So, if you didn't know we lived near mountains, you also may not have known that we live in the desert. Or so they say. There seem to be an awful lot of trees and green lawns for this to really be the desert, but what do I know? There are some big differences from Dallas- like for one thing, it never rains here (see two posts ago).

For another thing, instead of "palmetto bugs" (aka giant mutant cockroaches) there are giant, mutant black widow spiders. One currently lives under a ledge to the left of our front door. Every time I open the door after dark, I shudder a little thinking of its eight spindly legs. We haven't been able to squash it yet. Hopefully before Thanksgiving, right Mom and Dad?

And instead of the friendly green anole lizards that hid in bushes in Texas, here the lizards are brown and dart in front of you as you walk down the sidewalk. Kamikaze lizards. Lizard guts on the bottom of your shoes are always fun! (Disclaimer: I have actually not yet stepped on a lizard. But I have no doubt that it will happen one day.)

On the bright side, since there is very little standing water in the desert, there are also no mosquitos! Or maybe, the black widow outside my front door eats all of the mosquitos. Either way, I haven't gotten bitten once since we moved. Hooray!