t actually have Christmas cactus; with those little sharp edged leaves we all have Thanksgiving cactus!  There is a slight difference.  

  A little dot.   With a bird in it.   It’s a buff-bellied hummingbird on a nest made out of moss, lichen, and spider webs!  

  It’s a nice little car; it’s got a lot going for it.  It is ridiculously sporty and powerful for a car that gets 40 mpg.  But it has issues.  When I open the back liftgate, I push the button, and nothing happens.  I have to actually *lift* the liftgate to get it started.  Then when it’s time to put the liftgate down, I look for the button to close it, and there isn’t any.  I have to push the liftgate down with my hand!   When I back out of a parking space, I look for the backup camera and there isn’t one.  I ease back and wait for any warning signal that another car might be coming.  The signal never comes; there isn’t any.  I actually have to look in the mirrors, and both ways up and down the parking lot aisle, to make sure the coast is clear.   And, when I’m driving on cruise control and the car in front of me slows down, I have to react and tell the Mazda what to do.  It doesn’t even speed up or slow down to maintain safe spacing for me!   I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this….