I AM NOT A PIG!!!

It's time to CELEBRATE!  It's 68 degrees this morning and the desert is cooling off.  I'm not exactly celebrating the very early morning coyotes at my bedroom window since I stayed up WAY past my bedtime watching the Finals of Extreme Bulls.  Each contestant got to ride four of the meanest bulls I've ever seen.  Highest combined score wins.  Man those bulls can buck!!!  My fav Stetson Wright won his first Extreme Bulls.

All the while, Cooper slept on the couch.

He has to be touching my legs .....

And the day before too ..... do you see a trend here?  It's how he gathers the strength to play the ball game for three hours every day.

Snorts require a quick run to the window with camera in hand.  There are three here vying for drinking space.  In case you were wondering, do NOT call them pigs.  They and the surrounding community will be highly offended.

There is an order of drinking.  Surprisingly, the kids are always allowed food and water before the adults.  Though they resemble pigs, even more so the wild pigs of California, they are not related.  These are javelinas, otherwise known as collared peccary.  They usually gather in groups of ten or so, fiercely defending their territory with 2" long canines.

I had to look not twice, but three times to see there are FOUR in this little conclave.  They have a stinky scent gland on their back which they rub all over trees and rocks to mark it as their own.  They look harmless, but can be very aggressive, so it's best not to get close unless you are in your truck.  I guarantee you cannot outrun them.  Fastest running things I've ever seen.

You can really see the "collar" in this video.  They mostly eat grass and green growy things, but have been known to eat squirrels, rats and anything they find dead.  Yuck!!!  

In an effort to SEE better, I thought I would trim back the bushes by the game camera.  It's a good test of whether I'm still alive.  Yup ... blood still comes out, so I'm okay.  I'm not sure what's on the cactus around here, but it always causes lots of pain, swelling like you can't believe and the loss of use for two days.  MAN THOSE HURT!!  

I wrapped it up tightly and finished sewing the borders on this quilt.  Definitely not my favorite, but it does say southwest desert.  

There's a new quilt store in town, and just like a new sheriff on the block, we had to go see who they were and what they had to offer.  Patty and I took off yesterday morning and headed deep into the heart of town.  It's actually about a 45 minute drive, only made possible by Safeway's discount fuel.

It's our job of course to check them out and report to the masses.  We do it so you don't have to.  I'll report on that tomorrow ... including our recent test of Greek food.  In the meantime, I've already got a rat trap to reset.  The joys of desert living!!!  I think the days of rain are almost gone.  Time to map out the next adventure.