The Attack of the Killer Tomato

 What is it, you ask?

 Looks like some kind of tumor.

 Now that's what I call a navel. This was the first tomato to form on our vines but it took forever for it to ripen. Yep, it's all one tomato. Or maybe Siamese triplets. You be the judge.

 We went to Show Low this morning to get Pa's tire fixed and bought him a new recliner at Ashley Furniture. His old one was 15 years old and was wearing thin and I won't even mention the damage the dogs did to it over the years.

 This is our new sofa. Our old one was 10 years old and the foam in the cushions was breaking down. Plus it had 10 years worth of dogs on it. Most of our furniture is oak and the wood on this isn't but we didn't care. Lordy, we sat on every sofa they carried. I even took my shoes off and climbed over sofas to sit on the ones on the shelf above. We had the warehouse guys take one off of a shelf so they could put it on the floor for us to try. Guess what? We bought the first one we sat in.  We paid extra to have them spray some stuff on it to protect it from just about everything. It comes with a 5 year warranty, just on the spray! While they were spraying it, we went to lunch (Chinese) and when we got back, the sales lady said she had just talked to her husband and he thought he was related to Pa. They both came from the same stock! Small world, isn't it?

 My plants love Arizona. That's my recliner off to the left. Obviously it doesn't match the rest of the furniture. It is 16 years old but has hardly been sat in. In was sitting in the corner in our house in Vegas and was too far from the TV so never got used. I will have to see if I can find a slip cover for it. So far, I haven't found one big enough because this is a wide recliner.

 My spider plant. It loves Arizona also.

 Miss Begonia loves it here too along with the exotic plant in the blue pot. I forgot the name of it but the leaves look plastic. Pa bought it for me at Lowe's in Vegas.

Another picture of my new sofa with my mismatching recliner and coffee table. When we got home, it was so hot in the house even tho we left the windows open. I didn't think I would ever cool off. According to the internet, it was 91 in Saint Johns today. My poor garden looked so thirsty since I didn't water it this morning before we left. I gave it a good drink this afternoon and in return, I got 10 pea pods!!!!! How cool is that?

My Flagstaff trip

My trip to Flagstaff was a smashing success. I got up at 5 in the morning and left the house at 6. I literally flew to Holbrook to pick up Katie. Ok, I didn't literally fly but I did go over the speed limit by 30 MPH. Can I help it if the drive is long and  no one else was on the road? We made it to Flagstaff by 8:45 and waited in the parking lot of Saver's Thrift Store until they opened. That stop was a success. I bought a pair of jeans for $6.99, a brown shirt with a pretty design for $4.99, some large square inkjet stickers, some iron on transfer paper, and a box of HP felt textured greeting card  stock. Oh, and I found a Presto pressure cooking cook book which was one thing I was looking for. Next stop was Office Max to pick up 24 count crayons for 15 cents, two boxes of pencils for one cent each and 5 spiral bound notebooks (college ruled) for 5 cents or something like that. I used Katie's money for that since she was buying for her kids for school. We stopped by Habitat for Humanity to see what they carried. Then to Big Lots where we found some bargains on cardstock and stamp pads. Next was Weigh and Pay (Goodwill) where I found a down men's jacket with a down vest zipped inside for the whopping cost of $4.17. It looked brand new! I picked up some strange looking thing, wondering what it was and realized it was a pair of thong panties and they looked used! EWWWWWWWW!  Clorox wet wipes anyone? I washed my hands at the first opportunity. Maybe next time I will wear plastic gloves. Next was Target to return Pa's jeans, then Joann's crafts, Micheal's crafts and then Sizzler for lunch. I was looking for Christmas cardstock to start my Christmas cards but neither craft store had it in stock yet. I did hit the dollar bins in those two stores and came out with various cards and envelopes, stamp pads, glitter glue. We hit the regular Goodwill but didn't find anything. Then Dollar Tree and last was Sam's Club where I used Katie's card and bought some hamburger. I believe we hit about 11 stores in total. By then we were both exhausted and I still had to drive back to Holbrook to take Katie home and then another 80 miles to take my tired body home. At Katie's, I stopped long enough to see her craft room and some of the cute goodies she's made. She has a good eye for color in putting things together and a good imagination to change patterns to make them useable for each season. Yes, the jealous bug raised it's ugly head just a bit.  I left inspired. I pulled into our driveway about 7 p.m., dragged myself and my packages into the house and collapsed. I had a banana and a bag of popcorn for dinner, showered and went to bed. I had such a fun day with Katie and am looking forward to our next trip. Gotta save up some money first tho!

Wild Flowers

 One great thing about the monsoon season is the plethora of wild flowers that pop up everywhere. These purple ones grow along the road. I looked up all their names a couple of years ago but don't know what they are now. Yes, I could look them up again but I don't want to use up all my broadband time.

 Aren't they gorgeous? Beauty hidden in every corner.

 Little tiny yellow ones hiding in the grass.

 This is what the entire bush looks like on the previous purple ones.

 Look at the bounty from my garden! After such a rough start, I am really pleased with all the blessings God has bestowed on my garden.

 I made pickles using my kid's great grandmother's recipe. It calls for a grape leaf in the top and bottom of the jar. I don't know what the grape leaf does but they sure were delicious when I made them 40 years ago.

 Look, Ma! Twins!

 Back to the wild flowers. These are some kind of wild daisy. There are more in the wash that sits at the edge of our property. I'll have to see if they transplant well.

 These are little delicate purple flowers. So pretty!

 The grass all around us is growing really tall. Like knee high. Pa is working on a lawn mower trying to get it to work and he will start mowing here and there. I sure hope he knows to mow around the wild flowers!

 I know what this is. It is a Globe Mallow. I call it a desert geranium. That's what it looks like to me.

 These are desert Marigold. They have roots that are about 12 inches long and do not transplant well.

Pa has been digging up cactus from around the property. Eventually I guess he is going to start a cactus garden or something.
Tomorrow is the big day. I am going to Flagstaff with my friend, Katie who lives in Holbrook. She's been sick but made a miraculous recovery in time for our trip.
We are still in the midst of monsoon season. It clouds up every afternoon and gives us a shower almost every day. We are loving it.
OK, that catches us up for now. Stay tuned for more updates!

Our First Tomato!!!

 Look at what I found this morning! Our first tomato. It's called a Purple Prim but actually ripens to a pale pink color. Pretty big, huh? 4 1/2 inches wide. Can't wait to sink my teeth into it.

 Somehow my pictures got out of order. The one on top of the grape tomatoes is one end of the garden.

 The corn is coming along nicely. Tom's is full of aphids but I haven't seen any on ours, keep your fingers crossed.

 Finally got around to putting up string for my peas to grow on. Altho they are supposed to be a cool weather crop, they are doing quite well in the heat. This is my second planting.

 Pickling cukes. I need to get to town and get some pint jars and make some pickles!

 I have two gourds growing here. I just wish they had enough time to get as big as they are supposed to.

 Cantelope!

 In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the kitty prowls around. She caught a lizard this morning and had such fun playing with it. She eventually let it go.

 This is some type of wild flower growing not too far from the garden.

This is the middle of the garden.  The picture below is of the middle of the garden. The plant in the middle is my gourds. The leaves are huge!

 Peppers. They are doing really great. These are golden peppers but I pick them when they are still green.

Our resident hummers. We have over a dozen now. They are going thru 2 feeders a day. Pa brought me 12 pounds of sugar from the store yesterday. That should last me for a day or two.
So much for the lack of news! We attended church today via Charles Stanley on TV. Pa is working on the floor of his building for the generator. I harvested a few green beans from the garden this morning. Tom was over for dinner last night. He is always so entertaining. We put a fart machine under his chair and whenever he said something, Pa would set the fart machine off. Then Tom threatened to show us what a real fart was. We surrendered after that. I wish you all could meet him. He is always making Pa laugh and shake his head in wonder. Until next time.......

The Monsoons are still here!

 I was meandering around our property and came across this pretty little flower. It is called a Prairie Spiderwort. I found a few, dug them up and planted them in front of the house. Most desert plants don't like to get replanted and immediately fall over in a dead faint, never to recover. Some made it and some didn't. I've not had much luck with taking cuttings of trees either. I got some kind of willow and some cottonwood cuttings and put them in water to root. Didn't happen!!! I've no idea what I am doing wrong. I added some Super Thrive which is a rooting hormone when I tried the willow but it didn't help. Oh well, willows take a lot of water anyway.
The five yellow scallop squash are producing like crazy. We've harvested a few cukes too. I replanted spinach and have had a harvest of that already. My new peas are getting ready to bloom and the corn is mostly tasseled and has produced corn! It's not ready to harvest yet. Pa redid the gate to the garden so it is easier to get in to. I am so full of ideas for next years garden, I can hardly wait. Our friend Tom has been having problems with beetles eating his potatoes and didn't think it was right that we were not having any kind of bug problem. Well, we did have aphids which ate my lima bean leaves. I gave them a good squirt of insecticide made of chrysanthemums. Now the limas are in full bloom. A couple of days ago we found some beetles on our tomato plants so we picked them off and squashed them and then added spray. Hopefully that will take care of them. Ok, how in the world would a potato bug find it's way out to the middle of nowhere , where there has never been a garden, and of all places find Tom's garden to light in. That's the question of the century. The nearest garden is 25 miles away!!!! He said he's never seen one in flight so did they walk in?
The cherry and grape tomatoes that are growing in pots by the house are ripening. They are so yummy.
Pa has decided to add on a small room to the battery shed and house the big generator in there. When it is on, it makes the battery shed too hot and overheats the batteries. I am so looking forward to hauling and shoving that darned generator around to the other side of the shed. That puppy is heavy!

We had a visitor last night. He was catching flies on the screen. The dogs saw him and went crazy. Tilly was jumping on her hind legs trying to reach him. It was really funny to watch.
Right now it looks like the clouds are just about ready to open up and pour down on us but so far we've had a few sprinkles. According to the weather reports, next week is supposed to be a wet one. But if you listen to three different channels or check three different web sites, they will all say something different. so it is just a guessing game here. I love the rainy weather. My body feels so much better in the cooler weather. I dug out my Gatorade and have been having a glass or two each day which really helps a lot.
Nothing really earth shattering to report. All's quiet on the ranch which is a good thing. I'm going to town to get the mail tomorrow. I haven't picked it up for a week so maybe something good will be in there. Like a check from Publishers Clearing House? Keep your fingers crossed!

Big Adventure

 What a great day we had yesterday. We stopped and picked up Tom and his dog Max and went exploring for the day. I thought we would only be gone for a couple of hours so didn't use any sunscreen so my shoulders got a bit sunburned. Pa finally took off his t-shirt so I could wear it to protect my lily white skin. Pa rarely gets sunburned, he just tans.

 We took Tom to high country where there are some pine trees and lots and lots of huge rocks. We picked up a couple of nice flat ones to put in the front yard.

 I've always had a fascination for rock formations. I just love 'em!

 Since our monsoon rains, flowers are popping up all over. Each week now, we should be seeing more and more.

 I found this beautiful hedgehog cactus. Isn't it great?

 We tried to drive the truck up to the top of this hill but it couldn't make it so we climbed to the top. You could see forever. We are right at the edge of New Mexico.

 What a view!

 I told you I love rocks!

 On the other side of the ranch, we drove to the top of a mesa. Tom found an arrowhead. Wouldn't you know, I walked right past it. My foot print was right next to it! Darn it.

 The rock formations are so very interesting.

 Hoodoo? You do! Lots of Hoodoos to see.

 Well, at least it isn't humming birds.

 I'm surprised we didn't run into any rattle snakes out here. Might have been too hot.

 This is like a sink hole. In another thousand years, the earth will erode away and another rock formation will be at the edge of the cliff. This was inland about 50 feet away from the cliff edge. It is 10 or 12 feet deep.

 A lonely little Hoodoo with a rock sitting on top of it.

I don't know what kind of flower this is but it has a faint sweet smell.

Here is the find of the day. Another arrowhead I walked right by. This is red jasper. Pa found it. We finally made it home about 4 so I invited Tom in for dinner. I made burritos from the left overs I had from the night before when we had Daisy Mae over for tacos. Pa took Tom home and came back with lettuce and squash from Tom's garden. We all had a wonderful, fun day. Tom had never seen that part of the ranch. Next time we are taking him to see the black petrified wood.  He's never been to that part of the ranch either. Next time I will be better prepared and have lots of sunscreen on and a shirt with longer sleeves. I can hardly wait!!!!