My New Dale Bag

Finished today!  Papa did a great job and I love it!

September Flowers

Blooming on the ranch this week...

Yellow Butterflies

Papa and I were in Tucson for a couple of days this week.  Over an inch of rain fell while we were away.  When we returned to the ranch, yellow butterflies were gathered in wet spots along the road. 

Tropical Storm

We have been blessed with rain over the past couple of months.  Over the weekend, a tropical storm moving north from Mexico, dumped more rain on southern Arizona.  We haven't seen rain like this since we lived in Florida.  It was beautiful!

Savannah's Bridal Shower

I have helped Carly over the past few weeks, to get organized for Savannah's Bridal Shower.  Carly did most of the work and I pitched in with whatever she asked.  It came together on Friday afternoon and we put on the finishing touches Saturday morning.  Carly and I had a good time and Savannah clearly enjoyed the results.  Everyone seemed to enjoy being in the moment, looking at photos 

of Savannah and Will growing up, along with engagement photos, playing games and having a delicious lunch.  Savannah opened lots of gifts.  It was a good day!

Cleaning Silver

I'm helping Carly with a bridal shower for Savannah tomorrow.  I got out several silver serving pieces last night, and they were tarnished to nearly black.  I quickly filled the sink with warm water.  I placed a large piece of aluminum foil at the bottom of the sink, then poured in 2-3 tablespoons of table salt.  I put a large silver platter in the sink, with another piece of aluminum foil on top.  Within a few minutes, I rinsed the platter and most of the tarnish was gone!  Voila!  Ready for the party!

The reason this works... when salt, aluminum foil, and water are combined, they create an ion exchange, so the tarnish on the silver is transferred to the aluminum foil.  Try it with silver flatware.  The results are amazing and there's no silver polishing!

Cowboys

Papa joined, Larry Sr., Larrie Jr., and Tom this morning, to ride part way across the ranch, to move cows from one pasture to another.  We love it that the cowboys (they are actually ranchers) we see so often are always smiling and happy.

Giant Green Caterpillar

I saw this giant green caterpillar on the patio yesterday.  It was 3+" long with a pointed tail.  

It will become a large moth.  

Neighbor Horses

Our nearest ranch neighbor, Warbonnet Ranch, has fifty or more horses.  They breed, ride, and train horses.  As we drive in and out of our ranch, we see Warbonnet's horses.  Many of them graze in the pasture we drive through to get to our gate.  I took photos of them this morning, as they grazed on new grass.  They are clearly enjoying the results of the wet summer. 

Banana Splits for Dinner

Papa and I try to eat healthy meals every day.  Occasionally, after we've had a big lunch, and we aren't too hungry for dinner, we opt to make banana splits for dinner.  Tonight was one of those nights!  We are in Tucson and we have two flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream, homemade vanilla and strawberry.  We layered fresh blueberries and bananas, then two scoops of ice cream, topped with drizzled chocolate and caramel sauces.  YUM!  We like to think we're getting calcium from the ice cream, antioxidants from the blueberries, and potassium from the bananas.  Mostly we really enjoyed having banana splits for dinner!