To start the month, I had jury duty at the Phoenix Municipal Court. After checking in, they have a nice intro and welcome, including one of the judges coming to speak with us. There were seven cases on the docket - but over the course of the day, they all ended. This could have been by settlement in civil cases or guilty plea in criminal cases, dismissed on motion before trial or by a decision to be tried by judge alone without a jury. In any event, an interesting day. I cannot be called again for 18 months. I wonder when Patty will be called.
On the first Tuesday, I did my usual day at the Desert Botanical Garden. My morning stations were the cactus station and "What is a Desert?" station.
One of the guest guides asked me about this tree. After investigating the small ID tag (most of the large plants at the DBG have small metal tags that look like military dog tags), I found that this is a colophospermum mopane tree, commonly known as an African butterfly tree.
At first, another docent and I thought the name came from the shape of the leaves.
I subsequently learned that it had to do with the mopane worms (actually caterpillars) that live in the trees.
A friend who has spent time in Africa told me about eating mopane worms, where the caterpillars are fried and then eaten.
We have been having issues with finding an acceptable way to give things away at the Carlyle Condos. Against the rules, people sometimes leave usable items near the trash and recycling dumpsters - but that does not work because the dumpsters are emptied by the large trucks and the items get in the way. Other people leave small things by the mailboxes - that is against the rules, but no one complains. We need to find an acceptable way to do this.
On Friday, Patty and I went to the Tempe Arts Festival for the day. Many vendors and a few street performers.
In a moment of nostalgia, I sent Ben and Megan photos of some old photo collections that hang on my bedroom wall.
Patty went out to buy an artificial Christmas tree, but came back with a real one. After we got it in a stand, she decorated it. We now turn on the lights every night.
On Monday, Anne and I hiked part way up Shaw Butte as far as the "Christmas Tree" on the trail.
The problems with the birds are becoming worse.
The ones on the third floor are leaving their droppings on our window sill and the wall around our patio.
Shadow had developed an infection that caused a large swelling on the left side of his mouth. First he went through ten days of antibiotics to get over the infection. Then he returned to have a full mouth xray, removal of dental plaque and most importantly, removal of the problem tooth. After a day at the vet with IV and anesthesia, he is home and doing well.
On Saturday the 13th, I had a quick trip to San Francisco. I needed 1200 miles to reach Mileage Plus Gold with United Airlines, and I found a cheap flight. So I flew to San Fran in the morning, where I found an interesting art display of Korean ceramics.
I flew home in the afternoon, and on the ride back to our condo, we first saw a beautiful rainbow, and then a double rainbow.
Patty and I went out out to eat at Spinato's, and we saw this car with a wreath on the front and if you look closely, you can see the seat covers with Tinkerbelle.
On the first Tuesday, I did my usual day at the Desert Botanical Garden. My morning stations were the cactus station and "What is a Desert?" station.
One of the guest guides asked me about this tree. After investigating the small ID tag (most of the large plants at the DBG have small metal tags that look like military dog tags), I found that this is a colophospermum mopane tree, commonly known as an African butterfly tree.
At first, another docent and I thought the name came from the shape of the leaves.
I subsequently learned that it had to do with the mopane worms (actually caterpillars) that live in the trees.
A friend who has spent time in Africa told me about eating mopane worms, where the caterpillars are fried and then eaten.
We have been having issues with finding an acceptable way to give things away at the Carlyle Condos. Against the rules, people sometimes leave usable items near the trash and recycling dumpsters - but that does not work because the dumpsters are emptied by the large trucks and the items get in the way. Other people leave small things by the mailboxes - that is against the rules, but no one complains. We need to find an acceptable way to do this.
We also are having problems with pigeons and mourning doves - I believe that someone is feeding the birds, which is why they want to stay in our condos.
On Friday, Patty and I went to the Tempe Arts Festival for the day. Many vendors and a few street performers.
In a moment of nostalgia, I sent Ben and Megan photos of some old photo collections that hang on my bedroom wall.
Patty went out to buy an artificial Christmas tree, but came back with a real one. After we got it in a stand, she decorated it. We now turn on the lights every night.
On Monday, Anne and I hiked part way up Shaw Butte as far as the "Christmas Tree" on the trail.
The problems with the birds are becoming worse.
The ones on the third floor are leaving their droppings on our window sill and the wall around our patio.
Shadow had developed an infection that caused a large swelling on the left side of his mouth. First he went through ten days of antibiotics to get over the infection. Then he returned to have a full mouth xray, removal of dental plaque and most importantly, removal of the problem tooth. After a day at the vet with IV and anesthesia, he is home and doing well.
On Saturday the 13th, I had a quick trip to San Francisco. I needed 1200 miles to reach Mileage Plus Gold with United Airlines, and I found a cheap flight. So I flew to San Fran in the morning, where I found an interesting art display of Korean ceramics.
I flew home in the afternoon, and on the ride back to our condo, we first saw a beautiful rainbow, and then a double rainbow.
Patty and I went out out to eat at Spinato's, and we saw this car with a wreath on the front and if you look closely, you can see the seat covers with Tinkerbelle.
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