Road Work and a BUG

There is always something new to watch around the park these days.  Today there is a crew doing road work and patching.  First a truck slowly drives by with a strong air hose blowing away the dust from any potential places that will need repair.

Then another crew follows behind with a truck that puts out the tar while three more guys brush it into the cracks to seal them. 

We have quite a few miles of roadway within the park and these guys are walking every step of the way while they brush the tar under the beautiful Arizona full sunshine and 100 degree temp.  Whew!!!!  It’s no wonder they want to start in the early morning.  I try to remind our residents of that when I hear someone complain that the crews awaken them too early in the mornings.

We had a very pleasant surprise this morning when we looked out the kitchen window.  A young praying mantis came to rest on our screen.  I’ve seen quite a few of them in the shrubs and flower garden but today’s guest was a special gift.  Back in the old days when we owned a large home in Ohio, our yard was actually sanctioned as a Wildlife Habitat area by the Audubon Society as we had so many flowers, plants, feeders, ponds, for our furred and feathered friends.  We bought mantis egg cases from the internet and placed them in our yard to help with the insects.  We got some awesome photos back then.
Today’s guest:

Our Ohio friends from days of yore:


Cool pictures, aren’t they??  Not bad for an amateur photographer like me….if I do say so myself.