January 31, 2007

It is absolutely beautiful here this morning. It was raining hard last night, and although there are enormous cumulus clouds all 'round, the sun is shining with that gorgeous light at a low angle on everything all freshly washed from the rains.

I arrived at the field office this morning and thought the steps looked interesting, so (tah dah!), they are today's feature photo.

January 30, 2007

In the field. These are two of my Team Members, Mary and Allen. We're sampling soils in a small town adjacent to an old smelter (which is being decommissioned). It's overcast again and supposed to rain this afternoon (it was sleeting when I got up this morning). We've gotta work fast!


Bonus picture: I'm the Eskimo in forty-five layers of clothing. Seriously, I've got on rain pants over my coveralls, under which I am wearing long underwear. Makes bending down (and using the bathroom!), kind of an adventure.

January 29, 2007

Another day in the field. Breakfast and my field log book.

January 28, 2007

This is a corn angel which is painted on the side of the Harry Benjamin Gallery in Silver City, NM. Harry's gallery is totally unique (Harry is totally unique!), and I enjoy wandering around in there. (He also has a really sweet kitty that likes to hang on the front stoop.)

January 27, 2007

In Silver City, NM, this is one of my favorite places to hang out. It's a coffee shop called "Rejuvination." In the summer I get lovely iced matte latte with soy and a shot of chai. In the winter (like today), I had a hot Rooibas tea and a yummy toffee bar.

Rejuvination is one of those coffee shops with couches, wi-fi, games, newspapers, and dog-eared books. Local artists display their work, and teens hook-up and mingle. It is great to sit at the table in the window and watch the world go by. (Hey, there goes some of it, now!)

January 26, 2007

Hey, it's snowing, again! It's warm, though, so it's pretty wet stuff. I took this photo of the Smelter Stacks in Hurley. It's kind of foggy, too. I thought the railroad tracks looked kind of cool with the stacks in the background.

Bonus picture: Here is approximately the same shot only 8 hours later!

January 25, 2007

Today I spent some time out sampling. It was rather mucky due to the recent snow. These are my steel-toed boots, which I wear when I am working. They're pretty comfortable, actually.

January 24, 2007

I spent pretty much eleven hours straight at this desk in my hotel room today. Tomorrow I go back in the field, but today was the tedious task of QA/QC. That's my stuffed penguin, Ernie, on the desk keeping me company, along with a bag of (yum, way healthy), Cheetos!

January 23, 2007

This is one of my favorite places to grab lunch when I am working in New Mexico. I always get the grilled turkey with cheese and green chiles and seasoned french fries. Yup, I ate lunch here with the sampling team today.

January 22, 2007

Whoa ho! I don't know how much it snowed last night as far as actual inches go, but this is the view from my room this morning! Somewhere, down there, my car is buried (good thing I brought my scraper into the room with me last night - I had a feeling...!).

Scraper: check. Chains: check. Long underwear: check.

Bonus picture: Yup, that's my poor little car buried in the snow.

January 21, 2007

Well, good news (sort of). I can still take pictures, I just can't tell what they're gonna look like until I load them into the computer. Just like the "old days" with film! ha!

Anyhoodle, I'm back in the field, and took this picture driving to Silver City, New Mexico. I'm driving towards the mountains on this long stretch of road. It's overcast and gloomy, and you can't quite tell, but the tall peaks in the background are covered with snow!

January 20, 2007

Bad News... I was getting ready to upload my photo for today and I dropped my camera on the floor! The display is toast. The camera still takes pictures, but I have no idea what they're going to look like and I can't change any of the settings. Tomorrow's picture will be an adventure!

Meanwhile, here is TODAY'S photo. Clem hanging out in the Crystal Geyser water box.

January 19, 2007

Hooray, it's raining! A nice gentle rain. The birds are chirping at the feeders (which I need to replenish, soon). Hopefully, the rain will rejuvenate the vegetation ravaged recently by the freezing temps. It certainly has separated the Men from the Boys! (Aloe Vera: Boy. Broccoli: Man!)

Raindrops splash off a rosebush and hanging lantern.

January 18, 2007

I walked to the library, today, and all around the neighborhood saw evidence of damage from the recent below freezing temperatures. We're just not used to this sort of thing! Well, as I was coming in the gate, back at home, I noticed one of our small rosebushes, sheltered next to the house, was unhurt and gamely putting forth a new blossom. Made me smile: Hope springs eternal!

January 17, 2007

I was walking to the bank this morning and passed my neighbor's house. Looks like he's emptied his entire linen closet out there. I don't know if anything is still alive under all the sheets and stuff, but MY yard is definitely not looking too good right now.

January 16, 2007

Today I had an appointment with my periodontist. These pictures were on the wall in the bathroom at the periodontist's office. The periodontist has a very nice bathroom, I must say (with a basket of free dental floss - just like little party favors!).

January 15, 2007

A friend and her two children came to visit today and we watched two movies, ate pizza and popcorn, and just generally created havoc in the house (I think Clem is still hiding).

Watching "Kronk's New Groove"

January 14, 2007

Last night temperatures actually dipped below freezing here in Phoenix! This doesn't happen often, so it is particularly noteworthy. It was 27 degrees (Fahrenheit) when I woke up, and was still hovering in the low 30's at 9:00 AM! The birdbath froze solid!

Thermometer on my back porch.

The frozen birdbath (going for the "artsy" shot).

January 13, 2007

Maybe was getting way too much face time, so I am pleased to present the other cat who owns me, "Uh, Clem." He's an adorable almost two-year-old who showed up on my front porch one day and decided to stick around. He is set up in the air-conditioned garage and comes and goes as he pleases. The world is his litter box. He likes to bring home other cats' toys (he has quite a collection), and is totally cowed by Maybe (even though he is easily twice her size and could kick her butt). It's nice to see such respect for his elder!

Yes, that would be my pillow that he is sleeping on.

January 12, 2007

Another two-fer.

I took a trip to my favorite store, today - The Home Depot! I could spend hours (and waaaayyyy too much money), in there! Right next store is Wal-Mart (aka, "Wally World"). I popped in there to look for my favorite juice and just happened to find a new kitty bed, of which Maybe appears to approve.

The Nursery Center at the Home Depot

Maybe test-drives the new bed (complete with a "comforting canopy!").

January 11, 2007

Bonus picture for the 11th. Steve and I climbed up on our roof to close the electrical panel on the heat pump, and also to see if we might be able to catch a glimpse of comet McNaught (we did not). Turning to the east, I took this photograph of the skyline along Central Avenue.


We have a rather comforting routine when we're actually home: A cup of tea (coffee for Geo), enjoyed while sitting in bed chatting about our dreams the previous night, our plans for the day, any outstanding tasks that need attending, and so forth. My kitty always joins us and loves to snuggle into my purple fuzzy robe. Doesn't she look cozy? It's a nice way to wake up and face the day.

January 10, 2007

One thing we have a lot of in The Valley of the Sun is oranges! I have four orange trees, yet for some inexplicable reason two separate neighbors (both live on my street!), left bags of oranges on my front porch! They've been moldering in the pantry and today I found them (oops!).

The orange in the photo above is still on the tree and shall remain
there until I figure out what to do with all those other oranges! Ack!

January 9, 2007

This afternoon, Steve and I walked to the Phoenix Art Museum to view the "Modern by Nature" exhibit of Ansel Adams' early works. Lots of close-ups, radical croppings, and extreme camera angles. He definitely had not yet developed, nor perfected, his zone philosophy of photograpy. It was, however, an interesting show (brought to us courtesy of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, which, coincidentally, Adams co-founded).

View from the museum of the Viad (formerly Dial), Building
Central Avenue and Palm Lane

January 8, 2007

Well, vacation is over and it's back to work (or at least pretending to). When I'm not in the field (or on vacation), this is the most likely place I will be found.

Yup, it's my desk.

January 7, 2007

Ah, yes, three (count 'em!), three brand new nozzles for my hoses. I don't know what happens (sun, driving over them with the car, using them as a hammer, etc.), but we really go through the nozzles here. My sister, bless her, gave me three lovely new nozzles for Christmas, and I found them just today. Now I need to go replace all the broken ones with these fresh ones.

Note to self:
photograph same nozzles at end of year for comparative purposes.

January 6, 2007

Oh, sure, they're cute enough when they're sleeping...

January 5, 2007

It actually rained here, today! Living in the Desert, of course, this is not a regular occurrence. This photo is a reflection of the roof of my house in the rear window of the car, which is covered with rain drops.

January 4, 2007

These ropes are hanging off the coat rack in my living room.
Oddly, there are no coats on the coat rack.

January 3, 2007

Leaves and Stone
(I think pretty near the entire mulberry tree fell into the pond!)

January 2, 2007

Flag Flies at Half Mast in Front of the Fire Station in Honor of the Death of President Gerald Ford.

January 1, 2007

I started this project on January 2nd; however, I did actually take several photographs on the first, so I'm not behind (yet!)

View through front window.