Yesterday we started our day with saying goodbye to Walter and Helga, our sign painting neighbour and his wife. We had gotten to know them well over the winter as Walter painted several signs for us and we became friends. We will miss seeing the work he is always creating and will look forward to their return in the fall.

It was also NASCAR day, but before the race began we headed into town to pick up some groceries at Trader Joes. The weather has been amazing for the past couple of days and yesterday it was no different, with clear skies and a high of 25C (77F). While Rick was enjoying the race I kept myself busy getting our laundry caught up and that dreaded job of ironing!

By the time the race was over, we needed to get out, enjoy the weather and do something physical so we drove out to the Coachella Preserve and the Thousand Palms Oasis to do some hiking. We had been to this oasis once before, last spring, and it was about time for a return visit. Last year we found it to be greener with more blooms because of the wet winter they had experienced, but yesterday it was still quite beautiful. It amazes me to find this beautiful spring-fed pond surrounded by huge ancient palm trees in the middle of a desert! It was a pleasant hike into the oasis and on our way back we even saw a fringed-toed lizard that I was able to photograph before he took off. Just as we arrived back to the parking lot, a desert jack-rabbit darted across our path but he was much quicker than his slithering neighbour and camera shy. We had a really good time and it was nice to finally see some of the desert life we live so near to.