Almost ten thousand miles this summer … I am so glad to be home. And a friend created a rock-surprise that brought tears to my eyes ….
The other surprise was to find how lush Tucson is after all the rains … the Mexican Bird’s Eye of Paridise by the bird bath is taller than I am. 
Please meet Max. He’s the greatest-cool-mellow fellow that keeps tabs on Leigh and Craig. Here he is asking if he really has to have his photo taken.
He got a treat after this pic. 
Leigh and Craig have incredible roses in their back yard and a magnificent pine tree in the front. We had a marvelous weekend with them. 
I love Henry Moore sculptures but the fountain-sculpture "Spoonbridge and Cherry" by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen always makes me smile. The Canadian geese seemed to enjoy the art as much as I did. 
As always the flowers bring me to my knees. 
Wild Rumpus Books for the Young Reader
I opened the door to the bookstore noting that the door had an inner door for small people to open. A wild white hen almost escaped … 
but didn’t as I closed the door quickly, wondering if this hen was for real or was a robotic hen. I sat down in a cozy chair and put my chin in hand as I assessed the situation. Another hen, black and perky, came out from behind a bookshelf and I knew I was in a store that I liked. 
It was crowded with kids and adults, some reading, others talking to the birds in cages. One child was yelling for his grandmother because the yellow tabby cat that had been sleeping was now awake and climbing in the window to bask in the sun and books. 
I used the bathroom and then asked the desk clerk if I could take pictures of the hens. She gave permission and asked me if I had looked at the bathroom mirror in the dark. My eyebrows went up and I said that I had not. She suggested I return to the bathroom, close the light and look in the mirror. I did and the mirror is a 2-way mirror, which shows a very active fish tank.
The white hen was curious about the camera and came over and pecked. What fun. Check out their web site: www.wildrumpusbooks.com
I also visited the small but incredible museum of Russian art. The Museum of Russian Art www.tmora.org Great gift shop which is an art museum in itself.
Who needs words? Over a 1000 acres of bliss!
