Peach Cobbler

This past month, the peaches were at their prime--and so were their enemies' tactics. I caught one of the little buggers in action:

The below fruit was damaged as a result of finches pecking at the skin:


As for the peaches that made it into the house unscathed, I used THIS RECIPE to make a delicious cobbler.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

VOILA!:

Ramsey Vista Campground

Jared treated me to a camping trip this last weekend (I think he was feeling guilty since he knew he was leaving for three weeks of TDY in Norfolk, so he caved in to my request!).

We drove up Carr Canyon and hunkered down at the Ramsey Vista Campground. On the drive up, we could see rain clouds in the distance, but we were spared during our entire overnight visit, despite camping during the middle of "monsoon" season.

The roads were really rocky and bumpy...we were so glad we paid to have the wagon aligned LAST weekend...ha. We'lll take the F-150 up next time.



We both pitched in:

I did the loading, and unloading,

Jared set up the tent,

I started/stoked the fire,

Jared gathered firewood,

And we both enjoyed some beans, weanies and S'MORES thanks to our fire. It was somewhat therapeautic to stare into the flames while eating chocolate!!

In the morning we hiked.

Overall, I rate the trip a 9 outta 10; I only say that because I had a rough night sleep due to other (loud) campers and traffic... However, it was well worth the $10.00 we paid for one overnight. Don't forget to haul your own water up and to bring cash or check to self-pay!

If you need want more information about this campground, read HERE.

Fourth of July Block Party

Ilene and I had a great turnout for our neighborhood block party! Nine families from the 'hood and two other families joined us to celebrate on the 4th. We are so happy there was so much interest from the neighbors! We'll have to do it again soon!

Our invite read:

"We the People (at 2XXX Calle Patina),

In order to form a more perfect party

Hereby invite YOU to an Independence Day celebration!

Oh say can you bring your lawn chairs and a side dish to share?

Please R.S.V.P. by July 3rd to ..."

Our nice, big backyard played host to the par-tay!

Mmm. Dessert. The most important part of a well-rounded meal.

Homemade apple pie with streusel topping--I used apples from the tree in our backyard.

Neighborhood crew

More friends

Grill Masters Darrell and Jared

Hostess(es) with the Mostest: Ilene and Adri

Tarantula

Jared was in the church parking lot this past Friday when he stumbled across this tarantula. Apparently rainy weather drives the tarantulae out of their burrows.

What happens when you leave sushi unattended in our household...

"Monsoon" Clouds

It tickles me when people use the term "monsoon" season to describe the weather in Sierra Vista from June until September. Are you kidding me? The rain is so predictable--at approximately 6:00 every evening, it will rain for up to an hour, and then, as expected, it will stop.


Personally, I will stick with the term "rainy" season until I see reason to call it otherwise. Unless you have lived on a little island in the middle of the Pacific or on the coast line of the Atlantic or Indian Ocean (or any ocean for that matter), and have lived through a real monsoon season (hurricanes and/or typhoons included), I don't think you should be using that word lightly!


Below are some pictures from our neighborhood right before a rainstorm. The middle picture shows a rain cloud running vertically in the center of the photograph.