May Daze :)

My blogs seem to get farther and farther in between! For that, I apologize! The more settled we become into every day life in Las Vegas - the more we forget that those that don't live here too, are not a part of the happenings!
Not to mention that others may not even give a hoot as to what changes my cactus are doing in the backyard, how bright or hot the sun is shining on us today, or how many crickets I chased out of the house! Guess that's the beauty of a BLOG - you have a choice if you want to read about us or not.

Here it is - the last week of May. The air conditioners are pretty much a daily hum again after a few months of quiet. We "celebrated" a couple of records in the weather department this month. A record high for this time of year AND a record low high. Temps actually went from in the triple digits to a low in the 50's all in a matter of a week. This being in MY area. Now.....not far from us up on Mt. Charleston - they had snow shower them during the Memorial Day weekend. That's a big thing for them! Here ...down in my neck of the woods, we had some rain. SOME rain. Not even a half inch in 3 days of predictions. But....it was rain. Just enough to spot up the windows on the house and cars. And to give my plants a sip of nature .......water not coming from a hose!

Speaking of my plants - amazing what a bit of sunshine and water does! Comparing the size of things just a few weeks ago - they don't even look the same! My little "HERBY" cactus is huge and sports not only beautiful flowers but his paddles have grown tremedously! Not to mention - his thorns! DANG! Yes, Christina - my dear friend, you warned me! I think of you every time I observe Herby and his achievements! Still thanking you for the lovely piece of the desert - and silently cursing this plants way of thanking me from saving his prickly self from the garbage truck!




















As seems to be the norm around here - whenever we get a spare moment, we're off on another adventure to discover what this State offers to share! This month was busy with more of those discoveries!
Early in the month - Robert and I drove out to the Red Rock Canyon area to have a better look. While this is an amazing place all year round with it's beautiful sculpted mountains - it especially holds true in the spring. The colors of everything in bloom are incredible!! We took a short hike to enjoy the scenes up close and a few of our pictures are shared here. LOL.....posing isn't something I enjoy and with my dear husband trying to keep up with my "freak outs" due to the occasional visit of a bug or two to my body - the pictures actually turned out ok. Have I mentioned - I really HATE bugs....especially when they are on ME! A Steve Irwin I'll never be.. Although - I am reminded that those creepy crawlies are actually needed.
































Ok.....enough of the stuff about bugs. Red Rock offers a long list of things to do for the nature lover. Miles of paths lead to some amazing places. While we didn't get much off the main road - we look forward to seeing more when time allows....or the day when I'm not in a skirt and sandals! As I found out soon enough - there is a reason why these particular shoes are called sandals.....my feet turned an interesting shade of brown after such a short walk. One thing I am especially excited about seeing - the wild horse and burro herds that frequent this area! And Robert already mentioned - "No....you can't have one". We'll see.

Another fun (for me!) place we visited - Cactus Joes!! A place out in the canyon that hosts acres of everything cactus!!! I had a ball out here .....just walking, ooohing, aaaahing, and trying not to touch all the wonderful items! Not only do they have a ton of different cactus, but they offer a huge selection of statues, yard furniture, fountains, pots, etc.. The prices are very reasonable. I came home with a few treasures to dot my landscape! My greatest find was a two foot diameter aloe vera! I'm told that this particular healing plant only holds medicinal value if it is over three years old! Well.....this one should help in curing when Herby ails me. Below are a few pictures of our visit. I could have spent the entire day browsing.....but there were other things to be done!








Unfortunately, I'm out of time for this writing! Hopefully, this finds you all well and enjoying the coming of summer! We look forward to hearing from you all when time allows. Until the next time - may life treat you well!
*HUGS*& Scritches from -
Crystal, Robert, Randall, the birds, and Bindy!