Pic-of-the-Week for June 19, 2018

Hola Amigos,

Exciting news here.... we had our first tropical storm, which was earlier in the hurricane season than normal.  Hurricane Bud had some strong winds, but fortunately for us, it weakened to a tropical storm (Bud Light) before it got to us last Thursday, so we just got a lot of needed rain. It rained steadily most of the day Thursday, and a bit on Friday.  Things are greening up nicely now, and even more cactus are blooming in the desert.  The picture below is from Thursday morning on my abbreviated walk.  I did want to get home before the serious rain started!  

Another great benefit of this storm is that the weather has cooled down to "reasonable", and it should be that way for the foreseeable future!  Highs in the 80's and lows in the 70's are much more tolerable!  

It was pleasant enough during the storm to sit on our veranda and play Mexican Train while the rain was pouring down!  (I think I won that game!)  

Today, for the first time this year (I'm a creature of habit!) I took my morning walk heading north up the beach.  I did it because someone has lit the El Coro dump on fire, and it happens to be in the arroyo to the southwest of us, and where I usually walk.  The toxic smoke is awful, and it tends to just follow the arroyo down to the ocean during the night, and drifts over to our house.  Ugh.  Ryan has done lots of research, and found which government agency to complain to, but I'm not expecting much to happen.  Hopefully, the fire will go out soon.  

Summer plans.... we think we've finally figured out what we're going to do this summer, and when!   

• Ryan and Charlotte's Baby Girl is due around the end of July, according to the doctor here.  I am planning on coming back to help them out, and get some baby snuggling in.
• Ben's Model A is not going to be done for 3 or 4 more weeks.  He needs to stay here until it is done and bring it home, and start putting it together.  It may be done the week of July 16th...maybe sooner.   He will stay here until a few weeks after the baby is born.
• I (Harriet) have doctor appointments scheduled in Bend starting July 9!  So, I'm going to fly up to Oregon on July 5th and spend about 3 weeks there; doing doctor visits, finishing up a baby quilt, shopping for baby things 😉, visiting friends, and house/dog sitting for Ken & Bea if they want to go somewhere.  If anyone is in the area, I'll have time to visit with you! 
• I (Harriet) will return to Baja around July 25, and wait with everyone else for Baby Girl to arrive.  
• After Ryan, Charlotte, and Baby Girl are settled in (a week or two), we will head north to Oregon, with both Sam & Zoey in tow this year.  Not sure if we'll bring the new Model A.  Charlotte has informed us that new mothers in China are treated to a life of luxury during the first month, being waited on hand and foot, and others taking care of the baby in the middle of the night.  We'll give her a couple weeks!!

As a result, Ben and I will have a shorter time in Oregon this summer.  We will have to plan carefully to make sure we get everywhere we need to be and see who we need to see!  (When is your first corn ripe, Tom?)  

We didn't get to see Rebecca's family this year.  They vacationed on the East Coast of the US and in the Midwest.  They will be heading back to the Middle East this Friday, so we will have to look forward to next summer for a visit with them.  Sure glad Rebecca made it to our Anniversary party! 

So... tropical storm, summer travel plans, baby arriving, car taking forever... not sure if there is anything else to share with you except a few pics.  

 Our "deformed" cactus put out a few blooms this year.  I think it is actually a Pitahaya Dulce, but with a deformed gene.  I never see the blooms open in the desert, although I see lots of this kind of cactus (not deformed).

We have a Guanabana (or Sour Sop) tree and this is the fruit it produces. The fruit is white with black seeds that look like watermelon seeds.  I haven't tasted it yet, but Ryan says its a bit sweet and a bit sour, kind of like a green apple.  Mexicans make a drink out of it.  Guess I'll have to find the recipe and try it out!

This is the inside of the fruit.  

We ran out of black oil sunflower seeds for our wild birds, and just can't get the place where we found them last to order new ones, so our poor birds are out of luck!  I did plant some of the seeds in our corn patch, and they are coming up.  If "someone" waters them, there is a chance the birds will have a few more later this summer!

I will leave you with another beautiful cactus bloom ... I can't stop taking pictures of these beauties!  More photos are posted in the 2018 June album, including a video of our "river" during the rainstorm.

Hasta la proxima vez,

Tus amigos en Baja, 

Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Charlotte, Baby Girl, Sam & Zoey