An Amazing eye opener!

The Desert Botanical Gardens!!!
   

Glass Sculpture at the entrance to the gardens

    What an amazing weekend starter... Early Friday morning, as beautiful as it was, I had a most glorious stroll through the Desert Botanical Gardens... It was cool out, but not too much... then warmed up pleasantly... The trails were amazing and the environment was calming. When they say a picture says a thousand words, it is so true... The exhibits were very enticing to walk through, along with visitors, the residents were welcoming.
                                       

 Saguaro in flower

A Dove enjoying the a.m. warmth...

 

Bunnies everywhere (well jack rabbits I think!)

A collard Lizard basking in the morning warmth!

Posing for the camera a ground squirrel having a morning cleaning

     The colors were amazing and riddled with punch, in every setting.. We arrived there 8: 00 a.m. and we strolled around each garden until 1:00 p.m. ish.  The diversity of each garden devoted a theme of elegance.

     I tried to get names of all of these beautiful flowers, but I didn't find a lot of names plates, to be able to identify them, please forgive my lack of identifications!

      At one point we visited the Butterfly Garden exhibit. I had never visited such a wondrous sight in my life.. I waltzed in this area thinking that I would see the poor butterflies in a huge case and seeing a short lived life cycle of the airy flighty insects. 

A Zebra Long Wing enjoying orange slices

      I was never  so wrong.  I walked in this orchestrated door of  dancing flowers, there were hundreds of these dancing flowers.  The habitat was incredible, flowers for their feast everywhere, damp sandy areas for there drink, orange slices on pedestals, and the most gentle of helpers making sure that the dancing flowers were safe from accidental stepping upon holding feather dusters to place there delicate selves on a soft petal to be safe and float to their next destination...

A couple of Queen butterflies

      I couldn't believe my eyes,  with every one of these beauties that past looked like a repeat of the last one seen... Then as I looked a little closer, each mark on them, each curve they had, and each rich color shinning was different...  That made them different.. And I fell in luv all over again...

I never knew how busy they were!

I never how picky they needed to be either!

These were the species that lived in this exhibit! I counted 6 that I identified.

Queen - Danaus gilippus
Zebra Long Wing - Heliconius Charitonius
Julia - Dryas iulia
Pipevine Swallowtail - Battus philenor
Buckeye - Junonia coenia
Gulf Fritillary - Agranulis vanillae

I actually got to hold one!!!

Pipevine Swallowtail

 

Julia

     Well, nature has it's moment of love, you know, I had to take a picture of this one, well I had my husband do this one, Well, since he was right there ... But of course, I was the one noticing!  LOL!

     Whats better than being a butterfly... living with the beauty of flowers, flower hopping and having a friends to visit!

These two were entwined with lovemaking! 

      These must be a couple of hundred years old but I can't be for sure. They are just amazing of how huge they are!!!

Husband giving scale!!!

looks like worms entwined in a ball!

Alien spawn?

    I thought when I had seen the  above plant what alien landed and planted this, I did touch it, it was bubble like and sticky, it made me kind of shiver, it was so weird. I couldn't find the name, I wanted to in the worst way.. but no luck!

Looks like it's melting!

A sea of Yellow

    
     I have so many pictures of this incredible place. I choose a couple of my favorites.  I can go on forever... 
     If anything, get out of your house and take a hike, especially at such a calm and beautiful place of some sort, it's worth the enlightenment of meeting your MUSE!!!  I'm not sure I met my MUSE, but extending myself to try, was worth ever bit!!!

Week-end Projects... well project...

     HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Enjoying the morning

     This weekend, we started the cucumber project,,,, Oh em Gee, I can't wait to see if this is something that really works,,, My handy dandy Love, helped me, by making the the screens..

     He made them by using 1"x 2"x 8' 's that cost a couple dollars each... He cut them into pieces getting 2  24 in and 2  36in parts, then he screwed them together using el brackets.. After having to go to a different store for the chicken wire, which was a little irritating, but whatever...

       We got the 36" x 25' one inch mesh, "20" gauge... this was $21.00... We made sure that the legs were able to pivot and adjust to desired position or to store away!

PomegranateS
   
     I am so excited... I purchased a   (are you ready for this)  a Pomegranate (tree or bush) not sure!  Shrub??  Well, anyway, I know that I have been wanting one for a long time.. and I can't wait to see it come around!

      I wont be planting it in the ground yet! well only cuz' we aren't very sure about what we want to do! Tangent wants to expand you know!  Just not sure when!



Doesn't Act like A Bee!
but looks like one!

     Early Girl!

     I have a wonderful start off with my
"early girl" tomatoes..

      They a very lush and growing in a rapid pace..



 Jalapeño

       I did get a couple of Jalapeño pepper plants (these are Jumbo ones) which will be awesome when it comes time to stuff them with cheese, wrap them with bacon,    Oh My Mouth's watering already... 

THE RAINBOW OF BELL PEPPERS...
    My rainbow of bell peppers are fabulous!!!!


       They are turning big and beautiful... 

Chocolate pepper!

      Obviously not chocolate yet! But if I keep it  long enough on the stem...
it seems to want to look that way!

      Regular Green Pepper  !

     And Orange!

      Well these aren't the yellow bell peppers that I was thinking, but no complaints! I think they are maybe wax peppers...



Zucchini

     Zucchini,  Seems to be happy, It will be very happy if it wants to grow on to the trellis... I hope that I get some veggies "this" go around though!


   Green Beans!

  Green Beans are relentless, which pleases me! They like that particular area for sure, since they did popped up on their own...

Patty Pans!


     What can I say, Patty Pans eluded me last time and I felt defeated!  This time I think that this spot will be great. It isn't dead middle of heat and sun... So having them where the green beans are... I think that they have a chance to survive...





SPRING TIME FANCY!


Some beautiful favorite flowers o leave you with!

Jasmine!

Double Petunias

Shazam Showing off!

    

In the wake of Spring...

     In the wake of spring, I have seen the most beautiful plants, gardens and ideas.  Most of the ideas I have come across are amazing..
     One specific idea that I really want to try... and is the most intriguing, "a must do"... I have talked about it before...

     The cucumber screen.  I am really not sure how to build it.  The use of my skills in picture building will be depended on....


http://www.floridavegetablegarden.com

     Although it is taking awhile to grow, the cucumbers are doing pretty well...  I think that building two of these screens will work ...
 


      Tangent wants to grow and spread about in a bigger lot or area, we are becoming "empty nester's".



     The thought is becoming more than a thought now!



     Although, we won't be serious for a little while... Still have about a year or so... I really can't wait to take on such an endeavor. We have been busy looking to see what is available but as it is the places we are looking at have been short sales.. I have been told to try and stay away from them... This is a bit of an explanation for not being to connected to my writing and and having such writers block... My mind is and has been else-where..



*New Addition to the Family possibly!!!

    Well, our outside kitty is now in the backyard and lives in Tangent...

       He is very happy to be back there, it's only been a couple of days, and he hasn't left it... So, when my next shopping trip happens I will be getting a litter box for him to use and make himself at home...

       I want very much to let him come in and live inside with us, but he is a fierce alley cat that won't put up with the antics of the kids... and or, with my piglet, especially her being so sick and extremely grouchy!!!.. I feel he would really hurt them and possibly kill piglet... so that "coming inside" won't happen...

      Piglet is being taken off the medicine, she is having a a side affect from the methimazole... All she does is scratch the sides of her head,  it looks like she has road rash... and I sure it hurts her very much... So strike one for the pill!  Now for the specialized diet food... This is suppose to deplete the iodine in her system... so that her metabolism will balance itself... or something like that!  This means that she can't eat anything else  and I can't feed it to anyone else... Mainly because it is to expensive... an 8 lb bag is $52.00 and a 4oz. can is $2.50...  Nothing can ever be easy can it?!

piglet

peanut

"Butter in the bowl"

Reseeding!

      I reseeded radish, green onions, squash and cucumbers....  I pulled the radish, and something went wrong with my green onion, because I only got like five plants that started...  The cucumbers did make it up, but well the cold spell stunted them I think!  errr!  So, I planted them again along side the ones that started. I did them the same with the squash...  just in case... 

 

cucumbers

zucchini

Patty-Pan

 I love how the carrots are coming along, and I have patty-pans coming up as well.

   
And my favorite row in view!

The beautiful row of lettuce

And to compliment the lettuce My "early girl" tomato is starting off well

   
     Did I mention that I have green beans.... I didn't even plant these... They wanted to come up and visit on their own...



     So as the family expands and tangent wanting to expand, all is well...  Spring leaves us slowly in it's wake and is screaming that it really doesn't want to stick around to much longer, especially now that spring gave us it's last whoorah!   But enjoyable by all means...

     Salsa making days are coming!!!