Growth......

Before running errands today I grabbed my camera and decided to take pictures of things I have been wanting to photograph but didn't because the camera wasn't with me. Believe me, you don't want to leave your camera in the car even for an instant around here!

So having said that......the first picture is of my little Cholla cactus. I found this little guy in our backyard before we moved here. It was about four inches long and maybe 3/4" in diameter. During our monsoon season the wind blew so hard it knocked the planter behind it right over it and down to the corner of our street! In the process it broke the cactus in half! I wondered what to do with it for about a day and a half and then decided to put it back in place and hope for the best. Well, as you can see, it is doing fine. This particular cactus has a nasty habit of throwing it's little spikes at you if you get too close. So I am really not sure why I am nurturing it except it is really a beauty!

If you look really, really close at the second and third pictures you will see a little rose bush tucked in under the other flowers. I brought this little guy back from Mark & Linda's in Vancouver, Washington in September. I planted it out in the open thinking that it was probably cool enough for it to survive. WRONG! It didn't take long for it to fry! So I rescued the little darlin' and nestled it into this very cozy spot. While some of the leaves and branches still look a little scorched, the rest of it is doing nicely. I am pretty confident it will do well in it's new home. When the time is right I will transplant it to a new space where it will enjoy full sunshine!

The next picture is Texas Sage (I think). They are blooming everywhere around here right now. If it is Texas Sage they bloom after there has been some rain. Let me tell you, I never knew we had so many honeybees until these guys go into full bloom! And they bloom every time it rains! Just for your information, that has been about six bloomings this summer!

Next we have the bridge being constructed over the Santa Rosa Wash. Right now the road goes down into the wash and when it rains the wash generally floods and traffic is detoured. We wondered about that detour route until the first time we had to take it. It really isn't that bad but it certainly will be nice to have this new bridge finished!

The next thing I photographed was our new library! It is about 8,500 square feet and construction was just started about a month ago. It should be completed by spring. Our current library is a little modular building that is probably 1,500 square feet. It will be wonderful to have a new library!

And last, but certainly not least, is our new WalMart - all 200,000 square feet of it! It is also scheduled to open sometime in the spring. WalMart is about a mile or so from our home and will be one of many stores in a new shopping area. Home Depot, a hospital, theatres, restaurants, small shops, etc. are all scheduled to be built. And all will be within walking distance which will really be nice!