A Day in the Life

Good morning, my friends. It's our last day in Fort Stockton today. Tomorrow's drive will be the longest of our trip at around 323 miles. Happily, I believe we'll go through a section of Texas where we'll be able to see the Texas Bluebonnets. It's high up on my bucket list. They are so pretty, and I've wanted to see them for a long time. I found this image in the public domain. I'm hoping I can see something just like this.

(Image credit: "Bluebonnet Field" by robholland is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

As for yesterday's comings and goings, we did "life" things. We needed to do some grocery shopping. Grocery stores are limited in Fort Stockton. There was Wal-Mart...which we avoid. Instead, we chose a locally-owned chain called "Lowe's." Not the hardware store. It was the weirdest layout in a grocery store I've ever seen with aisles so narrow in some areas that two carts couldn't pass one another. We found most everything we needed except for kitty treats. Can you believe they did not have "Temptations?" Well. We had to go to Wal-Mart for that. Good old Wal-Mart. They know how to treat a cat. And aside from that, the only other thing accomplished was to do three loads of laundry.

Of course, the morning started with some slow-stitching. I stitched my usual 6 strands of floss.

And then I moved my hoop to encompass the last of it. If I stitch fast, I might finish this today.

Smitty helped me with my slow-stitching while simultaneously soaking up the sun.

The kitties are liking it here in Fort Stockton. The RV is situated so they get the morning sun clear through until afternoon.

Late in the day, we went out for a walk so I could take pictures of every blooming thing. We have just outside our door both orange mallow...

and pink mallow.

Growing virtually everywhere in Fort Stockton is this Prickly Lettuce, also known as China Lettuce.

I don't know what type of seed head this is, but I take pictures of anything fuzzy. It's a little like a dandelion...official flower of the military brat.

This is identified in the database as "Hairy White Oldfield Aster, Frost Aster, White Heath Aster, or Downy Aster." It was tiny...about the size of a dime.

This is a creosote bush.

I could see this one from our RV window. It appeared to be blooming from a distance, but you can see it's still just budding out. I'm hoping it will bloom before we leave, but that is unlikely.

There are two kinds of prickly pear cactus here. This is the thornless variety. I can never tell what stage of bloom they're in. This one appears bloomed out, but I would expect to see some "pears."

On the other side of the park, we found the thorned variety. I believe these are just getting ready to bloom.

Across the way, I could see a bit of color on this one.

Even their flowers are stickery. You have to be tough to survive in the desert.

I've been hoping to capture a yucca in bloom. Most of what I see are already bloomed out and going to seed. I captured this one in the park yesterday, but it's already past its prime.

Here's one I took when we visited the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve several years ago.

And that was the end of our day. 

Today really will be a day of rest. I'm planning to try a new recipe I've been holding onto for a while. It's Tiramisu for Two. It's quite a production, and so having the luxury of a free day to make it will be helpful. Of course, I'll report back in my next post. We're heading out early tomorrow, and so I may skip a day of blogging. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, look for me again on Friday. Until then, stay out of trouble. Or don't. I'll admit that getting into trouble is a lot more fun. Choose wisely, my friends.