A touch of rain

Mammata clouds promise rain, so far only 0.06 inches.

Trumpet vine pours over the fence from the neighbors yard, we love it!

Dark and ominous around 11:00 a.m. this morning.  These clouds slipped north and didn't rain here.

Little snail is finally free to travel across the vast expanse of dry grass, for a short while, it is damp. 

Lester likes to roll on concrete, wet or dry.

I love this little six inch purple weed, it comes up by the sidewalk and smells incredible when you touch it.

There they go, clouds head off northeast to dump their contents elsewhere.

Grape tomatoes are prolific!  Can't wait!

Incredibly dramatic Glendale sky

Big weather changes are coming, cooler and cloudy tomorrow. 

The clouds are making a big dramatic entrance.

Here's our hill to the north, being swooped upon by white vapors.

Hard working weather instruments below the wild sky.

Purple fades into cotton balls. 

Am I the only one to see an escaping humanoid alien flying off with outstretched arms on the right? 

And here, an eagle landing and about to be chomped by a grouper fish. 

Jerry and Carol's madrone as seen from our back yard.  The bark is gloriously lit up by the sun.

Another beautiful hot day!

Trumpet vine is keeping the hummingbirds happy these days.

Note the tiny white moon mid-left. It looked bigger to my eyes.

Shadow of the hardworking Davis Weather Station on the rocks at the edge of the pond.  90.0 degrees and climbing!

Yesterday clouds today none, go figure!

Yesterday...

Today...

Yesterday...

Today!  Trumpet vine draping over the fence from the neighbors.  We don't mind!

The pond plants are more spectacular every year.

It's 87 out and rising, bamboo and pampas grass say 

"bring it on."

Fire season starts

Firefighters in Merlin are practicing their techniques with the helicopter and bucket.

The skies have been really pretty the last few days!

Star Trek landing pod (assemble the away team!) works hard, I love this sophisticated little module full of great weather tracking equipment.  Why is this fun?  I don't know, it just is.

This big bunch of cotton balls in the sky yielded about four drops of warm rain.  Really four.

Today is much different, though the temperatures are about the same, in the nineties.

Mighty hunter Lester goes after a grasshopper.  This is his favorite snack.  Note the dry grass. Most people here can not afford to water lawns, the cost is prohibitive. We'd all like to water, after last year's fires so close. A green lawn here is a sign of real affluence. (Or a broken hydrant.)

Pretty little bug and nice sunset

This tiny white praying mantis didn't photograph well, I'll keep trying!  We also saw a green one about the same size today, a little over an inch long. These are the cutest bugs ever! 

Pretty colors at dusk today.

A primeval looking sky.

Glendale in July

Our resident dragonfly loves his stick.  

Bluest skies imaginable.

What a pleasure it is to enjoy summer, blue skies, fresh air and hot temperatures! Last year we lost most of our summer to the forest fires, dark smoke and the beating of helicopters constantly reminding us of the encroaching danger. Strawberries withered on the vine, plants did not like the smoky dark sky. Me neither.

Toby just got done frolicking in the yard, chasing his own tail and rolling on the ground like a kitten.  What a great cat he is!

Beautiful summer

Another pretty summer day, only high 70's today.  We brought a picnic to one of our favorite canoe ponds. There were giant blue dragonflies circling us, I could not get a photo, they moved too fast. 

The skies kept changing from mostly blue to mostly clouds. Here is the pond with Table Rock in the background. 

Note the choppy water from the constant winds.

Not sure if this little guy is a plover or killdeer, 

anyway he is very cute.

He likes to stay under the willow, on his own little peninsula. 

A shy guy.

Summer is here!

94 degrees on June 30th.

104 degrees on July 1st.

Our resident red dragonfly likes it warm. 

This is his favorite stick.

Happy Appleton thinks 104 is too hot for a full sun bath, so she just sticks her feet in the sun.