The moderate temperature and sunshine led me to sit out on our patio today and read a recent book selection from the local library, ‘The Rising Tide, A Vera Stanhope Novel’ by Ann Cleaves. The author has really got her Vera character down pat. Her mannerisms and humor clearly illustrated. It is very comforting to read mysteries that you know will be solved by the end of the book.

I thought while sitting outside that I don’t spend enough time enjoying our yard. I have missed out on what is going on out there. There are hummingbirds who fly under our lounge chair and peck around. I wonder if they’re gathering cobwebs for their nests like I saw the Say’s Phoebes do.

There is a bird nest in one of the citrus trees. It looks a bit messy. I am not sure if this is intentional or if the nest has been disheveled by the wind. The birds have not had a lot of success with nest building in our yard.

We have a low flow sprinkler system on our property. Around a fruit tree in the yard is a small tree irrigation ditch. When the sprinklers are on it fills up with water that is slowly absorbed into the ground. I recently noticed a group of finches making good use of the little pond. They were taking sips of water and jumping in to splash around. It was fun to watch them from behind my patio door. This morning there was a white-crowned sparrow in there.

We have been harvesting some of the grapefruit. Not as many as last year but still enough to share with neighbors.

---

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Featured image is a ‘Lesser Goldfinch’ by Andy Reago and Chrissy Mc on Flickr.com

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I lowered the umbrella on the patio this morning. There is a wind advisory in place through Sunday evening. We are advised to tie down lose objects if we live in the foothills or mountain areas and to expect blowing dust and sand. Driving conditions can be affected. We are expecting cooler temperatures down to 50 F in the early morning hours. The lower temperatures are a welcome change. I have no plans to be out in the wind except a quick run to the library to pick up some books I ordered. I may go out in the morning tomorrow to feel the cool air.

The Say’s Phoebes are building a nest over our patio door again. I see them flying up and down and sometimes they stop to rest on a patio chair. They are very hard to photograph because if they spot me in the window they take off. Their nests are sheltered from the wind under our covered patio.

---

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Featured image of wind turbans by Tom Brewster for US Bureau of Land Management.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the weather report said we will have thunderstorms moving through our area this afternoon. We started out sunny with a few white clouds this morning. It did feel humid. There is a flash flood warning. That usually doesn’t threaten us unless we are out driving over a wash.

We decided to make a run to the local grocery store. I did tell my husband there was a storm coming. He felt we could make it there and back before the storm hit. While we were inside the market, we heard the thunder. On our way out of the store the wind was gusting along with a torrential downpour. I pulled the car up to the curb. We were completely soaked by the time we got ourselves and the groceries in the car. On the way home we saw bolts of lightning shoot across the sky above us. I’m glad we weren’t driving over the wash. My husband enjoyed the adventure more than I did. He said it was the most fun he had in a long time.

---

Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you it was 97 F, feels like 94F per the weather forecast, at 10:30 AM today. I decided to take a chance on a walk outside. Told myself if it was intolerable the walk could be a short one. I was able to walk 30 minutes tolerably. Inspired by the NYTimes Newsletter post ‘Slow Down’ by Melissa Kirsch about slowing down and mindfulness. It talked about just observing and not feeling like you need to take a photo. Oftentimes, my photo does not capture so well what I am seeing anyway. If I saw a roadrunner, I may have made an exception. I did see a little woodpecker and watched it for a bit. I did not want to disturb it as pecked its way around a tree. First woodpecker I’ve seen here.

On my walk it was relaxing to just enjoy the view.

---

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.