The Birds & The Bees

August 4, 2014 Timothy Price15 Comments

Baby Blue Grosbeak took his first flight out of the black bamboo and fluttered over to a sunflower. Daddy Blue Grosbeak hopped around near where baby had flown concerned about the paparazzo sneaking up on Baby Blue. Mama Blue Grosbeak fluttered around in the bamboo, but would not come out into the open. I got up close to Baby Blue, got some photos before he flew off into our giant Dr. Huey rose bush that made his papa and mama very happy.

The temperatures on Saturday and Sunday were much cooler, only getting up to 80º F, so the birds and the bees were actively foraging on our abundance of plants that are either in bloom or going to seed.

Yard & Clouds

July 31, 2014 Timothy Price20 Comments

Thunderheads built up in the eastern sky, threatening to give us another early evening thundershower.

Day Lilies & Darkroom

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 Timothy Price13 Comments

We are getting a nice variety of day lilies with interesting colors.

A18W2326 — Sink with faucet and shelves. The black square in the wall is a light tight exhaust fan.

A18W2328 — The enlarger will go on this area. The silver top is a portion of an old elevator door. Old elevator doors make great tops because they have solid cores, covered with an 1/8 inch thick brushed stainless steel. So even this 34 inch wide top weighs about 60 pounds. When the elevator door top is attach to the walls it makes a very stable surface.

In Coming

July 5, 2014 Timothy Price15 Comments

Giant hornet buzzing in on a chitalpa.

Bromeliad

June 28, 2014 Timothy Price12 Comments

Tristan gave me this bromeliad for Father’s Day. It sits in front of my computer adding extra color to the kitchenscape.

A Touch of Blue

June 26, 2014 Timothy Price1 Comment

Bloom Five

June 25, 2014 Timothy Price18 Comments

All five lilies on the one stem finally bloomed. Quite a nice array.

Adobe Sculpture

June 14, 2014 Timothy Price12 Comments

Another garden on the Corrales Garden Tour had adobe sculpture in various states of dissolution. Adobe sculpture is a little like longer lasting sand paintings, but instead of erasing them at sundown, the adobe sculptures slowly erode back into the earth.

Rammed Earth & Native Grasses

June 13, 2014 Timothy Price19 Comments

“This integral arrangement — minimalist home of rammed earth walls, plus native grasses — works perfectly as a unit.” reads the introduction to the writeup on the Roger and Mary Downey Garden for the Corrales Garden Tour we went on last weekend. The house sits in the center of the property surrounded by native grasses. Since this is only late spring, the grasses are just starting to grow. The grasses are best seen in the fall when they have reached their full heights and display their varied colors — colors that are reflected in the rammed earth construction of the house.

RammedEarthHouse — South face of the house. The interior shots below show the rooms from left to right in this photo.

A18W1825 — Artists were painting various scenes.

A18W1820 — Stand alone bedroom with its one bathroom.

A18W1837 — Entry and long hall on the north side of the house.

A18W1842 — Long hall leading to the last room on the east end of the house.

A18W1839 — The last room on the right (east end of the house) has a display of figurines, a throw rug and a frosted glass table.

A18W1840 — Interesting ceiling in the last room on the right.

A18W1841 — Looking down the hallway back toward the entrance from the last room on the right.

Sex in the Desert at Desert Harbor

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014 Timothy Price19 Comments

I’ve read that besides their voracious appetite for aphids, Ladybugs have an average of 400 different sex partners over their lifetime. Besides Ladybug love, many other insects were pollinating the flowering plants at Desert Harbor Retreat.