Palm Springs

It was reunion time for the girls of American Airlines!  We became friends years ago and had our 7th reunion.  I took the non-stop flight from Columbus to Los Angeles...

 Our flight was delayed because of a huge storm, but the rainbow made up for everything.
I got to watch a movie which was good!

And my $18.00 meal was good too!

My friend met me and the next morning off to Palm Springs...It was very hot! 105 all week-end!. We stayed inside or in the pool!  But I was able to see some interesting things....I got to see a Roadrunner...but no picture...much to my dismay.....
This was the first bird I saw at our house we rented....

A Black Phoebe....they are so cute.....
Then there were these hummingbirds flying around everywhere...it took me a while to get a picture because I think they were in distress at us being there but then got use to us.

This is an Anna's hummingbird.  We don't have them in Ohio, so this was a treat.

One morning we found this Praying Mantis in the Desert Bird of Paradise bush.

She was friendly.

Later that day, out by the pool we watched this Mockingbird.....

  We couldn't tell right away what he had....

It looks like a Praying Mantis!

Oh my! He kept pecking at her and grabbing her and throwing her back on the concrete!

He was winning the battle...

Then he picked her up and swallowed her whole!!!!!

Then we started thinking...was this the one we saw earlier????  Oh no!  So we ran out and check the bush where the Praying Mantis we had seen was....
Relief!!!! She was still there and it was as if she knew she came close to being the main course for the Northern Mockingbird.....

She was in this position like she was glad to still be around...and we were too.

The desert landscaping is so beautiful!  The flowers in the shrubs is Lantana....I never knew it could grow into such a tall shrub...just beautiful...

This is white Lantana and the veriegated color below.

This is Bougainvillea...which is also in the picture with the Lantana....So much color...just beautiful.

                                                This is a Purple Prickly Pear...Loved the color of this one!

This Madagascar Palm had a bird's nest in it....

One of the girls picked a flower from it and it kept us company in the kitchen.......

There was an Orange tree in the yard and it was loaded...too bad they weren't ripe yet!

Some cactus that was in the yard...the round one on right bottom is a Barrel Cactus and the one on the left is an Ocotillo.  I don't know what the others are.

The beautiful Palm trees that are everywhere in Palm Springs.  The Palms and the mountains make such beautiful sights to see.

          The tall cactus on the right in this picture is a Saguaro Cactus....a very young one.

This is a Ponytail Palm...that we have as house plants here!  LOL...I was surprised to see it as a landscaping plant.  So pretty.

In downtown Palm Springs we went to visit the Marilyn Monroe statue!  It was amazing!

She is "Forever Marilyn" by Seward Johnson based on a photograph by Bernard of Hollywood.

She is made of Steel and Aluminum and is 26 feet tall!  She weights 34,300 pounds.  She made her first appearance in Chicago, Ill. in July 2011. Marilyn was discovered at age 22 in Palm Springs. And yes that is me leaning against her leg!


We loved the pool.  It helped keep us cool in the 105 degree temperatures....

A couple of friends by the pool!

Then is was too soon time to leave....each of us looking forward to next year.......

Going back to Los Angeles to catch my plane home...some desert scenes.....

Wind turbines

The mountains...











Sand dunes......

Took the Fly-away bus to the airport and the traffic was what you have heard about Los Angeles!

Finally we reached the airport.  It was a bit different from what I remember when I worked there many years ago....

Got to the gate just in time to board....My flight back was not as nice...they ran out of those $18.00 meals and I had seen the movie and so I ended up sleeping most of the way home.   (guess I needed it after my wonderful week-end)

One last look...the Pacific ocean and beach of California....Wish I had more time to visit my old haunts from when I lived there.  Maybe another time.

Hope you enjoyed my visit to Palm Springs....

Praying Mantis waiting for dinner!

The last day of August and summer.  I took a walk through my garden and  found a few things that brighten my day.  This is the saddest part of summer.  It hasn't been the best year for butterflies.  Last year my butterfly bush was covered.  This year I saw lots of Cabbage White....

I saw four flying around.  Then I found this wonderful spider!

 This is a Black & Yellow Garden Spider.  A female because they are bigger than the male.  I love the zig-zag white silk that she decorates her nest with.  I went back out to check to see if she had any suitors but alas I found none....but she still has time to mate.

My Pond frogs were out sunning themselves.... I have three but only saw these two today.

I love my pond frogs!

On around I walked and looked......

Another Cicada shell.  I still get a thrill out of finding them.....LOL

Then I stopped at the butterfly bush hoping for something exciting.....and there she was....a Praying Mantis 

She is just hanging there under the flower, just waiting for dinner to land.

It wasn't long when I saw the Silver-spotted Skipper land and I could see her get ready.....

Look at the next few pictures as the Skipper gets close to the Praying Mantis....

 She slowly changes her position to get ready for the attack...

 Almost ready to grab the Skipper........

When off the Skipper flew......

And back to watching and waiting for the next victim....

She didn't have long to wait when a Cabbage White landed....I thought she is going to have dinner now.....

They are really close....She is getting in position.....I just knew she was going to get the White......









So close....I thought she would jump on the White any minute!

But the White moved again and then flew off to another flower blossom....

No dinner for the Praying Mantis.....

The bush in the bottom left is the Butterfly bush that this drama took place.  As you can see my garden is showing the signs of summers end...

Can't wait till Fall.....Love the changing colors of the leaves on the trees...hope to have some good pictures for you soon.....