The Living Desert Zoo

 The Living Desert 

is a wonderful zoo and desert gardens in 
Palm Desert, California.

We have visited it a few times, 
and every time we see something new. 

The last time we went was free as I had downloaded a
coupon off of the Better Homes and Gardens website.

First I want to share some pictures
of the wonderful desert gardens.

I don't have any thorny cactus in my home garden.



However I do see plenty of cacti every day.

They are in every store parking lot and in the median

of every road. You have to be careful where you step.

These large thorns can penetrate soft sole shoes such as flop flops and crocs.

I know this from personal experience and it required a trip to the clinic for minor surgery. 

This one is a Crown Of Thorns cactus.

It is a pretty flowering plant, until the leaves start to get sparse and you see it's real personality! 

This is a picture of my daughter and granddaughter.

Good thing she didn't take a step or two backwards or that cactus might have 'grabbed' her!

Besides the large variety of desert plants, cacti and trees 

(they ALL seem to have thorns) there are lots of animals to see. 

After all it is a zoo!

Now for a couple of pictures of the

native desert animals that are at the zoo.

The desert hills are home to Big Horn Sheep.

If you are lucky you might see some when hiking the many trails around the valley.

Recognize this guy? 

Yes... he is a real life Roadrunner.

So is this Wile E. Coyote?

Next time I will share some pictures

from the Discovery Center at the zoo.

This is a beautiful panoramic wall mural inside the Discovery Center.

It looks real, especially when viewing it in person.

I took these pictures with an IPhone.

I think it takes better pictures than my little Sony Cyber-shot. 

One of these days I may get a new camera...

I am sharing at these fun parties:

Mosaic Monday

You're Gonna Love it Tuesday

Rednesday

Outdoor Wednesday  

xoxo 

Bunny Jean

Beautiful Weather in the Desert!

We have had the BEST weather here in the desert. 

It's been right around 90 for the last few days. 

Considering last week it got up to 109... 

this is like living in paradise.

The Mr. and I are having another stay-cation while he is home for the week. Played a little golf, hit a few restaurants,  and of course I did a little shopping at the SALES!

But I would like to share some pictures of my daughter's and granddaughter's
visit from last year's spring break. 

Here we are sitting around the clubhouse pool.

My granddaughter found something she wanted at Home Goods. She collects Giraffes.
Thank goodness I convinced her that it would not fit on the plane, 
because even at clearance it was 499.00.


So we visited the Living Desert Zoo, 
in Palm Desert, in search of more Giraffes.

This guy just wanted to hide behind a tree. 

She got to 'pet' these animals.

There were wonderful gardens of various desert plants.

There are also beautiful views too see. 
I see those mountains every day, 
but I would much rather see those smiling faces!

What's 'girl time' without a pedicure?!

We also had to 'play' a little, so we went to the clubhouse
and played some Bocce Ball with Grandpa. 

That's Grandpa having fun. 
Yes... that is a smile.

 I think riding in the golf cart with her mom 
was when my granddaughter had the most fun. 



Oh wait... 
It was actually when SHE 
got to drive the golf cart.

We went to the new section of the development 
after the contractors had gone for the night. 

Her daddy had to go right out and buy her a golf cart when she went home.
But, something tells me that he and her mom may have also wanted one.

I would LOVE to move closer and have an 
enormous house where we could gather 
once a month for a big family dinner... 

But in the meantime I will try to enjoy the desert, 
especially when we have days like this.

Another nice view of our golf course. 


xoxo 
Bunny Jean

Don't forget, 
the Bunny Hop will be ready to link up to 
at 4:00 Pacific Time. See you then :)

Wednesday’s Bunny Hop Party #39 ~ I'm Back!

I'm Back 

and ready to Party!

I really enjoyed my week off from blogging...

 only because I spent every minute 

with my husband!

We had wonderful weather even though it was a little 

hotter than normal for this time of the year.

Temps were in the low 100's.

We pretended that we were on a vacation here in the desert.

Not too hard to do, as it really is a vacation destination.

So we did touristy things! 

source

We went "hiking" or rather had a nice long walk
in the Coachella Valley Preserve to see the
Thousand Palms Oasis.

At 6'3" the Mr. looks tiny compared to the tall palm trees.

The Coachella Valley Preserve is located
10 miles east of Palm Springs. 

It is a 17,000 acre site and is home to the spectacular
Thousand Palm Oasis which is fed by water seeping
out of the San Andreas Fault.

source

When you leave the visitor's center you will pass through
the lush vegetation of Thousand Palms Oasis.

Most of the trail in the oasis is on a well maintained
raised wooden path above a marshy bottom. 

source

After leaving the oasis the trail winds through a sandy wash 

before reaching McCallum Grove.

While the (2 mile) trail is not very strenuous,

hiking in the sandy wash can be a little harder.

source

At the McCallum Grove there is a large pond which is

fed by underground springs which are the result of

seismic activity along the San Andreas fault. 

source

These are what palm trees look like in their natural state. 

All the old palm leaves hang down and cover the trunk.

We also went to the zoo but I don't want to bore you too

much so I will share those pictures on a later post.

I'm ready to see what you have been up to this last week

so let's get the party started!

xoxo 

Bunny Jean

Wednesday’s Bunny Hop Party #34 ~ Good News!

Well I Hope you are ready to party...

Because I know I am!

The Mr. and I have been having some good times... 
in between our moments of panic.  

I know that sounds weird considering what has happened to us. 
But he has been home 24/7 which has been nice :)

Good news... he will be signing on to a new job today. 
It will be for more money because of a good incentive plan. 
This company knows my husbands capabilities and will appreciate him.

Yes, there will be some travel, 
but I have dealt with that before. 

At least he will not be coming home only on the weekends, driving 2.5 hours each way,
like he's had to do for the last year. Nor will we have to relocate to San Diego. 

I am so thankful that this crises is over and we can get back to normal. 
I know so many other families have not been as fortunate. 
My heart goes out to all those struggling just to get by. 

My husband likes to golf...  

when he has the time.

Well he's certainly had time these last few weeks!

So he golfed, and I got to drive the cart around. 

This hole is not far from our house.

It is really nice to drive around the golf course and enjoy 
the landscape. It also gives me a chance to peek into some other 
backyards and see what they did with their yard.

We can't see this water feature from 

our backyard but we sure can hear it when 

we sit on the patio in the evenings.

I am also trying to improve on 
my photography skills.

This cactus is just one of the many varieties on the golf course. 

It is pink and purple and has pretty yellow blooms.

I didn't even adjust the color to enhance it. 

I hope you all enjoy this weeks party, 
I know I will!

xoxo 
Bunny Jean

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Not much has changed in the last two weeks...

I want to thank all of you for your sweet comments and emails. 

I hope you are right... that sometimes things happen for the better.  

Actually, we have enjoyed spending lots of time together... 

But that is the only good thing about 

my husbands job status at the present time. 

The no income part is certainly not good.

We have not had a vacation in MANY years

so we are taking a "stay-cation" of sorts... 

and trying to enjoy this "time off".

We should find out the details on a job offer tomorrow. 

I hope it will allow my husband to work locally. 

Nigeria is out... but travel to North Dakota is a possibility.

In the meantime, we have 

been spending time on the golf course. 

For those of you who may not already know, 

we live in a Sun City 55+ development, 

and there are two golf courses.

I'd like to tell you this is our house...

This is the backside of the newest and much smaller clubhouse 

in our development. It is just two blocks from our house, 

and is about half the size of the main clubhouse. 

Some of the golf cart paths go through these 

little tunnels under the main roads.

  

I love to go through this little tunnel. 

At first it is a little dark and unsettling...

But then it opens up to this!

Lately I kind of feel as if we are in a dark tunnel. 

I sure hope we make it through soon...

and have a bright future.

xoxo 

Bunny Jean