FOODAR

Just as airplanes use RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) and submarines use SONAR (SOund NAvigation and Ranging), Cindy uses her built-in FOODAR (FOOd Detection And Recognition) to locate wonderful places to eat.  It's especially handy while we're traveling, and I have to say it's never steered us wrong.

It came in especially handy during our recent trip to New Mexico, leading us to restaurants that served traditional New Mexican food, such as the Church Street Cafe and the Pueblo Harvest Cafe and Bakery at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

I was especially glad that a we ate at the Artichoke Cafe in Albuquerque, because their food was "New American Cuisine",  modern takes on classic dishes, some of which I actually recognized.

I was somewhat apprehensive before we went to New Mexico, wondering if I would find anything to eat there that did not contain chiles or peppers.  We had found a list of the "Top 20 New Mexican Foods" that didn't seem to hold out much hope of that.

Here's the list:
1.  Green Chile
2.  Green Chile Cheeseburgers
3.  Chiles Rellenos
4.  Red Chile
5.  Carne Adovada (red chiles)
6.  Stacked Red Chile Enchiladas with a Fried Egg
7.  Huevos Rancheros (blue corn tortillas with eggs, red and/or green chiles on top
8.  Blue Corn
9.  Tamales
10.  Tortillas (I can eat those)
11.  Chicharrones (pork rinds)
12.  Chicos
13.  Posole
14.  Beans
15.  Calabacitas
16.  Horno Bread
17.  Navajo Fry Bread
18.  Sopaipillas
19.  Pinon nuts (now you're talking--I love pine nuts)
20.  Biscochitos

http://www.nmmagazine.com/article/?aid=89545#.VbUunXj2CpH

Cindy actually managed to eat at least half the things on that list.  I pretty much lived on tortilla chips and cheese quesadillas.

Janet's Garden

Like many other people living here in San Diego's version of a dry Mediterranean climate, our friend Janet has created a beautiful, colorful garden that does not include a lush, water hogging lawn.

Textures

Instead, she has used many varieties of succulent and drought-tolerant plants to create different textures and color combinations.

Color

The variety of containers she uses also allow her to create a landscape with many different elevations.

Elevation

And the great thing about containers is that the plants in them can be taken with you if you happen to sell the house and move.

Congratulations on creating a great garden, Janet!

Tomato Report

The tomatoes are up and loaded with ripening tomatoes.

As with last year's crop, the plants that had been grafted onto tomato root stock that is resistant to bacterial wilt diseases are out-performing the ungrafted plants all the way around; they're taller, bushier and are producing larger tomatoes.   We lost three of the plants we had grafted in March (see: Dr. Cindy and Dr. Kay Operate), but the rest of the grafted plants are doing well.

Cindy pulled out the ungrafted Sioux plant a couple of weeks ago because it was rapidly succumbing to disease.  Now the Kewalo tomato is also showing some signs of blight, although it is supposed to be resistant to both nematodes and bacterial wilt.

Kewalo Tomato Plant

However, the rest of the plants look like they're going to produce plenty of tomatoes this summer.

Hotel Del's Garden

We've been making each Thursday a "play day" for the past two months, taking the opportunity to enjoy some of the places and sights in the San Diego area, so Thursday before last we went to the Hotel del Coronado for breakfast.

Hotel Del Coronado, Not the "Seminole-Ritz"

Walking along the beach access to the hotel, we discovered the Hotel Del's vegetable and herb garden; square after square of beautifully tended and carefully labeled raised beds.

Herb Beds

It was very impressive.  Cindy particularly liked the chalkboard labels on each bed.

And, of course, having just been to Hotel Del and celebrating the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges the following day, we just had to watch Some Like It Hot, which was filmed at Hotel Del in 1959: https://hoteldel.com/press/like-hot-filmed-hotel-del-coronado/ .

Always fun!

Aspiration

Cindy planted this dwarf Pomegranate tree in a pot in the middle of May and placed it on our front porch.  Thinking the big pot pretty much overshadowed the small plant, she named the plant "Aspiration", hoping it would eventually grow into its pot.

Planted in Mid May

Since then, the plant has flourished, doubling in size, and now it even has a couple of flowers.

Doing Fine Today

Since it's a dwarf variety it should probably grow to about three feet tall and three feet wide, but because it's in a pot, it might be a little smaller when it's fully grown.  It's supposed to thrive in hot, dry summers, which is definitely what it will get here.

We'll see if it's up to producing full-sized fruit someday.

Can't They Read?

Another Western Fence Lizard got into the house a couple of days ago.  We were lucky to catch this one before any of the cats got to it.  We tried to persuade it to run into a paper grocery bag; the lizard decided it would rather ride on the handle of the bag instead, and when we got to the screen door, he decided he would much rather run up the door than remain on the bag.

I opened the door, he ran up to the top and onto the outside; problem solved.

Outside, Please

However, that still left the problem of how these lizards were getting into the house in the first place.  We decided they probably can't read, since the welcome mat clearly indicates that there are multiple cats in the house, just waiting to welcome them.

The Welcome Mat Is Out

We're hoping that some weatherstripping at the bottom of the door will discourage future visits from the lizard population.

Don't Know How This Happened...

We're not sure how this happened, but our cat, Jenna, found a Western Fence Lizard that had incautiously ventured into the house.  Fortunately, Cindy saw the tail hanging out of Jenna's mouth and managed to get her away from the lizard before the cat could actually kill the lizard.

Then the hunt was on for us to try to find the lizard again before Jenna could get back to it.  We finally found it in a corner of the living room and managed to trap it.  The lizard played dead while I scooped it up in a plastic bag and deposited it under a bush in the front yard; it apparently took to its heels, minus its tail, shortly after that because it was gone when I went back a few minutes later.

Western Fence Lizard

I didn't get a picture of the lizard because I was intent on getting it OUTSIDE the house as quickly as possible.

This picture is of a different Western Fence Lizard from a few years ago; that lizard had lost both its tail and a back foot, but survived very well minus those appendages.  We're hoping the current lizard was relatively undamaged, and that it will be a little more wary about coming into the house where those creatures with sharp teeth and claws live.