August 25 - September 30, 2024
Tombstone, Arizona
Time slows, life settles. Staying home, no travels planned for now. Although we're still plenty warm enough, it's already feeling like Fall is on its way. My (as it is for so many others) favorite time of year no matter where I am or what I'm doing. From subtle nature-color changes to pumpkin spice everything to grands starting and returning to school to football - I love it all. I'm okay with Halloween and Christmas sharing store-space, it's the norm now so let's just embrace it :-) I can't complain about having so much to celebrate this time of year!
It's official so I can share that we're welcoming our 10th grand this upcoming Spring - wooooowwww!!
Quail, 3 species of Dove, House Finch, Thrashers, and Black-Throated Sparrows continue to arrive in large numbers every day. We still see a few Northern and Desert Cardinals, but the Cow Birds and Grosbeaks and Gold Finches have moved on. Still lots of song, but much less color. Our pretty lizard no longer suns himself on the gold rock, but both Cotton Tails and Jack Rabbits still visit occasionally. Probably the biggest change is the deer. We saw none when the monsoons were at their peak, likely no longer needing our water trough. The last week brings a beautiful doe, and the smallest spotted fawn I've seen, to the water. They're already wearing their winter brown, no longer the slick gray of summer.
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| Some mornings are like a farm yard! |
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| Without the sun through those big ears I'd never have seen this visiting Jack. |
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| Difficult to see with the phone, but in person I enjoy their visit. |
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| So little! |
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| I meant to include this very wet monsoon afternoon in the last post - it was awesome! |
Seems like our cooling trend stalled and turned around, bringing back higher temps and keeping me inside. We're still cooler here than where most of our kids are in SoCal, where they're averaging ten degrees hotter :-(( I think everyone is more than ready for sweatshirts and socks!
I'm just blathering to fill a post at this point so I'll give us all a break and call this one done. October brings both visiting and returning friends - tis the season :-))
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| Ezra is excited to be playing soccer this year! |
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| Penelope and Reese are excited about getting a new sibling! |
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| Pluto's excited to meet Oliver! |
Fun seeing the Jackalope and the deer checking out your place.
ReplyDeleteAnd the grands are simply grand! Ezra looks great in our Aztec colors ready for soccer.
You're gonna need a family photo of an upcoming family gathering with all 11 grands!
We are always hoping for the opportunity to get all of them together which of course becomes more complicated every year :-) No antlers on our Jack, but he is huge!!
DeleteSo much fun living in Tombstone! We still have families of deer every day in our yard. And we don't feed them. Coyotes are howling right now outside our house. Never a dull moment!
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons we landed in Tombstone was being able to live out in the country where we can enjoy the critters and stars!! Yes, it's always something here.
DeleteOh those ears! I love the “bunnies”! Congrats on number 11…such a sweet hug from sisters. I love your blathering!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gay :-)) I just really stalled the last few weeks. I don't know how the wind doesn't catch those big ear sails!
DeleteGood to hear from you Jodee. And another Grand. WOW! Love seeing the Jack Rabbit. No chance in my world. Can't believe poor Florida is on track for another Cat 4 hurricane. SO MUCH WATER in the east. Not sure what I'll do over the winter. Of course I have 5 months of state park reservations. Rainbow Springs State Park is still closed from Helene and would be a hole possibly unfillable. Perhaps after this week there will be many more holes. Just crossing my fingers since I've already paid for my holiday flight.
ReplyDeleteI guess you've been watching football for a month now. Hope your team is doing well. Are you in a pool?
It's incredible to see another big hurricane on it's way when clean up from Helene has only just begun! Poor Florida State Parks will surely take another hit - hope your Winter isn't completely forfeit :-( Yes we're deep in football here - paying through the nose this season just to be sure we can watch eight at a time if we want too (who are we?) We're both in a fantasy league with Bill's boys and I'm losing big time this year. Alas it's something we can do together.
DeleteCould you please turn off the heat before we get there?? Those grands are adorable as always--and now another one on the way!
ReplyDeleteOh man I am so over summer! Maybe come back for Halloween??
DeleteLove your wildlife backyard, especially the deer. That doe enjoying the bird feeder on fb was just too cute. You have the coolest temps of all of us in this prolonged summer. You're always 6-10 degrees cooler. Glad to hear things are just moving along. Congratulations on #11!!
ReplyDeleteEzra and family live in the mountains above Los Angeles and we're at the same elevation! Where we lived in SoCal the temps run 10-15 degrees hotter than we are here. I'm still ready for cooler temps!! There's a bobcat in the area so I'm glad the fawns are still showing up every morning.
DeleteDoesn't really feel like September/fall here in Arizona!
ReplyDeleteNot yet for sure!! At least our Sycamore tree is changing colors :-)
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