Living in The Blooming Desert

Well we have been back here for a week now and we are still trying to adjust. The weather here has been very hot low to mid 30's so the pool has been our friend. Every place we have lived has had some weather issue we wish we could change here it is the wind. Yesterday we saw a sand cloud that went about 200 feet into the air. Kind of cool if you've never seen it before but not so cool went it gets closer to your home.

The biggest change down here lately is the flowers are out.

 This is a cactus

Same plant different angle.

This cactus blooms once a year and the blooms only last for just over 24 hours. The bloom based on temperature not necessarily the amount of sunlight as one of the blooms opened at 8:30 pm.

This gives you an idea of the size of the blooms.

It has been a busy few days as people are starting to vacate the park and work their way home. We has been to three parties in the last couple of days including a St. Paddy's day one. Tim who we hike and play pickleball with cooked enough Corned Beef and cabbage for 45 people. We brought Kelly's favourite vegetable for St. Paddy's Day, Chocolate Chip Mint Ice-Cream( the green kind).

On Monday we also went on our first hike in a month. It was suppose to go to an oasis but due to flooding earlier in the year the park people closed the trail. We ended up doing a 6 mile hike in Joshua Tree National Park.  The Joshua Trees are just starting to bloom as well.

June and Merril stop and smell the Joshua Tree

The park has a pond at one end and it has attracted a few of our feathered friends. there are 7 baby mallards swimming around and two of these guys as well.

 We have a couple of morning doves that live in the palm tree buy our place and they are setting up house there. I guess next year there will be more of them.

We are off to the zoo on Thursday so we will update the blog then.

Take care all