catching up

Weather report: 6:20 A.M., 75 degrees, 43 % humidity, with a slight breeze. The katydids still haven't given up, so they're chirping away in the background as wispy gray clouds move overhead. The clouds are coming up from the gulf, which is why it's so muggy, and as the sun creeps up over the tree tops the gray clouds take on a bit of a peach glow. Soon it will become so oppressive that all thoughts of completing projects today will soon become plans for tomorrow, or the next day.

We're usually on the road by now, some place either cool, or with a dry heat. Things didn't work out that way this year, and we are trying to get work moved along on the covered porch and a few other necessities before we go, but it's a challenge. It's even been hard to work up the gumption to post on the blog, as you may have noticed! By way of getting the blog caught up, it did occur to me though that there were a couple of places we visited on the quick trip to California that we wanted to share and hadn't gotten around to it yet, so here they are!


First, for anyone traveling in the general Palm Springs area, I highly recommend including a day at the Living Desert in your trip plans. What began in 1970 as a botanical garden and nature trail has evolved in to a full wildlife experience. The animal habitats are exceptional, especially so as many of the plants are typical of environments the animals would normally live in, and the plant life that is artistically arranged and beautifully maintained is worth a visit on its own merits.
The walking paths around the animal displays are bordered with blooming grasses and trees, and tucked here and there are sculptures and other art objects, always related to the nearby animal enclosures. Signs posted here and there give not only facts about the animals, but in many cases their African names (with pronunciation assistance!)

There's a carousel for the little ones, each animal representing an endangered species, and many of the plant specimens are labeled, of interest to the gardeners like me.

A complex miniature railway adds another dimension to the experience. Amazing in detail and complexity, the model railroad set up includes the Grand Canyon, a ghost town, waterfall, and more fascinating details everywhere you look.


I could have spent hours admiring the craftsmanship and creativity in the display. Not only the little buildings, but the plantings around the tracks, the waterways, the detail on each of the cars, including weathering and damage that would normally occur. No detail as been neglected. There's an "engineer" in the center of the display operating the trains. Several run at one time, so I'm sure there's quite a bit of management require to prevent real-life derailments and crashes.

Rushing water under a tressel

There's a tram system running a regular route through the park that stops every 15 minutes at little rest stations, and there are overhead misters at every station so even in the heat, and it was hot the day we visited, visitors can still stay pretty comfortable. There are also several gift shops and small restaurants around the park, so it's easy to dip into a cool spot if necessary. The park keeps up a pretty busy schedule of activities year round, including campouts for families and kids, concerts, and special presentations.

Our other noteworthy experience was a two night stay in the Jojoba Hills Escapees park (that's pronounced ho-ho-ba). It's near the town of Aguanga (that’s pronounced a-wan-ga), east of Temecula, off Hwy. 79.

We try to check out the various Escapees co-op parks whenever we're near one, and this one turned out to be exceptional. In the co-op parks each lot is individually owned. Some owners live there full time in regular RVs or "park models", others come and go and allow their lots to be rented to short timers like us when they are gone.

This park has been in existence for over 25 years, high atop the mountain ridgeline in the hills, most lots have a lovely view of the valley below or the rolling hillsides that are covered with jojoba bushes and native cactus.

Many of the lots are planted with citrus trees, rose bushes, blooming shrubs, and amazing cactus of all types. It's better than a visit to an arboretum! Everyone we met, as usual in an SKP park, was very helpful and friendly. We had a nice visit both days with other folks who came to the little fenced-in dog park with their pooches. There's a sizable dog area right in the park and another area outside the perimeter,  and a gate through the perimeter fence, allowing for the more adventurous to explore the pasture, and the resident cattle, that surrounds the park.

The park offers residents the use of several features, like a pool, gym, woodshop, sewing and craft rooms, and right in the middle of the park, cleverly designed to channel the rain from the frequent cloud bursts, is a miniature golf course.


Water runs down a stone lined channel, in and around the little buildings, then collects in a series of small ponds that are strategically placed around the park. It was such a pleasant environment it was hard to leave, and I can easily see why several of the residents told us how happy they are there. Some have owned their lots for the full 25 years, so have really had time to develop them. For traveling Escapees it's definitely worth a stop.

There are a few more pictures of the Escapees park, as well as the Living Desert Museum, in the album.

Invasion of the stick bugs

I like bugs - I know I'm odd - but there it is. So, it takes a lot to make me gasp and jump.  I noticed the first giant walking sticks crawling along in the grass, trying to disguise themselves with a nice shade of green.

The next "sticks" I saw were clinging to the side of the house, then the roof of the porch, then noticed the trees and bushes were swarming with amorous couples trying their darnedest to make MORE of the awkward moving critters. What once was a novelty quickly became a nuisance.

One of them even took a ride all the way into town to the hardware store, clinging to the fender-well of my car with it's tiny little pointy feet. It was observed the following day on the trunk of the car by two ladies in a parking log. "Oh my goodness, look at what's on your car! I've never seen a bug that big!!"

The creature had migrated around to the driver's side mirror by the time I got to Walmart and rode there all the way home. We finally dislodged it later in the day, before we left the house again, so it's still somewhere on the property, probably planning it's next trip. Or, maybe she's waiting for the UPS delivery man. He said they ride all over the place on his truck. He said he's finally gotten used to having passengers, though he found it a bit unnerving at first.

The giant walking sticks eat leaves, so they aren't exactly a personal threat, just weird, but combine the influx of stick bugs with the explosion of katydids we've had at the same time and I begin to feel a bit outnumbered. The katydids look like giant leaves when they are green.

In their rusty-red clothes, look a little like a wilted flower. Local folks often call them "leaf bugs". They are chubby compared to the walking sticks, and have long graceful antennae. They make their "song" by rubbing their wings together. I can't testify exactly to the mechanics of the whole procedure, but I can see their wings wiggle as they cling to the roof of the porch and do whatever it is they are doing when they make all that noise. For every stick bug there seem to be at least three katydids, all perched around under the eves of the house and in the trees, "singing" their little hearts out.

Their song is really more of a raspy screech. The sound is noticeable during the day, and deafening at night. Here's a nice little video of the critters so you can enjoy the symphony too. We drove home from the kids' house the other night with the windows down and you could hear them in the woods all the way home. It's about a 7 mile drive, and I can't begin how many katydids it takes to fill up 7 miles of roadside and make that kind of noise. The volume never wavered.

So much for "quiet" in the country, and the cicadas haven't even gotten started yet! I found one cicada on the back porch yesterday, so they could start up any day now. It seems like every year it's a different bug that takes over, so maybe this is the year for "sticks" and "leaves" and we won't hear from the cicadas this year. I hope that's the case - I may go deaf if they all decide to sing at once! Thank heavens the fire-flies are quiet! I wish we had more of them!

Such was our welcome home from the jaunt to California. We stayed away quite awhile longer than we'd planned, and so we're scurrying around to get work done on the porch, yard, etc. before we leave for the summer. It's hard to get moving some days, though. I think we're still a bit melancholy, to use an old fashioned term.

Our beloved Bud, Steve's father, passed away on May 15, at age 84. It was on his and Daphna's 64th wedding anniversary. Steve will be going back for the memorial service on June 2. He just noticed the other day that they've named the first hurricane of the season Bud - fitting! He always did like to stir up a little activity one way or another! He was quite feisty in his younger days, but calmed down considerably in his later years.

Bud with a state of the art camera

One of Bud’s favorite activities consisted of organizing everyone so he could take a photo, though he seldom stopped at one. Bud's legacy includes crates and barrels full of photos, photo albums, and newspaper clippings.

I was often included in these family photo sessions, even long before I married his son. I remember well the confused shuffle as he attempted to organize the group, the painful, quivering cheek muscles, and the cramped knees as we obeyed his command to “smile!”, and then waited…and waited… and waited…for him to snap the photo. We often had to wait for the flash to recharge, or for Bud to replace the flash bulb, or for him to reposition someone, all the while we were saying “enough!” and complaining about how long it was taking. Many years ago I actually had the temerity to make him a T-shirt, with giant sequined letters so all the world would know he was “Flash Worsham” the fastest photographer in the West! He seemed to take it, and the ribbing we gave him every time he said, "just one more,” with his usual sense of humor.

Now, after so many years have passed, we are extremely grateful to have all those photos. He really loved capturing every family moment on film, and all those photos represent memories not only of the events and other family members, but of Bud himself, who taught us all the importance of family and family history.

A friend of Bud's from his newspaper days wrote and really nice piece on him, and Dale, Steve's brother, is putting together some material for the service that I'll link to later if possible.

Goodby to a friend

She came to us as a tiny little ball of black and white fur. Tossed over someone's front yard fence, barely 8 weeks old, she was the only stray brought into the police department that Steve was ever tempted to bring home. Kendra and I had been in a minor car accident the day before and, feeling slightly battered, this tiny little puppy was the perfect cure.

Molly, as we named her grew quickly into a loving dog, protective of her family and a great explorer. Her favorite perch when she was young was a planter wheelbarrow, where she'd relax and survey "her" yard as she watched for invaders.

She got along with pretty much everybody, including the cat Murphy that was her best friend for years. Any cat that didn't run was her friend too, but if they ran, look out! The cattle dog instinct took over and when she was "inspired" she was fast!

Molly never really liked riding in a vehicle, but happily hopped in when a camping trip was at the other end. As soon as she saw us packing the rig she was ready to go.

She attended every Duck training camp too, but was a bit too shy of strangers to make it to the tailgate parties at games.

We logged many miles on back trails, and the only time I ever saw her startled was when an owl swooped out, low and very large, as it crossed the trail in front of us. She slowed down a bit in her later years, but her heart was always ready to go.

Molly has been staying with our daughter and her husband while we're in California, and yesterday she suddenly became quite ill. Kendra took her to the vet yesterday and this morning we got the diagnosis - a fast growing liver tumor. No treatment was really possible, so the tough decision was made to put her to sleep.

We'll miss her so much - she hasn't missed a camping trip in 16 years! Molly has convinced me. .  I truly believe, all dogs go to heaven.... I can't imagine it without them.

More photos in Molly's Album.