Too stinkin'hot...

here in AZ, for most flowers right now. These are from my brother's garden in IL. He was kind enough to send the picture so I can enjoy them, too. Hydrangeas are so beautiful, and one of my favorites. I just came in from watering what few plants we have left. My geraniums are gasping for air, the roses are just sad, and everything else is about to give up. I hate this time of year. I miss my patio. Everything is covered with a film of dust from the monsoons, and hunkered down so nothing will blow away. I long to sit out there and listen to the birds, which are also keeping a low profile on these hot days. I see them gathering in the birdbath, splashing and cooling off. At least, July is almost over, and fall will be here eventually.

Funny story...sort of.

Remember the visitor from last week? The real owl? Well, my hilarious husband played a trick on me last night. We were in the middle of a monsoon storm, it was dark and raining like crazy. I walked out onto the patio to see if anything was getting wet, and I came face to face with this guy sitting on the fountain. I almost died, or had a heart attack at the very least. Believe me, he looked real in the dark. I froze in my tracks, and when I turned around, there was Paul laughing so hard. It must have blown off some one's something because Paul found it laying in the middle of the street. Pretty funny, honey! Not!

This family of Gambel's quail showed up in the yard this morning. They are scared off easily and hard to photograph. I was hiding behind a bush, that's the reason for the green corner. They are so cute when they run. Their little topknots are just a bobbing.

I love this shot. It's looks like Jr. is getting a scolding.

"Keep up children, and don't fall off. "

I think I should change the name of my blog to the Bird Blog!

Look who stopped by...

Yesterday afternoon, I was looking toward our big tree in the backyard, and saw a brown spot. At first, I thought it might be a swarm of bees. When I got close enough, I was stunned to see this owl perched on a branch. I have no idea how common they are to AZ., but I have never seen one before. We have heard one screeching in the middle of the night, but that was several months ago. This particular one wasn't camera shy and allowed me to take several pictures.
The eyes are what really got to me, kind of creepy and intense. I have to say that I am a little worried about Ruby and Scarlett. We've heard stories about small dogs being attacked by owls. We'll just have to be alert.