Saturday Sky - Jamaica Sunset

Saturday Sky - Jamaica Morning

Sail With Me Wednesday

Can you imagine anything more "let's get away from January" than sailing in a Grand Cayman bay on a racing catamaran? Two weeks ago today this is where you could have found us, providing that we were amenable to being found.

The weather was absolutely perfect, and the brisk wind totally refreshing. Our sail took us out to Grand Cayman's Stingray City, where we swam with the stingrays. I wasn't too sure about doing this when Joe signed us up for this tour, but I found myself getting excited when we saw stingrays circling the catamaran. I couldn't wait to get into the water. The water temperature was rather cool, but such that you wouldn't notice it once you were in it.

The stingrays came along brushing up against us. It is incredible how large they are, and not a bit slimy or creepy. A bucket of squid was brought out so that we could feed them. I declined, but Joe had a grand time. At one point he had at least two dozen stingrays circling him, waiting for a treat. Most of the other folks on the tour didn't stay in the water very long, but I stayed in for quite a while and they practically had to drag Joe back into the boat. We were able to rinse off with fresh water and then the sails were raised for our trip back to the dock.

Guess who got drafted to sail the big catamaran back?

Not to worry, we used to sail years ago on the Detroit River and lakes.

Everyone on the tour was referring to Joe as "Captain Jack" (Sparrow). Perhaps he should have been sailing this ship instead!

Saturday Sky - Caribbean Dawn

Saturday Sky - Hoonah Morning

Most of the time we were in Alaska, the sun only played hide and seek with us. Very early in the morning that we sailed into Icy Straight/Hoonah, there were some bits of blue sky and evidence that the sun was still up there. The early morning light, the fog hanging over the water and mountains, and about all the pervading stillness of the early dawn made for a memorable morning. There is something to be said for the habit of getting up every day with the sunrise.

N is for...

Nature.

Nature can get wild and crazy this time of year in Arizona. We have been getting a lot of rain. This is a good thing; the drought has been worse this year than I have ever seen. But now it is gratifying to see the storm clouds building up over the mountains by mid-morning, on a daily basis. There are massive thunderstorms each afternoon and lots of rain. It's enough to make a person start dancing.

It is also enough to make nature go a little crazy. The cactus in the front yard bloomed in June as hoped for, but now with all the rain a rogue flower showed up this week. That bloom is particularly large for this cactus, well more than six inches across.





In the backyard, a rogue red hot poker showed up. These hadn't bloomed this year, due to a complete lack of rain; in fact, I didn't even think they were going to grow at all. I was considering digging the things up and trying them in another location, when the rains started and the pokers suddenly started to grow. Now I have one poker a couple months after they are supposed to appear.

We had no plums off the plum tree this year. Oh, the tree bloomed and fruit started to form, but they remained small and hard and never ripened before all falling off the tree. Now that the rains are here in abundance, however, the pear tree is doing fine.

And the mimosa trees are still blooming like mad. The perfume from these in the morning is heavy and intoxicating, especially with all the humidity. The bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies are having a field day.

Of course, Nature has it's other side. With constant days of rain, the backyard has 486,990,365,389 weeds springing up. At least it makes for a lot of green.

Saturday Sky, Driving Home from Work

WWMW - French Joe Canyon

On Sunday afternoon, the weather was just too perfect to stay home. The temperature was nearly 80 and there was a good breeze blowing about. In fact, had there been no wind, it would have been too warm to hike comfortably.

We took a hike we had not known of previously, but having seen it mentioned in the local paper piqued our hiker's curiosity. French Joe Canyon is in the Whetstone Mountains of southeast Arizona. If you do an advanced search on Google you can find several interesting sites with historical and natural information. Apparently this is quite a site for birdwatching.


We didn't want to drive the car all the way in on a poor road, so we parked by the highway and walked in. The sky was perfect and clear and wonderfully blue. It's been very dry here so it was pretty dusty. We weren't sure where we were going and there really weren't any signs to guide us. We wandered part way up a dry riverbed. The water has cut quite a gully into the earth and one can see how the ground under the few inches of soil is nothing but rocks. No wonder hardly any thing can be cultivated out here, at least not without a lot of excavating.

At the end of the first turn we took we came across several old corrals and a tumbledown stable or shelter of sorts. I wouldn't say that this site was abandoned; I can imagine it still being used for cattle or horses. This particular trail went no further than this, so we turned around and went back to the last intersection in the road. It seems that this turn was the one we should have taken in the first place; we found ourselves heading up into the main portion of the canyon. The wind was quite strong coming down the canyons and over the top of the mountain range. The cloud formations were really unusual.

About an hour later we finally found ourselves up on the trail itself. The trail was taking a gradual upward incline and we found ourselves up in the trees, a very pleasant shady route. There were several dry creekbeds that we crossed and we found a concrete trough used for collecting spring water. Containers like this one were often built to collect the spring water for the use of both man and beast.

Unfortunately it was starting to get too late in the day to go much further up the trail into the canyon. We had lost too much time on the wrong road. However, we did not regret the wrong turn. We enjoyed the exercise, the sun, the fresh air, and the serendipity of exploring the area. I'm sure we will soon return better prepared to explore further up the canyon.

Much Clouds

What does a hurricane in Arizona look like?

Much clouds.

Little rain.

Knitting on the Brick House sock continues, a few rows at a time. Now I am spending time waiting for labs, med techs, etc., window shopping in yarn catalogues. This could be a mistake. Now I am thinking that I'm gearing up for a major stash enhancement. Some solid color sock yarn for lace and cable pattern socks. Some organic cotton for baby things. Some Noro Silk Garden. What am I saying? LOTS of Noro Silk Garden. For scarves. For -- let's be honest -- a Lady Eleanor entrelac scarf (Scarf Style). We're talking major yarn investment here. I've been looking - again - at the projects in Ravelry. I want a Silk Garden Lady Eleanor. Maybe. In a bit. It's September, after all. I've got all the major school bills clamoring to be paid. Those of you with college students know exactly what I mean. I also know all you enablers out there. All of you were so encouraging of my leanings towards doing Thermal. I don't think there is any doubt now that I'm going to be ordering yarn for that soon. The rest? We'll see.

There may be much clouds around, but the local organic apple growers are still out at the farmer's markets. Some very crisp and tasty Mcintosh apples this week:

And what would Friday be without Friday's Flowers? They love the little sprinkles and showers that we are getting off and on.

Much clouds this week. To have two bright lights leave this world this week. Luciano Pavarotti -- I saw him in "The Daughter of the Regiment" many, many years ago. I think I was nineteen at the time. He was just becoming a household name at the time. He was electrifying. He has always been one of my favorite singers. And now Madeleine L'Engle. I think that I have more of her books than I do of any other single author. She has been one of my most favorite authors since childhood. In many ways her writings have been and will continue to be a guiding, illuminating light for me.

They don't make many like these two any more.

August 007

August is a month of much importance.




The roses bloom again. This year, with all the rain we have had in the last several weeks, is heavily abundant. Usually the second bloom roses dry up on the stem without even opening. Not this year.

The garden is heavily abundant as well. And not just with weeds, which are also going wild from all the rain. The Greek Oregano is taking over the flower bed.

And the pears are just about ready for harvesting.

The storm clouds still gather on a regular basis.

And the thirty-second time around honeymooners are still going wild as well.

(Alright, this picture was taken last year. But it was ditto for this year.)

July 007

July is the time for the monsoon rains. From being a "dry" heat -- as in extremely low humidity -- we suddenly find ourselves dealing with overwhelming humidity. The cooler no longer works and swamp-like atmospheres prevail. I still hang out sheets and laundry to dry, but now they take several hours to dry instead of minutes.



Invariably the storm clouds begin to form, usually by late afternoon but sometimes as early as midmorning. I can see the storms in the distance. They usually begin over the mountains and then spread to the valleys. Lines of thunderstorms, often severe, form up and march across the high desert. Blue skies are now not necessarily the norm; massive cloud formations and grey skies take their place.

The rain comes, swift and torretial. The yard out back sometimes turns into a large pond; the street in front into a racing river. Flooding occurs at street corners, and otherwise dry streambeds become dangerously flooded. Despite warnings not to cross them, some fools always do and there are several deaths each summer from those who try to cross flooded roads. Sometimes after the violent storm cell passes, we are treated to an hour or so of gentle, soaking rain. This is the best part. The air becomes so clear, cool, and fresh!

Along with the rains come the grasshoppers. This young lad sat still long enough for me to take his picture. This has been a very bad year for grasshoppers, so far. When Buddy and I walk around the block, we see a couple hundred at least. The numbers are terrible; there are grasshoppers everywhere. As you walk, they jump up in alarm but never look where they are jumping. They jump on Buddy; they jump onto my shirt. The birds are having a field day. Feasting wherever you look! And don't leave any windows open. Last week while driving I went to grab the turn signal and grabbed a grasshopper instead!