The Canada Goose

The Canada goose is a large wild goose species. The birds migrate to southern North America for the winter and usually fly back to Canada in the spring. Some of them have decided to stay with us year-round.
Today we had to stop at the "duck crossing" to allow a rather large family to cross the street from one lake to another.

Scottsdale Culinary Festival

The Scottsdale Culinary Festival weekend is great fun! You can taste many foods from many restaurants. It is set on 25 acres of parkland with three stages for music as well.
There is the Southwest Festival of Beers and a Wine Garden as well. Cooking demonstrations and wine seminars are held free of charge also......makes for a tasty and fun outing!

Great Egret

The great egret is also known as the common egret, large egret or great white heron. It has all white plumage and stands up to 3 feet tall. It has a slow flight with its neck retracted.
They feed in shallow water mainly on fish, frogs and some insects. As I walk around the lake by my home, I see these birds all the time.
Today, however, I was amazed to see one on my front lawn.....it came walking along from my neighbors yard. I wonder why it was not by the lake?

Spring Training

Let's play ball.....it's that time of year again!
I went to Salt River Fields to see some of the Diamondbacks practice this morning. Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is on 140 acres of scenic landscape. Both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies have their spring training facilities here. There are 12 practice fields, training facilities and offices for each team.
How fun it was to see the batters practicing in the batting cages, the catchers practicing with ball machines and the pitchers throwing!

Butterfly Wonderland

In the desert, not far from my home, is this wonderful exhibition. It begins with a short film, "Flight of the Butterflies" in a 3D theater where you learn about the migration and life of a Monarch butterfly.

Then you can see the emergence of butterflies from live chrysalis before you enter the Butterfly Pavilion. More than 3,000 butterflies from around the world flutter among the tropical plants and flowers. They will land on you and you also have to be careful that you do not step on any.

What an experience.... so beautiful!

Louise Penny Novels

Louise Penny is a Canadian author who writes mystery novels. She is the winner of five Agatha Awards as well as numerous other awards for her work. These novels are set in the province of Quebec and the main character is Chief Armand Gamache.

I became hooked on these novels and have now read all 11 of them. Not only are the mysteries captivating but she always describes the food that is eaten throughout the stories....always makes me hungry!

It is a good idea to read her novels in the order they were written but it is not necessary. From the first to the most recent are..

STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER
THE BRUTAL TELLING
BURY YOUR DEAD
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
THE BEATIFUL MYSTERY
HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
THE LONG WAY HOME
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

Have a good read this winter!

Javelina

Many people think javelina are a type of wild pig but they are actually members of the peccary family, a group of hoofed mammals originating from South America. Javelina are common in southern Arizona. They use washes and areas with dense vegetation as travel corridors. They are most active at night.
Today we went for a drive north of Cave Creek and saw a "Javelina Crossing" sign.
One day a few summers ago, because I live near a large wash and golf course area, we saw two javelina cruising down our street digging up lawns and eating vegetation.....how crazy!