spring is in the air.

Good morning.
Spring is in the air as I see cactus starting to bloom...

The trees are leafing out and the birds are singing.
Here's a puzzle I did a few days ago.....

And a neighbor that just returned from a trip to Dubai, brought over her delicious Chicken Enchilada soup with a side of Guacamole and chips, along with this card.....

I've got such nice neighbors! I keep telling them, I'm happy to get their mail while they are gone and check on the house, and they don't need to do anything for me. But they always do.
And here's the last puzzle I did......

And on one of our afternoon walks, we went outside our community and walked down the road that goes between our community and the highway and saw this....

Yep! A Road Runner! it had stuff in it's mouth. Probably working on a nest in one of the bushes or trees along the road.
But the weather has been very nice. Have gone to 3 patio get togethers over the last week now that the weather has finally warmed into the upper 70's. And I'm not bundling up as much on my morning walks as the morning temps are in the mid 50's.  I've seen 2 coyotes over the last few weeks. And maybe half a dozen rabbits.
That's it for now....

catching up!

Good morning.
Sorry for my absence. It's been 11 days since my last post. So a bit to catch you up on.
Here's a sunrise from one of my daily morning walks....

And more puzzles I've done....

Went to the Dollar Tree store last week and they got a bunch of new puzzles in. Bought 18 I think.  At only $1 each, a real bargain! And I've been giving the done puzzles to a couple of neighbors, so They are getting recycled.
And remember when I was dog sitting? Well here's one of the little guys I was taking care of for a couple of days.

This one just can't seem to get enough of me. The other one, could care less if I'm even around. Animals are funny like that. But I went over several times a day. Twice to feed them, and once to play or walk them. The older dog is nearly blind and deaf, but really enjoys his daily walk. The one pictured above, I'd get her leash on and get her outside, and she would sit down in the driveway and not want to go. So, she didn't get a walk. I'd leave her at home and walk the other.
I also made another batch of breakfast muffins Craig really likes.

I mixed the shredded potatoes with an egg and seasoning and a little shredded cheese. Press them into muffin pans and bake until golden brown. About 20 minutes. Then fill them with more cheese, some egg, and cooked, crumbled turkey sausage and back in the oven until the egg sets.

I also made another apple/cranberry pie. Craig really likes that also!

I put a pecan crumb topping on it instead of a second crust.
And....another puzzle....

We got a card in the mail for St Patty's Day from our Realtor with a Powerball ticket inside.

This realtor really works to make sure you don't forget them. They also send Birthday cards, and Christmas cards with lotto tickets and we get a pie for Thanksgiving.
We've also had lunch twice this past week. Last Saturday, Gloria and Dave, the neighbors I watched the dogs for, took us out to lunch at Metro Pizza. Really good pizza! And a great salad!
Then this past Tuesday, we went to lunch with neighbors Barbie and Harry and Obbie. Went to the Market Grille. A nice little Greek restaurant with a nice outdoor patio. Had Flaming cheese appetizer and a gyro. Very good!
Okay, I guess that gets us caught up.

still busy

Good evening.
We've had a very cool spring so far. Temps this week only in the low 60's. Not that I'm complaining. It still beats the weather back in Michigan.
And we had a little more rain today in the valley. Just enough at our house to get the pavement wet. They say we've surpassed the average annual rainfall for an entire year. And it's only early March.
Here's some pics I got off our Nextdoor website that other people in the community posted.

Coyotes above roaming around some homes in our community.

And a Bobcat! A number of residents have seen him/her on the golf course, but I haven't on any of my morning walks.

And another Coyote walking down a street.
If you're not familiar with the Nextdoor website, it's a nationwide community website that you can join and 'talk' to other neighbors. You join the site, and pick what area and neighborhood you want to receive e-mails from. It's another way to keep tabs on goings on around the community, besides the monthly magazine and the community website.
in other news.... I'm picking up the mail for a neighbor  while they are in Dubai, and tomorrow, while another neighbor is out of town, and Tuesday, I'm feeding and taking care of a couple of cute little doggies. They are staying in their home, but I'll go over and feed them and play with them a few times a day.
Thursday, we went with a few neighbors to Texas Roadhouse. It's a chain of restaurants and they opened one up here in North Las Vegas last year. The food was good, but it was crazy busy and so noisy we could hardly talk, so probably won't go back. There are other restaurants with good food and not near as noisy or crowded. But we went for dinner and we normally go out for lunch when it's not as busy. But this restaurant didn't open until 4pm. And now I remember why we don't usually go out for dinner.   :-)
Not to mention lunch is usually cheaper for nearly the same food.
I guess that catches you up on things here.

busy, busy

Good afternoon.
The weather has been wonderful! Nearly 70 every day and sunshine. Although we may get some rain tonight and tomorrow.
We've had 3.09 inches so far this year. That is a lot considering the valley gets and average rainfall of just 3.67 for the entire year!And one day as I was working out in the yard, I saw this little guy......

I've seen him before, or one like him, but not real often.  And, I've done more puzzles......

The one above was a real challenge! Took me over a week to finish it. It was also a 1000 piece instead of most of the puzzles I've been doing which are 500 piece.

A pretty view from up on a tee off green across the road from the pond and our Sheep mountains.
And 2 other puzzles I've recently finished.....

And I've been pretty busy. I walk just about an hour every morning. Usually i start with a neighbor named Barbie, and when I finish our walk, I hook up with neighbors Gloria and Dave and walk with them. Then since the weather has warmed, I usually walk in the late morning/early afternoon with Craig.
I also blew out all the winter leaves and debris from the back yard, took the burlap off our Bougainvillea vine, and fertilized all the shrubs and plants. I also put down some grub-x so hopefully I don't have a problem with grubs this year. I can't believe how bad I had them last year!
I also scrubbed the gas grill, and reset the drip system for 3 days a week. So even though I haven't posted much, I've been pretty busy.