El Paseo Drive, Palm Desert

We were on our way to Angel View with some rummage and we happened upon the lights. Luckily John had his birthday present (pocket sized Nikon) in his pocket!

 

Christmas Lights on El Paseo:

John wasn't too impressed with their light display. He figured that since it's the ritzy district they should have ritzy lights.

On the Greens

 While Caitlin was visiting we took a trip to Ivy Ranch to hit some balls at the driving range. Grandpa Wally, John, Carol and Caitlin worked on a couple buckets of balls. Caitlin took to it like a duck to water! She had lessons from both Wally and John ~ both do it differently!

Later that week John went out to play and took her along. I think Caitlin enjoyed it...

  

How's that for form?

As Caitlin and I were driving to the Ontario airport we passed Wally and John golfing.

Gulp

We picked up a new bird feeder at Petco and the finches have been swarming. They love the easy access through the wire mesh to the niger seed. The feeder is busy all day long unless I am walking around the yard.

The doves visit but they stay on the ground picking through the dropped seeds and hulls.

I was surprised to find this roadrunner snooping around the back patio. It cruised up to the sliding doors, going the length of the house and then ran into the garden. I took this photo from inside the bedroom through the dirty window, then took the camera outside to snap a few more.

The Roadrunner was quite still. To my surprise all of a sudden his back looked like the wind was spreading his feathers. It was sunbathing! I read where they will spread their back feathers to let the sun warm the downy feathers.

Here it is sitting on the wall...

Sitting on the wall sunbathing...

Tiptoeing under a rosebush...

I thought I had quite the collection of photos so I went in to recharge the battery. Glancing out I noticed the bird dancing around in circles. What was that dangling out of it's beak? Oh no, not one of the resident lizards!!! Poor little lizard was a quick lunchtime gulp.

Headed for Market

On the drive to Ontario we passed two trucks loaded with fruit. I had Caitlin grab the camera to get these shots...coming from Alaska, it is fun to see these sights!

Beware of Dog

Maisy found a friend and wanted to play~Barbie is our neighbor's Shih Tzu.

Caitlin couldn't get over this sign...

 

PF Chang's China Bistro

We had an excellent dinner out while Caitlin was here visiting. We decided on PF Chang's at The River. It was just the four of us. (John had spent his day taking care of odds and ends in the car and was tired.) We started with lettuce wraps and ordered 3 entrees... plenty of food for the meal and enough leftovers for lunch the next day!

 

The Things You'll Do...

Oh the things you'll do to entertain your grandchild on the webcam. Caitlin was babysitting Brooke Anne the other night and gave us a call. Brooke is happy to sit and converse but has just started to get a bit shy. What is at hand to entertain a 16 month old? I grabbed my camera and started clicking...  I won't show you the pictures of us sticking out our tongues at each other!

Mr. Fix-It

Mr. Fix-It spent a good amount of time replacing lights now that the house has been painted outside. The swearing was minimal and there was only one extra trip to Home Depot for longer screws. I'm glad he doesn't charge by the hour!!

 

One down...four more to go on this house...

But then he decided to see how Wally was doing with his lights...he took his tools up the street. 

Mr. Fix-It is on the ladder at Wally & Koke's house...new paint means new lighting here too!

Mission style lanterns will surround their garage door. (This one still has the styrofoam inside.)  What is the rule for placing periods inside and outside the brackets? hummm

Shop Til You Drop...

Caitlin and shopping are synonymous so we had to make a trip to Cabazon Outlets while she was here. To be fair, I was really holding out until she arrived to make the trip~I love Crate and Barrel, Columbia Sportsware, Eddie Bauer, Gap etc. It is a 20-25 minute drive west on I-10 past the windmills. We like to park outside of Starbucks...fortification for the day! 

We struck gold in Columbia...lots we liked and a special of the day - 25 % off one item and a senior citizen discount off the total. (Senior Tuesdays we now know about! You don't even have to be very old to be a Senior either...I'm one!!!)

Caitlin and Koke hadn't dropped yet! I must say that the wealth was distributed among all family members but Caitlin did the most damage...

Maisy had to stay home...she did great in the house all day playing with her ball. Caitlin found a fun way to wear her out since this area isn't very dog friendly~pavement and desert. She took John's old purple bomber bike with Maisy on the leash and rode throughout Tri-Palms. Maisy was able to do some galloping.

Caitlin and some of her loot...

Maisy Takes the Plunge

Maisy Mae jumped in the pool at Wally and Colleen's after Caitlin. She is a water dog and loves to be in the pool. Wally wasn't so happy that she liked the pool. I don't think he has been in since she enjoyed their water!

 

Swimming laps...don't piddle in the water Maisy!

It was a feast!

Enjoying Thanksgiving with Margie and Mike at the buffet. John is laughing at Colleen's antics trying to get the shot without bumping into the neighboring table. Margie has been recouping from a new knee operation but was able to sit in her wheel chair and enjoy the meal.

Miss Maisy Mae Visits the Desert

After a nighttime drive from Ontario with Caitlin and Maisy, we waited until morning to say hello to Wally and Colleen. We stood at the door ringing away on the doorbell...the place was locked up tighter than a drum. I thought for sure they would be up and around. As it turned out they were up and around ~ one of the valves for the watering system was stuck on and they were fighting a flooding battle in the backyard. 

The control box was not solving the problem. They had unplugged it trying to get the water off. I played with the control box to no avail ~ the water just kept spraying. The planter box had turned into a goldfish bowl and water was running down the street from all the runoff... 

 

Their house is on the far right ~ new paint color is a buckskin shade.

Maisy was sooo fluffy and clean. (Why don't dogs squint in the bright sunlight?) We didn't get photos of the grandparents meeting their grand-dog with all the flooding activity!

Desert Dolphin

One of Wally's favorite tasks is putting together their fountain ~ so John and I decided to lend a hand. This dolphin is one of John's favorites! 

This is all tongue in cheek...Wally abhors the fountain and John would rather there be a cherub peeing than a dolphin spitting!

We actually put it together twice...the first time there was so much gunk and calcium left over from the summer that the pump didn't have any spunk. John used a wire brush to scrape that gunk out while helper #1 held the pieces. Then came the rinse...

Success!

Caught in the Act

Here he is...one of the many munchers!

And this is the newest trick...jumping up on the mums and grabbing beak-bites. This doesn't bother me since there are so many mums.

All Wired Up!

Well, take that little birdies! Tomorrow morning at "bird breakfast time" a few little vegetarians are going to be looking for some new eats. I just hope it isn't the pansies nearby!

This is an evening shot of the orange tree that I have been pruning. It got quite a haircut~still some to go on the far top but will need the taller ladder. I have a six foot long Pull and Prune tool that reaches quite high. It is good for moderate sized branches but won't budge the thick ones.

Our garbage bin will be full with these clippings! 

By-Catch from pruning...some green oranges and lemons.

Birds, Glorious Birds

I love the birds...(we have a finch feeder and buy Niger Seed for them to feast on). I hate the birds...when they do this to my petunias.

Before

After

Previously I have used chicken wire to protect some of the starts early in the season; but the stash went into a neighbor's gate to keep out the rabbits. There was some in a contraption John made to keep the birds out of the tomatoes that I haven't been using. (I love home grown tomatoes but Costco does them nicely too and they come without fruit rat bites!)

Pliers, screwdrivers and a little time later I was back in business with a supply of chicken wire to cover the plants. Saying goodbye to the cage meant new planting spaces... 

"John, would you please put in some bubblers for me so I can use all the area?"  

We dug the trench and John did the magic yesterday. Today I'll finish filling the trough and I'm back in business!

The new bubblers are ready to water after I top off the compost with all the soil today!