Las Vegas, Day Two

We started day two in Las Vegas with an overload of car-related activities.  Up first, we made a visit to Danny Koker's custom car and motorcycle restoration shop, Count's Kustoms, as seen on "Counting Cars" on the History Channel on TV.

 

 

 

Next, it was off to Exotics Racing to have some fun with race cars.  The Husband drove a Porche for seven laps around their 1.2 mile road course.

 

I decided that I would have more fun if I did a ride along, where one of the professionals did the driving.  My driver was Ritchie Hearn, a retired Indy car driver.  With Ritchie at the wheel, we made two laps of the track ... most of which was spent sliding sideways.  What an incredible feeling!!

Lunch was a burger and sweet potato fries at the Race Day Café, beside Las Vegas Speedway ... yum!  Next stop was the Shelby American, Inc., with the Shelby Museum.  Since I have a Mustang, this was a real treat for me.  (I bought a t-shirt while we were there.)

 

 

 

 

 

At this point, it was time to go back to the condo for a bit of a siesta to prepare us for a late night, which started with  Cirque du Soleil's 'Zarkana' ... is a tribute to old-school circus acts.  Phenomenal!!  It was a Cirque show, so of course it was wonderful.  (be sure to notice the pattern on the cape and hat of the ringmaster's costume.)

 

 

 

After the show, we met up with friends who live here in Vegas, and we all went to Fremont Street to hang out for a while.  The highlight of the night was visiting 'Hogs & Heifers Saloon' for a drink and some fantastic, fun old-school bar atmosphere.  (The bar maids had bull horns, danced on the bar, and swore at the customers ... so much fun.)
 
I still haven't gambled anything.  I may ... but, then again, I may not.

Las Vegas Trip, Day 1

Arrived in Vegas, picked up our rental car, and checked into the condo.  Left promptly to drive two hours and spend the day in Death Valley, California.  What a beautiful, majestic place!

The Husband and me, cheesing at the gateway to Death Valley.

 

 

Badwater, the lowest point in North America, 85 meters below sea level.

 

 

Salt-crusted floor of the Death Valley basin at Devil's Golf Course.

 

 

Layers of rock in the mountains at Artist's Palette.

 

 

The Husband and I, finishing our day at Death Valley at Zabriskie's Point.

 

 

It's time to head out and get moving with our plans for today.  Later, Everyone!!

 

Packing My Bags ...

... and heading for Las Vegas!  Vegas in July, you ask?  This is what happens when one vacations with a teacher, who is only off work for five weeks during the summer. 

According to weather.com, it looks as if the West Coast heatwave will be over, and we will have a bit of a break from the historically oppressive temperatures out there for the past couple of weeks.

I will be traveling and will miss the 109 degrees in Vegas today.

All of the arrangements for me to be away from home are finished.  Ruby is staying with my parents. 

 

Our son-in-law will be here to watch the house and help with outdoor stuff.  He is working on a project for me that I can't wait to share with you!

All I have left to do is finish packing and I will be ready to go.  Las Vegas, here I come!!

Bye Bye, Birdies

Day 13:  The Carolina Wren nest in the pot in my greenhouse is empty this morning.

I didn't check on the babies on Sunday afternoon or yesterday, so I don't know exactly when they left.

I really enjoyed them while they were here.

Sunday Snapshot ... Baby Wrens

Mr. and Mrs. Carolina Wren's five babies are ten days old.  Seems like it's been longer than that since they hatched.  I checked my calendar to confirm ... ten days.

This is a photo from Day 9.

The babies have grown so much!  They are beginning to look like their Wren parents, and not at all like the naked babies they were last week.  There is very little room in the nest now, and the babies don't move around much.  They sit with their chins on the edge of the nest (do birds have chins?), waiting for Mama or Papa to bring them something to eat.

Another Day 9 photo.

It will only be a few days till the babies leave the nest.  I've said this before ... I am amazed at how fast these little critters grow!

Day 10

Today will be a very good day!  We are heading to Maryland to attend a friend's birthday party.  Jim and Dan are two of our very favorite people and they throw the BEST parties ... and their home and garden are a place of wonder. 

Have a happy Sunday, Everybody!

Goodnight, Crepuscule

'Crepuscule' is a Tea Noisette climbing-style rose that grows on the east fence of my Rose Field.  It is almost carefree, very disease resistant, has flowers in a beautiful shade of gold/apricot, and it is a favorite of many a warm-weather rose gardener.  It didn't start out as one of my favorites, but it has grown on me over the years ... this rose asks so little and gives so much.

 

 

 

In May, I found abnormal new growth on one of the canes ... Rose Rosette Disease.  Since the diseased shoots were on the far end of a large, mature cane, and there was no sign of disease anywhere else, I may have caught it early before it spread throughout other parts of the plant.  There was a chance that I could save the rose by cutting that cane off at the base ... which I promptly did, and I disposed of it in the trash.  (and I disinfected my pruners with 91% alcohol in a little sprayer that I keep with me at all times, for just such an occasion.)

I laid the cane on the front of our white golf cart to get the best contrast between the normal and abnormal shoots.

 

 

There's no mistaking this for anything other than Rose Rosette Disease.

 

 

The other evening as I was walking through the garden, I saw a new shoot on a different part of Crepuscule that showed RRD symptoms.  I don't play around when it comes to RRD ... the rule I use when dealing with this disease is simple:  If RRD symptoms are on one cane and localized, I can try to save the rose by removing that cane.  If the disease returns, the rose must be removed.  If the disease is in more than one location on the rose when I first find it, I don't attempt to save it ... I remove the whole rose as soon as I can.  It's a brutal way to be, but it has to be done. 

 

RRD is a fatal rose disease, but it can take years to kill an individual rose.  In the meantime, the infected rose is a potent source of virus the can spread to other roses in the garden. 

 

 

The red shoot you see here is normal, healthy new growth on a different cane.

 

 

In the case of this rose, I am fortunate that it is not one of my rare ones.  It still hurts to lose it, as this is the third rose with RRD so far this year that I am removing.

 

R.I.P. 'Crepuscule' ... and 'Buff Beauty' ... and 'Climbing Radiance'.

 

... sigh ...

 

 

 

Fourth of July

My youngest daughter gave this rose to me for Mother's Day in May.  I thanked her profusely and said, "oooh, 'Fourth of July'!"

"Mom, how did you know that?  You didn't even look at the tag."

I know my roses ... what can I say.

I hope this Fourth of July holiday is a good one for each of you!  Party safely and enjoy your day!