On a completely random note, have you seen the outdoor Chihuly exhibit that is on tour coming to a town near you? If not, I highly recommend it. They have ours at the Desert Botanical Garden and it is viewable day and night (the sculptures light up at night). Here is a sneak peek:
We have gone once already and intend on going back on a not-so-crowded week night so we can get some really good photos. The glass was integrated in such unique and creative ways with all the funky desert plants we have around these here parts.
In other news, the farm animals are as chipper as ever. Would you like to meet a few?
This is Sir Charles Fuzzalot (we make all our own names for them...). He is the fuzziest burro I have ever seen. I wonder if he is not part horse, part burro as he is larger than all the other burros on the farm and has unique features.
And this dashing young black and white fellow is Baby Goat (he was, afterall, an itty-bitty baby when we first met him). Now he likes to play king of the hill with all the new babies. The have to keep a harness on him because he is a little frisky and can be hard to get ahold of when the vet comes to check on him. The one next to him is new and we have not named her yet. Suggestions?
This guy is Grandpa Goat (I know, not very creative but he is the oldest one in the herd). He has severe arthritis in his front legs so many times you will see him kneeling on his two front legs with his booty up in the air. The owners of the farm treat him twice a day with arthritis meds to keep his pain levels in check.
And this handsome fellow is Mr. Ed. He is the sweetest miniature horse and he LOVES carrots and apples.
And in our very own garden jungle, LuLu goes undercover so she can hunt birds. She burrows herself down into the giant lavender bushes and waits for birds and lizards to practically crawl onto her and then she pounces. We try to deter this behavior since the garden is home to a couple of dozen lizards and is a bird nesting ground for humming birds, finches, thrashers, wood peckers and doves. She did catch one of the finch babies last year (bad LuLu) when we weren't as attentive as we should have been.
LuLu was a stray in our neighborhood (we unfortunately have many strays). We do a catch, fix and release program with a local organization to cut down on all the breeding of feral cats because frankly it breaks my heart to see them all out there without a loving home and a lap to nap on. We currently have 2 former strays living indoors with us (LuLu and Zoe). When LuLu was a stray, she went to the vet to get fixed and the next morning when we released her she wouldn't leave our front door. So, we opened the door and she walked right in and has not left. Of course, she received a thorough check up, vaccinations, etc. before being released into the rest of the herd. She has been indoors now for about 2 years but she has a wild streak in her (hence the stalking of birds). We love her anyway...In other news, my handsome and talented husband spent a good part of his day yesterday volunteering his garden expertise at a tree planting effort in Downtown Phoenix. Oh, why is that my husband with Phoenix City Mayor Phil Gordon?
I got a personal tour of the tree lined streets this morning and boy did everyone do a great job! Thanks to Mayor Phil for funding the effort!!
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