"Cacti in Bloom"

What a beautiful morning and day here in Arizona! Waking up and seeing my flying saucer cacti with a beautiful bloom made it even more beautiful. Looking closely, one can see that there are more blooms are on the way. The Sonoran desert is very unique in the diversity of plant life that it affords. Feel so lucky to be here!

"April 22nd is International Mother Earth Day"

This week in many communities around the United States and the world, Earth Day is being celebrated by many, schools, businesses and the like. This day is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment.

Earth Day was founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970 and was entirely a grassroots effort. Earth Day is now celebrated in more than 175 countries every year and in 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day. The first Earth Day had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. More importantly, it brought 20 million Americans out in favor of environmental reform.

"Taliesin West and Frank Lloyd Wright"

In northeast of Scottsdale, Arizona there is a living memorial to a great American architect. Nestled in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains and surrounded by the spectacular Sonoran Desert lays a sprawling 600 acre complex called Taliesin West. It was designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright and is a National Historic Landmark. As an architect, he longed to be freed from the existing architecture designs and materials, and instead to do site specific construction where form and function were one. When one looks at the Taliesin complex, one quickly sees how Frank Lloyd Wright combined nature into the design of his construction. Looking closely at the photos, one can see an up close photo of the use of local rock and then see how it was incorporated into the different buildings. Also notice how the buildings become one with the backdrop of the hill behind. Today, the Taliesin West site is open to tours and also hosts a school of architecture that was founded in 1932. In addition, Taliesin West also houses the archives of Frank Lloyd Wright.

"Grandchildren planned birthday breakfast for their mom!"

This morning, Desert Princess and Piano Man planned a beautiful birthday breakfast for their mom as Baby Iris and Baby Petra looked on. Their mom was so surprised with everything, the flowers, the chocolates, the words shared, and the wonderful breakfast. Grandpa was delighted and so proud of their hard work and appreciation for their mom.

"Desert Princess and Piano Man perfect their golf skills"

Part of my activities on this beautiful Sunday was to watch my two older grandchildren practicing their golf skills on the driving range. Even though I see both Desert Princess and Piano Man almost every other week, I must admit that they seem to growing all the time, just like the summer corn in Iowa. It makes me remember an earlier time when my parents would pick my grandmother up at the train station for her yearly visit during the holidays. I can still remember how she would always say, "My child you have grown." She probably didn't know, but inside I just beamed, because I wanted to be tall someday, just like Dad.