Lately . . . .

Last week I was headed out the back door for work when something in a small white bucket near the door caught my eye . . . .

A BAT ! ! !

I don't know how long it had been there but when I jiggled the bucket in moved slightly. I left it there so I could show Rod. The next morning it was still alive, barely, so I gently dumped it out in the sunlight (yea, I know bats are nocturnal). Within 15 minutes it was able to fly away, squeaking. I guess it was thanking me for releasing it from its "prison".

And . . . .

Rodney planted seeds for two (2) pumpkins plants. They have taken over the entire garden!! This variety are suppose to be very good for pies.

He picked the first one yesterday ------

It weighed in at 27# ! ! !

Isn't it beautiful? Just hope it's flavorful. He says there are 4 more ripening about the same size and a lot more in various stages of growth. Guess what we will be canning/freezing this fall?

Pool Party

My sister-in-law called and suggested we get together here for a cook-out and visiting. We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks; had my oft-requested potato salad and, best of all, homemade ice cream - vanilla and tutti-fruity. The grandkids enjoyed swimming and riding 4-wheelers brought by the in-laws. Unfortunately, I failed to get photos of Christy, Caitlyn, and Danica swimming due to "ice cream" making duties. But here are those that were taken.

Create a digital scrapbooking design

Ta - Da ! ! ! ! Our 5,000 gallon water storage system

OK, here's the story. Our youngest son Riley does excavation work. He called us about a 3 weeks ago asking if we would like a FREE round 15' x 4' semi-in-ground fiberglass pool complete with pump and filter that he was hired to remove. Without knowing about how old it was or its condition and all the work it would entail getting an old pool up and running, the hubby said, "YES!"
The following Monday morning, Riley shows up with a rented backhoe to dig the hole (we paid for it, of course, and paid him for his services as he did it as part of his work day). But while transporting the pool, he was stopped and ticketed for not having his "wide load" signs. So he had to wait until Tuesday to do the digging. Turned out to be a good thing. That afternoon, we had our first wash flooding of the monsoon season and it was a big one. (See photos of the flood on earlier posting). It would have pretty much filled the hole with water as our yard was like a lake.
Rod took Tuesday off from work so he could "supervise". He even tried his hand at using the backhoe while Riley went to get his boss's laser level. After adding some sand for "cushioning" that was taken from our road thanks to it having been deposited there courtesy of the flood, Riley carefully placed the pool in the opening. The recommended level accuracy for an in-ground pool is 1 inch. Riley is SO proficient at working excavating equipment that when the level measurement was taken, it was about 1/2" of being level!!!
Now Rod could start hooking up the pump and filter. Long story short - they didn't work so we ended up buying a new one. And we've been having so many monsoon rains that we were delayed a few days cleaning out the pool which had about 4 inches of rainwater, mud, dirt, and a few rocks in it. At my suggestion he used our Shop-Vac which did a great job. He got down in the pool and scrubbed it too.

After the parts arrived and were installed, time to fill the pool. Didn't take that long, actually, using our garden hose. I thought we would have a horrific water bill after putting in 5,000 gallons of the wet stuff but it was only $7.00 higher than the previous month. While putting the filter together, Rod discovered that a part was the wrong one. He called the company and they said they were aware the wrong hose was mistakenly included. We received the replacement the next day. AMAZING!! Next came the task of getting the chemicals balanced correctly which took a few more days.

Finally, today we enjoyed the results of all his labors. Although the temps were in the low 90's instead off 100+, it was REFRESHING!!!

In calculating all the costs of installation and parts (plus time X frustration factor), our "free" pool ended up costing about as much as a complete brand new above-ground would have cost.
Here are photos of us enjoying our 5,000 gallon water storage system.

Margo was down from Flagstaff and helped us break in the pool.

What are we up to?

Teaser . . . . . . .

RILEY . . . . . . the pro

and

his dad . . . . . . the novice

Frog legs anyone?

One of the side effects of our monsoon rains and subsequent flooding is the emergence of FROGS! Rather, Colorado River Toads come out of "hibernation" deep in the dirt/sand of our desert and begin their reproductive cycle - complete with LOUD CROAKING at night. We can't leave our windows open because it is so noisy. Some of them are quite large, like 6-8 inches in diameter. Then, there are the itty-bitty newbies. They are hopping all over the place and because they are only 1/4" in length, we have to be careful where we walk or it's QUISH-SLIP-SLIDE

First flood on 2010 monsoon season

We wanted RAIN and got it tonight -- along with a MAJOR flood roaring down our wash right behind our house. The wash ends at the one entrance to our yard. All that water floods onto our road so we are basically stranded until the water recedes. The pictures don't do it justice because you can't hear the rushing water. Pic on the top is taken from our carport. The others are viewed from the front porch.

Notice the high water "waves" running down Old Pomerene Ward behind the car in our yard.

Don't know how much of our gravel yard Riley spread around will be left thanks to our mini-lake in our yard. We have to wait until tomorrow to access the damage.

Define P A I N

The pictures define it well . . . .

My left foot, in a sandal,

VS

a 3/4" x 16" x 72" board

sliding off a shelf 4 ft above me

T K O

This is how it looks nearly 48 hours after the bout. I suspected early on that there were no bones are broken as I could wiggle my toes. Why spend 8 hours in an emergency room when, even if there were broken bones, nothing could be done about it (cast?) until the swelling went down in 3-4 days. My judgement seems to have been justified as I can now walk without assistance. I even stood the entire time during Primary music yesterday (I am the chorister). My biggest concern was whether a blood clot would break loose and travel to my lungs/heart/brain for a quick end to my mortality. Pain reliever of choice (and blood thinner to boot) -- Aspirin!!! It is VERY tender to touch and feels a bit numb when I do touch it and I occasionally get a slight burning pain below my big toe.

You can see in the difference in foot size.

I just hope it is completely healed by the time I go back to work on Aug. 9 where I HAVE to wear shoes and do LOTS of walking to keep up with my special-needs students.

PS - We have lots of wildlife in our field. Every morning (like 5:30 AM) I see rabbits out and about. Finally decided to get my camera took of long-distance (from inside the house looking through the window) of this fine-looking jackrabbit eating some breakfast in our front yard.