May, 29, 2007

Well, vacation is over. Tomorrow it's back in the field. Sigh. I'm taking my mountain bike with me this trip. The good news is that the old smelter stacks in Hurley haven't been toppled, yet, so I'll most likely be there when they are.

May 28, 2007

Artichokes! We're actually growing artichokes! Steve made a dish with the artichokes and beans. It was really good. But how COOL to actually grow them! (I'm excited, can you tell?)

May 27, 2007

Another underexposed shot. Dang! Well, today I cleaned out my closet and these shoes are headed to the Good Will. Big Fun, Uh, Huh! Most folks just dream about this kind of excitement.

May 26, 2007

Aaaeeeiiiii! The remnants of vacation spread all over the garage.

May 25, 2007

Not a real great photo, but this is the mort camera which I have dissected in the name of science. I took the photo with my digital camcorder which also takes stills. I think I need some practice.

May 24, 2007

Today I hiked to Chesler Park and ate lunch at the same rock at which I ate lunch the LAST time I was in Chesler Park. And TODAY there was a raven, just like last time, so I used THIS picture from my last trip as a substitute for today. Ha! The Project 365 rolls on!

May 23, 2007

Again, no picture of my own as my poor camera has ceased to function completely. The photo below is of the Abajo Mountains outside Monticello, Utah. Steve and I hiked here, today.

May 22, 2007

I did not take this picture; however, we did hike to the Moon House Ruins in McLoyd's Canyon, today. This is a picture of one of the ruins which I found here.

May 21, 2007

Well, this is pretty much the last picture I took before I drowned my camera in the Cheesebox! We're suiting up and getting ready to swim. You can read all about the adventures in the Cheesebox on my regular blog, here.

May 20, 2007

Our partners in crime. We've been vacationing with this group for years, although Mark's daughter, Amy (who is exactly 20 years younger than I - we share the same birthday), joined us for the first time.

Dano, Joni, Amy, Mark, Bri and Steve

May 19, 2007

Vacation at last! Our campsite on the Cheesebox Road in Utah (along Cheesebox Canyon). Beautiful slickrock all around. I love it here!

May 18, 2007

We are sooooo ready for vacation! The rental is packed (mostly), and we can hardly wait to get going!!

May 17, 2007

I am so pumped, my water lily has its first flower! The pond has been in about a year, and I wasn't sure all the plants would make it through the winter (well, one didn't, actually), but the lilies have come back and I was thrilled when this flower poked it's head out of the murk. I've been watching it for several days, but today was the first time it bloomed!

May 16, 2007

Today, we moved offices: from the second floor in one building to the first floor in the adjacent building. I lost track of how many trips I made up and down the stairs, but it was a lot!

Anyhoodle, when I was pulling some packaging materials out from under the reception desk, this little fella ran up my arm. I just reacted and flicked him onto the floor and when I realized what he was I trapped him under a coffee cup (empty), and ran for my camera. And so, voila! My photo of the day!

After torturing him with the flash and trying to make him pose nicely, I scooped him back into the coffee cup and released him outside into a lovely shrub. I don't think he (or she) was very happy with me. ha!

May 15, 2007

Today was another one of those days that kind of gets away from me and then, oops, I remember, I need to take a picture! Fortunately, there's no shortage of cuteness in the house, so I got Steve petting "Maybe" and holding the stuffed pony I got for him (my nickname is "Pony").

May 14, 2007

Whoo hoo! New books! Jon Talton is a neighbor of mine and I am proud to now own all of the books in his David Mapstone mystery series. Of course, I immediately started Cactus Heart which has been "belatedly" published as it was initially considered to have too much sex! ha!

May 13, 2007

Happy Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day, Steve and I, Steve's brother, Ron and his wife, Rhonda, joined Steve's folks for dinner at McCormick and Schmick's for dinner. It was delicious!

May 12, 2007

If I didn't know better, I might think Maybe and Uh, Clem were starting to like each other!

May 11, 2007

On one of my previous trips home from Silver City, I stopped at the "Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch" and bought an egg for Steve for Easter. Today, it caught my eye and I thought it would make an interesting photo.

Below is the Ostrich egg, a regular Large Grade AA chicken egg, and an egg of indeterminate origin (although I think it might be mockingbird), that I found blown down in my yard one day. All I can think when I look at that Ostrich egg is, "Ouch!" Statistics below ~

The Ostrich egg shell is the largest and thickest shell in the world. A fertile egg weighs about 3.5 pounds and takes 6 weeks to hatch. There is one giant yolk inside that is approximately equal to 24 chicken eggs (yolks). The egg shell that I have is from an infertile egg. The egg was drained through a precision hole in one end and the shell was then cleaned with a disinfecting solution.

May 10, 2007

We have the most adorable Geckos living in the porch light (although they may have been in part responsible for the electrical fiasco a couple of weeks back). They sleep (and do whatever else Geckos do), during the day, and at night they crawl out and hang around catching bugs. (Good Geckos!) I love to watch them out the window as they gobble moths and other unwary insects.

Last night I crept up and got this shot of them hanging around the ceramic Gecko I have hanging on the wall under the light. Ha! (Can you see all four of them?)

May 9, 2007

I'm home. Snot and all. As I was heading down the hill from Silver to Lordsburg, over the Continental Divide, my ears popped and my sinuses started to drain. Ugh.

Maybe and Uh, Clem were both happy to see me, although Maybe, not thrilled with the state of her litter box, left me a "welcome home" surprise on the living room floor. (Good kitty.)Steve , thinking he'd be home before I was, left things a bit messy, but as I was tidying up, I realized that the only way I would come home to a house exactly the way I'd left it was if I was living alone. I'd rather have kitties and Steve to mess it up! It was kind of an epiphany, and I embraced the clutter.

Today's photo is of the hollyhocks and the peaches beginning to ripen on the tree outside my dining room window. They are a delight! I look forward to the peaches - always delicious - and Steve's annual Peach Cobbler, made with a FANTASTIC recipe from "Robert's Creekside Cafe" in Sedona.

May 8, 2007

Still sick, so today's picture features items in the nightstand: Jelly Bellies from the Tour de Gila, a new pair of socks from my Mom, a couple of rock samples that Steve and I picked up on Saturday, and a tile from Michael (it matches some salt & pepper shakers that I have).

Two hot showers and a hot soak in the tub, today. If I don't feel better tomorrow, I may go back to Phoenix. We'll just have to wait and see.

May 7, 2007

Not fun! Got some sinus crud going on. Feel like my head is in a vise. Stayed in bed ALL DAY! Did read a trashy romance that I found on the bookshelf out by the fireplace. Took a hot bath. Sigh.

May 6, 2007

Sunday I rode in "Lead One" for the Women's Pro 1, 2, 3 pelaton in the Tour of the Gila bike race. This is a five stage road race and quite competitive. It was a completely new experience for me, and I only wished I hadn't been coming down with something (which I now have), so that I could have enjoyed it more! Hmph!

In the photo below we are looking at the butts of the Men's 4, 5 pelaton which passed us (apparently, this is unprecedented), when we started climbing into/out of "the box."

May 5, 2007

Saturday, Steve and I took a drive up Highway 180 towards the Nature Conservancy's Gila Riparian Preserve. (The Gila River in New Mexico is one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest.) It was a beautiful day and we had a nice walk along the river and in the Preserve.

The photo above is of the Gila River as it flows through the Preserve. Below is a shot of a Cottonwood root. Cottonwoods are phreatophyts (they have a tap root which reaches to the water table), and they grow in profusion along the Gila River.

May 4, 2007

O.K., I didn't actually TAKE a photograph for today; however, I did CREATE a picture.

I was recently sent a copy of our office and satellites organizational chart. As a part-time employee, I am on the BOTTOM even though I am professionally a higher level than many of the full-time employees. Here's my version of our Org Chart. Enjoy!

May 3, 2007

Oh, cute kitty, sweet kitty. Got a kitty fix, today. That's one thing that is VERY difficult about traveling so much is I really miss my kitties. This little guy was just sweet and played with me a bit and let me pet him. Sigh.

Bonus photo: I don't know what this flower is, but suddenly they are popping out all over in Hurley. Allen says he calls them "weeds!" I wish MY weeds looked this good! ha!

May 2, 2007

Today was our Construction Manager's last day on the project, so we had cake to wish him farewell. It was chocolate marble with whipped cream frosting: deeelicious!

May 1, 2007

Spent most of my time at the XRF (x-ray fluorescence), machine running analysis, today. This picture is hanging on the wall next to the machine. It is me petting a cow. It's been on the wall since my birthday last October! ha!

Bonus picture: Steve emailed me this photo. It is a caterpillar on our Milkweed plant by the front door. This lovely striped creature will one day soon become a Monarch butterfly! How cool is that!?

April 30, 2007

April 29, 2007

Took a different route to Silver City this trip, as I was already in Safford. Drove along an extremely scenic highway: 78 to 191 to 180. Took me through the Gila National Forest and because it had just rained, it smelled absolutely wonderful. Had the windows down as I breezed along. Snapped this photo when I got to the State Line.

April 28, 2007

Driving behind one of the haul trucks at Morenci. Morenci is a HUGE copper mine. It's one of those "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of places. It's so big one almost doesn't realize they're IN the mine. Makes Chino look small! Was a good day, though. (Got to work with Geo ALL day! How lucky is that? Getting to geologize with my spouse - and we work really well together.)

April 27, 2007

Geo and I are back in the field, and today we drove from Morenci to Safford via the "Black Hills Scenic Backway." This is the old Safford Bridge on what was formerly the main road between Clifton and Safford. The bridge crosses the Gila River in the Gila Box Riparian Restoration Area. I think it is fantastically beautiful.

As we were driving along a stretch of the Backway we came upon this small herd of horses blocking the road. We had to beep and nudge our truck through them, and that cute wee donkey was NOT going to move! We had to drive AROUND him! Ha!