The Cheyenne Stampede Rodeo! EeeeHawww!!!

Good Morning Tucson!!!  It's another day in the desert with cooler temperatures.  All the way down to 102 degrees.  WOOHOO!!  In fact, it's 77 on this lovely morning and I have the doors open.  

I was praying that this would be my view at about 9:00.  The roofing crew was due this morning with only a "chance" of storms.  Turn out the weather guessers (at least those on my phone app) were wrong once again.   Channel 13 news, which is what the roofers go by, says 80% chance of rain most of the day.  How can they be so far apart in predictions?  I had my ropes ready just in case I needed to go hogtie someone, drag them here and chain them to the house in order to get it done.

Well guess what ... they aren't coming.  Big sigh.  I guess I will become a Channel 13 watcher.  Now they say they will show up tomorrow.  I'm not holding my breath.  The interesting part is just how far apart the weather can be between Tucson and here, about 20 miles away.  We shall see.

It's hard to do anything with that hanging over your head.  I finished up this little quilt, but it's definitely NOT one of my favorites.  It's done according to the directions, but it looks funny to me.  Oh well.  Once quilted and bordered, it will be fine.  It reminds me of those lacy handkerchiefs my Grandmother used to carry.

Truthfully, I spent almost the entire day watching the Cheyenne Stampede Rodeo Finals.  It's one of the biggest in the country.  It's been quite different this year, as many rookies are winning.  I was biting my nails when this guy Stetson Wright got on his bull named Trump Train, which just by the luck of the draw, he had ridden two days before.  

Someone else had $972 dollars more than Stetson for the All Round Championship.  That's entering at least two events and winning the most money for both events combined.  Stetson entered the bronc riding, but did not win.  That left him with only ONE event in which to win enough money to beat the other guy.  

Amazingly, he did it.  He won both the Bull Riding and the All Around Championship, thus the TWO saddles and two buckles.  He's all of 23 years old.  Boy what I would have given for some of his bronc riding skills for those times I got bucked off.  I suppose my Dad had me riding the colts because I would bounce off the ground better than he.  

These two videos are from the night before.  They aren't great since my phone takes pictures that look much further away than they really are.  This lightning storm lasted for over an hour with minimal rain our direction.  I mean the lightning never quit.

It finally got so bad I had to go inside.  I really didn't want to become a statistic.  Here's me sitting in the living room looking out the window!!  Luckily it passed without the deluge of rain that normally comes with it.  I'm hoping she got it all out of her system and Mother Nature will relax for the next two or three days while my roof is being put on.

Dinner was less than expected.  I kept one small ugly steak for my air fryer.  It has a grill plate for steaks and burgers, so I thought I would give it a try since I left my barbecue home.  My advice is to forget the air fryer when it comes to steak.  Although it looks burned, it isn't, but it is well done.  I like steaks rare, but I ate every single tender bite.  I wasn't about to waste that expensive piece of meat.  Cooper thought it was PERFECT!

And so as I await news from the roofing crew, I'm gearing up for a Cooper Vet appointment.  He seems to be allergic to something yet again.  I have a bad feeling it's the wool carpet, which I was going to have replaced completely on this trip before the roof slapped me in the face.   Hopefully tomorrow I have good news about both events!

A Break In The Action

Time for a little break from the heat.  A picture from the past showed up on Facebook.  Let's travel up to the Sierras where it's MUCH cooler.  I couldn't find a really good map, but if you drew a line up from Lake Isabella and crossed over a horizontal line from the words Giant Sequoia, you would intersect about where the cow camp was.

I know I've shown this picture before.  The meadow is behind the picture taker.  I think that's my Uncle standing between the horses.  I'm also thinking maybe the child was his youngest?  The only way to get there was by horseback, so we learned to ride VERY early.  I was riding my own horse at four.  Notice the horse to the left ... no one ever went out without a rifle.   

One or two of the lead horses were hobbled and let loose in the meadow since there were no corrals.  MOST of the rest would stay put, though we did occasionally have to go find them on foot.  Again, a rifle was always handy since bears and mountain lions were everywhere, not to mention those darn rattlesnakes!!

What looks like a black tree coming out of that square structure in front of the cabin, is actually the smoke stack.  That's where all the cooking was done.  Behind the cabin to the left was the outhouse where all the snakes lived.  Just a coincidence I'm sure (men will be boys) and occasionally one would end up in a sleeping bag.  Not my bag thank goodness, and I was not amused!!  

Pretty hard to tell, but on the far right is a huge picnic table where we ate all our meals.  We slept about where the picture taker is standing, to be farther away from the smell of food that was hung up in the tree. There's nothing like waking up and finding bear tracks at the foot of your bedroll.  I wasn't amused with THAT, either!!  Yes, we slept on the ground after gathering up pine needles to make it more comfortable.  

The above cabin in way across this meadow in those trees.  This is the sign for the forest service cabin that we frequented on horseback.  That was because there was rarely anyone there, and us kids could jump our horses over every rock and log without someone yelling at us.  

We did become well acquainted with the cabin when my brother fell off his horse, hit the only pine cone in the corral and broke his arm.  We actually broke into the cabin looking for something to wrap his arm up with.  We took some bandages, some sticks and lots of tea towels.  

The ride back to explain what happened was fraught with fear.  We knew we were going to get our hides tanned.  Lucky for us they actually thought it was just sprained.  Pretty sure I've told you this story, about how on the way back the biggest grasshopper ever jumped on my shirt.  Silly me, I gave it to my brother because I felt sorry for him.  Later that day, he caught the biggest fish.  NO FAIR!

That's what was for dinner most days.  Even at that young age, I loved fishing.  With no fridge or even ice to keep anything cold, we lived off the land and dried beef.  Every day I was down at the stream catching native trout.  My least favorite was lunch.  Breakfast was most likely pancakes, followed by pancakes with peanut butter for lunch.  I love PB but NOT with pancakes!!  My second favorite was dried beef fried in bacon grease with potatoes.  We had that a LOT!!

Two weeks later we would leave the camp, riding the horses all the way back.  Just for kicks, they had the arm x-rayed, to find it was broken.  THAT'S when we got in trouble.  Jumping logs was no longer allowed.  Well ... not that they ever SAW!!

So here we are back in sunny Arizona.  This is the resident coyote coming for a drink a couple days ago.  I haven't put the camera out when it was pouring down rain.  It's waterproof, but I didn't want to push my GOOD luck.

I spent most of the day sewing again.  I did find out my quilting machine will be delivered Tuesday morning.  I need to get this finished because I'll soon be hard at work on all those quilts.

As a thank you for always checking on my house, I made a run by Dickman's Meat and Deli for their famous Ugly Steaks.  Yup ... they are that!!  On slow days they sell 2-300 of these beauties.  I knew at one time exactly where this cut comes from, but I forgot, and it's a secret.  I think they even patented the cut and the name.  Really, you can't go wrong with all that marbling!  These are almost better than filet mignon.

Mr. Dan cooked them to perfection!!  If meat was once again like this ... prime grade ... I would be eating it every day.  Sadly, this tasty treat is $17.99 a pound, thanks to inflation and ridiculously high wages.  Two years ago it was half that!!  

We had another crazy storm last night ... this one full of electricity.  I got a couple not so great videos I'll post tomorrow.  At least you can get an idea of what it's like to live in a plasma globe.  You know, the little glass globe that has lighting shooting all around inside when turned on.  This is the first time I've seen anything like this in seven years.  Needless to say, I stayed inside.

Keep cool my friends ... we are supposed to get all the way down to 95 today.  WOOHOO!!!!!

It Was A Bear Claw And Lightning Day

 Here I am once again, admiring the morning sky from the patio.  In no time I expect to see the telltale pink, meaning I grab my camera and run outside in my pj's to capture yet another fabulous sunrise.  I'm sure the neighbors appreciate that, although I doubt they are awake this early.

Back inside, I always check the morning severe storm warnings.  These are similar to tornado warnings back East without the danger of your roof flying off into the sunset.  It is rather interesting that the heat of the day is what sucks the moisture in from the oceans and gulfs further south, bringing storm after storm at around 6:00 at night.  

The dark orange to red makes Nancy VERY nervous!  Luckily we missed it yesterday, but Tucson central had 1/2" hail (the car damaging kind) in the evening.  We just had lightning, wind and rain.  It went from 106 degrees to 84 in about 30 minutes.  NICE!!

This weather really affects the Phoenix area too.  On the highway between Quartzsite and Phoenix, there were seven big tractor trailer rigs flipped over on the side of the road.  I heard tell it was bad drivers driving way too fast!  From Quartzsite to Yuma, there were five more.  YIKES!!

It being pretty sunny in the morning, Patty chauffeured me in her limo to Green Valley to the quilt shop.  I SWORE I wasn't going to buy anything, but the latest quilt needed a backing.  If you find the line of fabric in the store, you get the chunk you need because you may never see it again.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

There just happens to be this fabulous bakery right on the way.  How convenient!  Honestly, it's better to go AFTER lunch when all the goodies are gone.  You might be able to say NO.  But mornings ... I wanted one of everything in the case.  

As you can see, these both went through the taste test and got an A+.  Oh my gosh ... there's half an inch of filling in that bear claw, and the blueberry scone is the best I've ever eaten.  I'll be stopping in there again for sure!

Back home it was too hot to do anything but stay inside.  I've made an interesting observation about Arizona.  It seems everyone else in the country can't wait for summer so they can head out for adventures. They stay home in the winter because their weather isn't all that great, or they have lots of snow.  In Arizona, we stay home in the summer because it's so dang HOT ... and we travel around in the WINTER.  

In a flash, it was lightning time.  At 6:00 on the dot, the clouds came over our little valley with rumblings and threats.  Not a great video really, but just a snippet of what the lightning looks like over the hills.

This goes on for about an hour before the rains finally come in.  This time it wasn't a downpour, nor did we have high winds.  It was just a nice cool-it-down storm.  The temps are supposed to cool off for a few days ... just in time for my roof replacement.  I'm sure hoping they are right because that will mean less rain for me to worry about.

Then comes the spectacular sunset.  Mother Nature sure can put on a show.  Every time I look out from the patio, I feel like I'm in Africa.  I think it's that tree on the left ... whatever it's called ... the one that grows in Texas!  It's got one inch long spikes all over it that stick you in the head every time you walk by.

You see if we were off galavanting around for the summer, we would never see this!  

Okay, time to get back to work.  Yet another problem has raised its ugly head.  The faucet that I never use in my bathroom has decided to rain all day long.  Big sigh!!  Drip drip drip kept me up last night.  I'm hoping for a bandaid fix until the plumber comes back, whereupon I'll surprise him with yet ANOTHER problem to fix.  I'm sure he will appreciate that!!

Now it's time for that BEAR CLAW!!!

Number One Food Group!

The oven is still alive and kicking, in spite of the weather guessers.  It was 106 at 5:00 .... feels like 99.  Just kidding ... it feels like 106!    It makes me wonder just how the critters can stand it.  I'm sure they are all hunkered down in the shade somewhere, hopefully near water.  

Morning was its fabulous self.  One thing the monsoons bring besides rain are amazing sunrises and sunsets.  When I look out and see what looks like a pink floodlight in the morning, this is why.

And then it turned into this.  You just can't make this stuff up. This is right out of the camera with no added color or blurring.  This is exactly what the morning sky looked like.  It's just breathtaking to see it in person.  It's also very fleeting and only lasts but a few minutes.

The water trough has been busy in the middle of the night.  I never knew deer traveled so much in the dark.  I guess the better to run from the predator coyotes when you're already standing up.  Five showed up this time for a cool drink.  I think that's a record.

The kids seemed nervous, but Mom stayed to drink for a while longer.  Something was making them uneasy, but I never did see what it was.  Maybe Mr. Toad was rustling the bushes.

I had to make another trip for paint ... this time a different color.  I'm not going to paint the whole garage.  It's too hot, not to mention the rain that comes every evening.  I've given that up until next time, but I DO need to finish up that patio post.  

Home Depot became a problem.  Their debit/credit machines are faulty.  You have to push down on your card for it to read, and without letting go, type in your pin.  I let go.  The "helper" girl decided to slide the card and bypass the PIN number.  Instant fraud alert.  Too bad I didn't get the text until three tries later at three different stores, all of which denied my purchase.  Just my luck.

It took three phone calls to get it straightened out because the first two had people who couldn't really speak English.  You know the one ... Ha I can hel u Mz Kizz-act?  I tried not to be disrespectful, but he didn't understand me any more than I did him.  I just couldn't make myself say my password and social security number to someone who sounded just like the scammers who call me every day.   I hung up and  called my bank instead and they cleared it up ... because she could speak ENGLISH much more clearly!!

It was noon by the time I got near home.  I could smell it on the breeze.  PIZZA!!  This is my number one food group, right behind ice cream.  I like pizza so much I'll even eat any old frozen variety.  But THIS ... this is my all time favorite.  Arizona Pizza Company knows how to put them together.

Yes it's BIG!!  I've got six pieces left for my next six meals!!  

Although I stuck my head out the door several times just to see if I was mistaken about the heat, I stayed inside the rest of the evening sewing.  Gosh ... so many tiny pieces.  I stood back to admire the design and took this picture.  

That's when I realized there was a big mistake.  Can you find it?  RATS!!  I spent the next 30 minutes taking it all apart and putting it back together correctly.  Look at the right side center piece.  The triangle is going the wrong direction.  It seems no matter how careful you try to be, laying out every piece before sewing, mistakes can still be made.  

Then the sunset comes about, along with several threats of severe storm warnings.  Luckily they went around us this time, but I videoed some of the lightning.  I'll post it tomorrow.  Another warning came out early this morning ... excessive heat warning.  I'm guessing we get about 5 major warnings every day.  At least so far the word TORNADO has not been heard.

Thus ended another day in the oven as I sat watching a pair of lovebird doves sipping water from my little fountain.  It doesn't get much better.

Today we're off to the quilt store in Green Valley.  I should probably leave my credit card home!!!

It's So Deceiving In The Oven

I think it was all the way down to 79 degrees on this morning.  I looked out the window to see this beautiful view.  Mother Nature is very deceiving ... one minutes she gives you this pretty picture ... the next minute she's trying to DROWN you. 

There was no time to dawdle however ... the plumber was coming.  That meant I had to clean the house.  I picked up all the dog toys first after tripping over two of them.  Of course Cooper was none too happy when I hid them in the cupboard instead of playing with him.  

That's when I discovered the floors in the kitchen were horrendous.  As you know, I'm not exactly in love with housework.  I'd rather be out with the critters.  I grabbed the box of Swiffer mop thingies ... you know, the wet ones?  It's been so long that the box was completely dry.  I know, I need to clean up my act.

Once the kitchen was done, I headed straight for the bathroom to clean THAT floor.  The air is back in the hot water lines and I knew he would want to check out the shower faucet.   Well that was all for naught because he didn't even have to take a look see.  What?  I cleaned the floor for nothing?

On to the outside sprinkler valve faucet.  He took all the insulation off and said Holy Cow!   I hate it when they say that.  Apparently the amateur that installed this system used GAS pipeline, not WATER pipeline.  Gas line corrodes terribly INSIDE the pipe when water goes through it.  Mmmmmm that's not good.

He took it apart, to find the shutoff valve works just fine.  The blockage is BELOW that where the gas pipe goes into the plastic pipe.  SO ... we have another repair to make, but I'm letting the expert Plumber fix it.  After all, he is quite easy on the eyes.  How could I say no?

Alas, he can't do the garbage disposal or the water line until the end of next week, mostly because the roofers will be parked in my driveway.  There's barely enough room for two vehicles, so I'll be carrying water down to the trough daily and visiting with Mr. Toad.  

Just for kicks, I checked the temperature at about 5:00.  I can't believe I'm saying 104 isn't too bad!

Just be sure you don't go outside on the patio barefoot.  It's so deceiving!  That 104 equates to 123 on the patio.  I have to constantly chase after Cooper to keep him off the sunny part.

I really didn't want to start anything new quilt-wise, but being stuck in the house looking at my phone all day long is killing my minutes.  Too bad I didn't realize just how many tiny pieces this one had until it was too late.  It's appropriate, no?  Cactus in the desert!!  Throw a bucket of water on it and you've got monsoon season.

Speaking of which ... this alert came across my phone from Accu-Weather.  I underlined the important part.  Yessirree ... 60 mph winds with 1/2" hail.  That should be fun!!

Here's another video if you haven't experienced monsoon.  That's not smoke, it's huge water drops flying through the air like a commercial for a hoover vacuum.

Twenty minutes later it was doing THIS ... going in the opposite direction.  The whole thing lasted about 45 minutes and maybe dumped a couple inches of rain.  No hail was spotted.  I need to get a rain gauge just to see how much drops from the sky.  

The good news is I don't have to water the lawn OR haul water to the critter trough today.  I bet Mr. Toad is a happy camper too!!  Water brings all the insects out of the ground ... it's a smorgasbord for him!  Can you just imagine going through that in a covered wagon?

And so ends another nice day, with leftover chicken fingers and onion rings.  That air fryer ... I should have bought one several years ago.  

It's so nice with 81 degrees outside, I might just have my morning coffee on the patio, listening to the sounds of the crickets, toads and early birds while swatting the moths and flying things.  One got in my hair last night and I went ballistic.  You know when you can feel something crawling around on your head but you can't FIND it?  Yeah ..... that!!!  All in a days work in the desert!!

HE'S BAAAAACK!!!

Well well well ... look who was waiting for me when I walked down to the water station.  I was sure he was gone, but apparently he likes me, or maybe it's the smorgasbord of insects.  He's still hanging around.  Makes you wonder where he goes during the hot days.  Why are all the desert critters either poisonous or they sting you?

I'm sure it doesn't help that the weather just doesn't want to cool off.  Feels like 106 my big fat foot!!  It feels like 125!!  It seriously kills the adventurous spirit.  

Surprisingly even with just the little bit of rain we have had, the grass is turning green again.  It was completely brown last week.  It was even crunchy when you walked on it.  Now I'm going to have to mow it!!  Maybe I'll set my alarm for midnight!! 

The critters are still out and about.  This guy doesn't look all that fat and happy, but at least he has water to drink.  The javelinas have been by, but they don't stay long.  Funny, the camera never caught the toad getting in the water.  It's so hot, I'm surprised it's not toad soup!!

After checking the game camera, I called the Plumber.  My Plumber's hat is out for adjustments.  He's coming this morning at 8:00.  Now that's service!!  He's going to unplug my drain, replace the garbage disposal (probably not today though), replace the sprinkler water valve and check my hot water heater.  This too shall pass.  It helps that he's a tall handsome hunk, though much too young for me.  

Then it was off to return yet another Amazon package to the UPS store and hit up the local makeup bar.  You guys know we single ladies have to keep up appearances.  It is a little irritating when you've used a product for 30 years, only to have them replace it and change the color, even though it still has the SAME product number.  I think Mr. Toad will appreciate the new look.

The gal was more than helpful, but I had to keep saying "that doesn't work for us old ladies".  At least we had a good laugh.

 There was one more stop on the way home ... a last second crazy decision.  In case you didn't know, it was National Hot Fudge Sundae day!  How could I possibly turn down that invitation?  This is silky delicious frozen custard.

As usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach.  Here is yet another $15.00 fast food dinner, but at least the custard sundae comes with it for that price.  As I'm sure you know, I scarfed down the sundae FIRST, leaving little room for anything else.  

Freddy's was pretty darn tasty, but I give it a B+.  The honey mustard sauce wasn't all that great.

Time to go spruce up the house a bit and hide all the junk from the plumber.  I might even go see if Mr. Toad is happy with his accommodations.  Really, I wish he would take up residence elsewhere since he is apparently NOT Mr. Right.

I'm A Magnet I Tell You!!

 He's HERE!!!  My Prince Charming finally showed up!!  I wasn't exactly expecting him in THIS form, but hey ... they say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your Prince.  I wonder if he's handy around the house!

I'm a magnet I tell you ... for all things creepy and crawly.  By the way, that was a millipede that crawled across my foot, not a centipede.  He looked like this guy.

This is a centipede and he's got a nasty bite full of poison.  I think I've killed three of these in the garage.

 

So anyway, I wandered down the hill early to pick up the game camera, ever so watchful for snakes along the trail.  When I started to untie the camera, I saw the water in the trough moving.  How can that be?  The water is shut off?  

I crept up to the side very carefully ..... and THIS is what I see.  My Prince Charming!!   It's probably a good thing I didn't kiss him because he's just not my type. 

Here's a better picture from the internet.  When touched or disturbed, they emit a white substance from their skin that will kill a full grown dog.  It's also a very strong hallucinogenic for humans, so no kissing or touching.  They bury themselves in the dirt ... I don't know how since it's so rocky around here ... and come out when the monsoons start in late July and August.  

It was recommended I relocate him down in the river bottom (no water there, just sand), but when I got back with my shovel and a box, he had disappeared.  I guess he wasn't my Prince Charming after all.  Boohoo!!

In other critter news ... this one hit the top of the charts!!  The one thing everyone around here wants to see is the ever elusive Bobcat.  I think I was here for about five years before Patty finally got to see one in her back yard.  What a beauty!!  She made my day.

In an effort to escape the heat for a couple of hours, we all went to the movies.  You've probably heard about the Sound Of Freedom.  Of course the critics are saying it will put you to sleep.  Yes, they say there is a problem in the world, but the movie isn't worth seeing.  They are 100% wrong.

You should go watch it and decide for yourself.  It's based on a true story about child trafficking and eye opening, to say the least.  I don't think I've seen a movie that had me still thinking about it the next day.  Definitely go see it if you can.  

SO ... with no Prince Charming to fix my water problem, I'm calling a plumber this morning.  I've got a garbage disposal that seems to be coming apart from the inside out.  I don't use it at all, because I'm on a septic system, but I don't want parts going down the drain.  

Never EVER put food down a garbage disposal if you have a septic system.  Trust me on this one, this is part of what our construction company did ... replace septic systems.  I also have a drain that's not a happy camper, along with that shutoff on the sprinkler water, so maybe we'll kill three birds with one stone.

I hope you have a great day with nothing to repair!  Thanks for stopping by!!

The Oven Is DRY!!

 This is me in the early morning hours, walking around the kitchen like a zombie looking for my coffee cup.  It takes a few sips before using the couch and the coffee table to get on the floor for ... you guessed it ... the ball game.  I was told in no uncertain terms that the ball was under the recliner and required extraction!  I finally used the SAME coffee table to get myself back upright.  There's work to be done.

This is a tiny bit of a sunrise, along with a small rain cloud you can see hitting the ground.  We didn't get much this time ... just a few big drops.  Raindrops in California are maybe 1/4" across when they hit the ground.  Here they range from 1/2" to 1".  When it rains, it pours!

First up ... change out that diaphragm in the sprinkler system.  I quickly discovered the valve itself is not the same, but the rubber piece that controls the water WAS.  I quickly changed it out and replaced the lid.  Time for the test.  I ever so slowly turned the water on, then the sprinklers.  Nothing.  What the heck?  

I SHOULD be hearing water enter the valves.  It was the third one that I changed out, so at least the first one should work.  I tried again.  NOTHING.  Good grief ... now I have NO WATER!!  What's going on?  The only thing I can figure out is the shutoff valve isn't working, even though you can open the handle.  VERY big sigh!!  I suppose it's no big deal because the monsoon rains will keep everything watered, and to be honest, at this point I don't care if it ALL DIES!!!  My back yard oven is dry for the time being.

I'll call a plumber this morning, because this is something I don't want to mess with.  I need them for my kitchen sink also, which has decided to become a problem.  Just my luck!  

So let's take out some of that frustration on the cactus trying to live on this side of the house.  I don't know why squirrels, spiders and snakes want to make holes under cactus .. maybe for the protection ... but I think they are going right under the foundation.  This stuff needs to go.

It was only 100 degrees when I grabbed my trusty shovel and went to work.  Cactus is very interesting.  Everywhere it hits the ground, it sends out new roots.  It was a bit of a struggle, but I got them all out except that one woody bush.  The black box holds rat bait, but the rats are too smart to eat it.  I'll get back out there this morning with my rake and clean it up a bit more.

That was it for the day.  One good thing ... all this exercise is keeping me moving!  To balance that out, I spent quite some time on the couch watching the Cheyenne Rodeo Finals while the trains went by.  This picture just shows how close the trains are.  I really don't pay much attention to them, but I hear them coming and check out the engines to see what's pulling them.  If going to the right, they are heading to New Mexico and states East.  If going the OTHER way, I guess they are heading to California.

Suddenly .. this happened.  The entire sky was lit up pink and purple, even making my patio pinkish.  One thing Arizona has is amazing sunsets.

And then the rains came yet again.  I couldn't just sit ... I had to try and capture the lightning.  Even with video, this is the best I could get.  The lightning is very high up in the clouds and goes across the sky instead of hitting the ground.  I'm sure there's a name for it.

It's a wonderful feeling 77 degrees this morning.  Time to take water down to the critter trough.  That's one bad thing about that valve not working ... it also fills the water trough for the desert kids.  Just another way to get in my daily exercise I guess!!

Thank you everyone for the RV service tips.  I have a feeling they are going to tell me they are 2 months out on appointments.  I'll let you know.

The Faces Of Arizona

I was up at 3:00.  Hello World!!  Mr. Cooper immediately stuck his head under my arm.  IT'S BALL GAME TIME!!  Not quite yet my furry little friend ... but soon!  I figured I might as well drag myself out to the kitchen, because the ball playing fanatic wasn't taking NO for an answer.

After 30 minutes of chasing the ball around the living room, I grabbed a cup of coffee and went outside to sit in the not so cool quiet of the morning.  The crickets were chirping, along with just a couple of birds.  All the other smart ones were still asleep!!

It didn't last long.  That 4" long black centipede ... or whatever it was ... crawled over my foot and I screamed like a little girl.  So much for the quiet morning.  He landed on the door mat, which I tried to toss over the fence ... with no luck.  No worries ... I went back out an hour later with the shovel ... just in case ... and flipped the mat over.  He was gone ... to come and crawl over my foot another day.

The sunrise made up for it.  The faces of Arizona are many.  You might think this is a sunSET, but no, this is looking East to the morning sun.

This one is from two days ago.  It happens most every morning, these beautiful sunrises.  It almost makes up for the snakes and scorpions.  Speaking of which, I just killed my first scorpion in the garage.  You've gotta watch for those guys all the time!

It just keeps getting better.  

Patty and I were soon off to the funeral of a neighbor.  The building was full.  It's sad to think about it, but that's the way we will all be going sooner or later.  I'm hoping for later ... like 103 would be nice!!  I've still got lots of adventures left and sprinklers to repair.

It's cool enough this morning that the sprinklers are on my menu.  Wish me luck.  Once that's done, it's off for paint and supplies.  Somewhere in between I've got cactus to chop out, rats to catch, bushes to prune and dams to build for the coming monsoon storms.  Oh ... and adjust the chain on my saw.  

Not to be outdone by the furry little friend Cooper, Jonathan has been quite the busy bee.  When I said they were chewers, I wasn't joshing you.  This is one of those big sticks he demolished in about 20 minutes.  I must say, he's very neat at stacking.  This would make great kindling!!

Just look at that beak ... it's perfectly honed, the better to chew your finger off with.  Now you know why he isn't allowed to roam about the house.

And yet another question has arisen.  I got an email from Lazy Days RV that my rig was due for a service. So those of you who have fifth wheels, just what SERVICE is required?  Really, I'm not looking forward to dealing with another problem, but I know there are things that need to be greased.  Can anyone tell me what all that might include so I know what I'm talking about when I call them?  I greatly appreciate your help!!

It rained again last night for a couple of hours.  I tried to catch some lightning with my camera, but it was infrequent and weird up-in-the-sky stuff.  There's a 60% chance of rain for the next two days, which means there's a 100% chance it's going to rain cats and dogs.  I'm hoping Mother Nature gets it all out of her system because in 9 days they will start on my new roof.

Hopefully things will dry out enough I can continue with painting, but I'm not holding my breath.  I think I picked the wrong time of year for this project!  Now to go see if my game camera survived the storm.