Spring is Coming?

We did see some evidence that Spring is coming during our rambles through the Water Park in that there were a few flowers blooming. I'm not sure that I should count this Bottle Bush as one of them as I have seen an occasional plant in bloom all winter --

I do not know what this delicate little flower is --

Its blooms are petite and hard to spot in this type of sprawling shrub...

We spotted several of these Desert Globe Mallow just beginning to bloom. There will be lots of them in just a little well as we saw many bud-loaded plants along the trail.

This Jojoba Bush is one of the few shrubs in that park that is actually labelled --

Again, very petite little flowers. It may be that Mother Nature prefers to tiptoe into the blooming season...

Our friend Juni couldn't quite believe that we had never been to a Buffalo Hot Wings, so we made arrangements to go out this evening and remedy that. We had a good meal (though ours had the "mild" sauce) and even better fellowship. Afterwards, we sent back to their RV so that we could get a doggy fix with Tika, Izzie and Cassie.

A Windy Day and A Good Book

We know from the weather forecasts on the Los Angeles TV station that we watch that a winter storm is moving east from the California coast. There has been a forecast for mid-week rain here in Mesa as well. When I got up this morning, there were streaky clouds being blown across the sky. There was a breeze this morning that increased as the day has gone on. It actually got gusty enough for us to bring in the awning. This evening the sky is still clear, but the wind continues.

We had planned to try again today to go birding at the Water Park in Gilbert, but a windy day is not a good day for finding and observing birds. So once again, we have postponed our jaunt.

I finished reading Donna McNicol's new mystery, Not a Whisper, this afternoon. It's the start of a new series and if the following books are as much fun as this one, she's going to have some real hits on her hands. It's got a unique, twisty plot with an unexpected ending. I enjoyed reading it!

I read the book as an ebook on my iPad, but it is also available from Amazon in hard copy.

RVers are familiar with Donna. She writes a blog, 2 Taking a 5th, about the fifth wheel she travels in with her husband Stu and their dog Sadie. She used to write as Froggy Donna when she traveled as a single before she met Stu. Stu is a retired firefighter and they both -- and Sadie -- ride motorcycles.

President's Day

As is usual in our retired life style, we have totally lost track of days and time. We tend to not pay a lot of attention to what day of the week it even is, let alone pay a great deal of attention to holidays. It is easy to remember the two Monday mornings a month that the recycling truck comes through. All you have to do is look down the street at all of the blue bins lined up along the road waiting for their emptying --

It was a lovely warm day, so we decided to go do some bird-watching. We had discovered the Water Park in Gilbert when we were here two years ago and wanted to re-visit it. We remembered seeing lots of birds there. This very full Palo Verde tree is near the entrance to the park. It's an easy tree to identify by its green bark and branches.

When we drove into the park, we realized that today was a holiday. There was absolutely no place to park, in fact there were cars circling the park lot looking for a parking place. There were kids and strollers all over. There was no way any self-respecting bird would show itself... We very quickly decided that we would come back tomorrow.

There are signs of Spring around. On the other side of Magdelena Street was this tree in full bloom!