Humming Right Along

Good early morning Arizona.  It's still very dark outside as the latest train goes lumbering and screeching by.  Those steel wheels going around the big sweeping corner can sing a song of woe.   It's not as cool as yesterday, so my door remains shut.  

It's funny though ... I can still hear the sirens, and just like any dog, I can hear the coyotes singing along.  I laughed when I heard that.

Since it was Sunday (usually the last day of a great rodeo), I just hung out with my quilting machine while the TV was on.  Although it causes me lots of stress on occasion, the machine doesn't talk back.  This is the quilt I was stuck on yet again ... the one where I took out about 1,000 stitches ... one at a time.

The good news is I finally got the resetting part down, so it knows where it is and where it's going to start. It's like having a windows computer on steroids when you've only used a MAC computer.  I immediately sat down and wrote up an entire page of instructions on how to do it, because you KNOW in three months I won't remember.

It finished stitching out beautifully with no problems, but I did keep pushing the USB cable in to be sure it worked.  No telling when the new cable will show up.  It even came out perfect at the end ... so I wrote down all those instruction too!!  

In case you were wondering, there is NO instruction included with this machine.  That's how they get you to sign up for the $1900 class in Salt Lake City Utah in order to learn how to make it work.  Luckily I got ahold of some nice ladies there who sent a set of retail teaching instructions.  I think this is my all time favorite quilt ... even if it is only a lap quilt size.  I'm sure you can guess why.

While that was quilting ... and I was listening to the machine like I was sitting on that D9 caterpillar making darn sure I didn't get stuck ... I worked on the binding of this pink one.  That's how it is when you were raised on a ranch.  Machinery was expensive to fix and if something went wrong, you better be able to recognize it instantly and shut it down.  That's how I am with the longarm.  The slightly little squeak, rattle or hesitation and I hit the STOP button to find out why.

This is what it looks like when Cooper decides he either wants outside or he requires a treat.  Mostly treats, but he has to go outside to get one!!

Back at it again, this is the next quilt to hit the rack.  This is for a customer, so I held my breath the entire time.  I didn't pass out because it's a small lap quilt.  Only four rows of quilting compared to the normal eight.  She hummed right along, but I'm not getting overconfident.  This makes three that now require a very sharp needle to hand stitch the binding, along with lots of bandaids.  There's nothing like sticking a needle up under your fingernail.

In the meantime, the hummers are out in force.  Apparently the migration is starting.  This is the first time I've seen some of these guys, as told by their coloring.  I filled this feeder in the morning, and look how much has disappeared thus far.  It's crazy how much these guys can drink.  By 5:00 it was almost empty.

As soon as the sun is up, they come in droves for breakfast.  The guy on the bottom is the type that usually stays around all summer.  They disappear during the heat of the day, then return about 4:00 for dinner.

This guy ... aren't their colors amazing?  There are so many varieties, I have no idea what his official name is, other than beautiful.

Most of the day it looked like this.  It's so weird during monsoon season that it can be sunny with nary a cloud in the sky, when you hear raindrops on the chimney.  I go outside to see rain falling on one side of my patio and not on the other, about 30 feet away.  

Today I'm a house prisoner.  I'm having the carpets cleaned and of course they give you a time slot of noon to 6:00 pm.  I think I'll while away the hours by separating out that can of change I found in the cupboard. Shades of Bingo!!!  I may even be forced to read a book.  Oh the pain!!!!

LET THERE BE WATER!!!

 Arizona critters are pretty cool ... most of them anyway.  I can definitely LEAVE the snakes and scorpions, but THESE guys ... they make my day.  As I mentioned, most all of the desert critters only come out at night when we are asleep.  It's a good thing, because if I had to deal with some of them during the day, I would probably go screaming off into the sunset.  

These guys showed up shortly after the deer.  Rarely do I ever see them during daylight hours.  If you look closely at their markings, there are three different coyotes.  I assume they are smelling the deer.  By the way, do you see just how full that trough is???

LET THERE BE WATER!!!  As you probably know, Mr. Chance has taught me practically every thing RV, and helped repair lots of stuff here.  I was sure I could fix the sprinklers, but I just didn't take the time to sit down and contemplate it.  Besides, he was going on a fishing trip and I didn't want to bother him, even though I did when I thought the RV cover was going to go flying.  

So yesterday, I got a phone call from Bob.  There he was, sitting on the top of a mountain almost 1000 miles away, thinking about what could be wrong with my sprinkler system.  He proceeded to tell me what to do to check each part.  I grabbed my tools, put him on speaker phone and headed outside.

We tested this ... we tested that.  Finally, he said "is that big valve on top turned ON?"  No I said, they are all closed, like my sprinklers back in California.  Turn them on he said ... and turn the system on manual.  THE SPRINKLERS WORKED!!!!  There were lots of leaks from the backflow valves, but that's fixable.

You cannot imagine the relief!  I don't have to completely rebuild this entire system.  Bob fixed it!!!  And I'm a big dummy.  At my other house, you have to leave them OFF all the time.  This one works just the opposite.  Who KNEW?  Apparently BOB did!!  Why were they off?  I've no idea.  I think I must have turned them off when I replaced the one valve that wasn't working at all.  Big mistake that was!!

SO ... no rust in the pipes plugging things up, except for maybe four drip lines that aren't working.  I set the timer to come on this morning and THEY ALL WORKED!  I'm in the sprinkler business again at long last.  No more hauling water down to the trough.  YAHOO!!!

Even Cooper was happy ... now he won't have to sit by himself on the couch while his Mom obsesses over the sprinklers!  His toy of the day never gets far away, even if he's sleeping.

In the meantime, there is ONE creature that doesn't mind coming out in the daylight.  This Gila monster is a permanent resident of the Chance property.  I ask Patty all the time if he is out and about, and sure enough he showed up, or at least ONE showed up.  I don't mind these guys ... I can outrun them!!  Aren't they gorgeous?  Don't get bit by one, they are venomous.  

You've heard me tell of the Empire Ranch owned by Walter Vail?  He thought he had a dead one and tied it on his saddle.  It bit him and he almost died.  You rarely see them because they spend 90% of their life underground, only coming out in the early morning hours.  I'm thankful for my block-walled back yard.

It being monsoon season, Mother Nature puts on a show almost every night.  See that little gray/white cloud on the left?  That's rain in that one little spot while the sun was setting.

I'm a little late with this picture of two nights ago.  I just stood there with my mouth open.  You just cannot imagine the colors.  Nothing added to this picture ... this is what it looked like.

And it only got better.   Now if I can only get my quilting machine fixed as easily.

In the meantime, did anyone stay up and watch the meteor showers last night?  I thought about it for two seconds.  Getting up at 2:30 in the morning when it's dark in the desert (remember the critters) and setting up all that camera gear for one or two pictures of falling stars is just too much for this old lady.  

I was up at 4:00, stood outside in the nice cool air ... OMG it's 75 degrees this morning ... and saw nothing.  There are two reasons for that.  There is too much light coming from Tucson and I can't see all that good any more any way.  Maybe next time.

I'll be on the couch sewing up miles of binding ... enjoy your Sunday.

CAKE ... I NEED CAKE!!!

 Did you ever have one of those days?  I'm sure we all have.  Nothing felt right ... I was tense, nervous and quickly discovered I had a pulled muscle.  Of course at first I equated it to a heart attack, which came in a close second.

I walked out to set up the game camera.  I was late and the wind was coming up pretty strongly.  I could hear my RV cover was squeaking something terrible.  That usually means there are tree branches rubbing the side.  Nope ... no branches.  It's unlike me, but I took a closer look.  These bolts are what hold it down.  

That's funny, that nut looks loose.  I reached down and it wiggled in my fingers.  I made a frantic call to Mr. Chance who was up in the mountains.  DAN ... are these supposed to be loose?  That would be a big NO ... they should be as tight as you can get them.

Did I mention by now it's 8:00 at night and dark?  Creepy crawlies come out at night.  

I was hesitant, but I grabbed by biggest wrench (which isn't all that big) and began tightening every one.  They were all so loose I could take the nuts off with my fingers.  So there I am, bent over, pulling with all my might to tighten them.  Finally done, I went inside to find a nasty pain in my ribs.  Heart attack?  Oh it crossed my mind, but I didn't think so.  Whew!!  What a job THAT was, but at least I "think" it's safe now and I didn't get bitten or stung ... a good thing.

The videos I got the next morning were worth all that pain, which eventually went away (thank goodness).  I know, three videos, but you have to watch them, they are so cute.

So many ... this is the biggest pack I've seen.  It's a good thing I packed all that water down and filled the trough.

So ugly, yet so cute!!

And then this has happened over the last few days.  SO very sad.  This is Lahaina Town on Maui Island in Hawaii.  I used to spend quite of bit of time here ... pre-Cooper ... and this was my favorite hangout for photography.  Lahaina Town is old, so mostly old wooden buildings.  The burger joint, the little shops, the banyan tree, the homemade reed hats and the best little shave ice spot on the island.

It's all gone.  Burned to the ground and 55 people have died.  The banyan tree is still there, but it got singed pretty good.  Hawaii has always concentrated on hurricanes and tidal waves ... they never prepared for fire.  This inferno came down the hill so fast they didn't even have time to do anything.  It's still not under control, and two more fires are burning up-country.  My friend Cyndae has a couple houses up there, so we are praying they get those under control.  Lahaina will never be the same again.  Please say a little prayer for the residents who have lost everything.  It's so sad.

I was just off all morning ... nothing felt right.  I should have taken the warning and just sat on the couch with that entire package of Oreo cookies I have hidden in the cupboard.  They make everything better.  But NOOOOO ... I had to go sew the binding on this quilt.  It actually went right nicely until I got to the pillow shams.

For some crazy reason, my machine decided to skip stitches right and left.  It apparently didn't like the bottom thread.  I changed it.  It did it again, so I changed the TOP thread.  I think I sewed those sham bindings on three times each.  I finally shut it off in frustration.  

Did I learn my lesson?  Oh heck NO.  I proceeded to put my favorite quilt ever on the quilting machine.  I made a big mistake right off the bat.  I put in the wrong length.  No problem ... I fixed it on the second row.  After quilting for about ten inches, there was the most horrible scraping, crunching noise you've ever heard.  I hit the STOP button.  Really?  Not again ... please don't let my machine go in for another 30 day repair!

I shut it all down, then revived it with a little CPR and tried again.  CRUNCH, SCRAPE, CRUNCH!!  I shut it off, almost in tears.  I NEED CAKE!!  WHERE'S MY CAKE!!  Sugar makes everything better.

I called the shop, but the Manager was out.  They said they would call the repairman.  I called the Owner instead, because I found one of the cables on the back looked like it had been cut and repaired.  Really?  It just didn't look right to me.  I pled my case as calmly as I could, which if you know me, wasn't all that CALM.  

About that time the repairman called.  He had me take pictures (and I didn't even hang up on him while doing it), then he had me unplug the USB cable they had broken before.  I plugged it back in, set up the programming again and IT WORKED.  

Big sigh ... I told him I called the Owner and I apologized for doing that, but come on ... their service has been less than excellent.  We laughed ... which made me feel a little better, but CAKE would have been the best.  I wrote down Toby's phone number ... you know, just in case.

So my day now will include taking out probably 1,000 tiny stitches on my favorite quilt ONE STITCH AT A TIME, hoping that when I start it all back up again, it purrs like a kitten until they get in the new connection cord they are ordering.  About a week he said.

Sadly, here is no cake in my house.  Some stale Oreo cookies had to do the trick.  There is some other news that began with a phone call, but this blog is entirely too long, so it will wait til tomorrow.  A note for the phone caller .... YES YES and YES!!!  

I'm now going to go bake a cake and frost it with DOUBLE icing!!

A Big Hole In The Ground

I was running on empty this morning, so I sat outside drinking my morning cup of Joe and counting the rain drops.  There was a frantic late night problem that raised its ugly head and I of course overdid it.  But that's tomorrow's story!!

With the sprinklers STILL not working, meaning no water to the water station, I'm carrying big jugs down the hill every day to keep these thirsty guys happy.  Yup, that is yet ANOTHER story!

Back to mining ... in 1885 Phelps Dodge merged the Atlanta mine with the Copper Queen (pictured here).  They became the second largest producer of copper in the nation.  Yeah, this doesn't look like much fun to me!!  The search for gold turned into the search for silver and copper.  Wouldn't you just love to go to work there every day?

The town exploded and by 1900, this is what the smelters looked like.  Can you just imagine the constant noise from the mines and smelters?  The surrounding hills were once covered in trees, but they quickly disappeared, being used up by the smelter.  The fumes from the smelter quickly killed any plants that were left.  I rather imagine it affected the humans the same.

With no regulations and no public services, you can imagine what the living conditions were like in town.  Prior to 1900 there were 50 saloons and trash was just thrown in the streets, not to mention no sewer system.

With no vegetation to hold the soil on the mountains, flooding and mudslides during monsoon season were common.  Here's the town trying to clean up one side of Bisbee.

By 1905, copper was big business with three big companies ... Calumet and Arizona, Shattuck-Arizona and Phelps Dodge.  Lucky for the residents, Phelps Dodge moved their smelter to Douglas Arizona, cleaning up the air considerably.

With the idea of processing lower grade ore faster, Phelps Dodge began digging the Sacramento Pit in 1917.  It was one of the first open pit mines and was worked until 1929, followed by the Holbrook Pit.  In 1950 the Lavendar Pit was opened and is the main one you see when you drive through Bisbee.  

The Lavender Pit was the last portion of the Mule Mountains to be forever scared.  

This was the first one ... the Sacramento Pit.  Something like 86 million tons of ore were removed from these pits.

All operations ceased in 1974, leaving an estimated 190 million tons of copper laced rock just waiting to be extracted.  This is today's view of the Lavender Pit.  Hey ... what's that black gooey stuff at the bottom?

They say this is acid mine drainage from sulfide minerals weathering.  The water is very acidic causing iron hydroxide compounds to form, which gives it the black color.  It's called AMD and is very toxic.  That's Greek to me ... it looks like black tar.  

Just up the hill are the remains of the smelter.  I'm guessing these were separation tanks?  Of course they were JUST after the copper, but any gold or silver they found was added to the money pile.  They also collected Bisbee turquoise, one of the most prized kinds of turquoise in the world.

Today Bisbee is described as an Artists Community, with everything from bikers to dreadlock artists to business owners to history buffs and more.  They pretty much ignore the big hole in the ground.

It's a great place to hang out for a day or two so you can check out all the cool buildings and the narrow streets.  You never know who you might run into ... this used to be one of John Wayne's haunts ... and maybe still is.

A Jump Back In Time

This is what MONSOON looks like on a map.   In spite of all that rain, barely a drop hit my house.  Our location on this side of the valley and mountain seems to keep it just out of reach.  Although they say it should be 71-75 degrees at 4:30, it's still up at 81.  Me thinks the cooling trend dissipated in the heat.

Back down at Bisbee, we hung a left.  Had we kept going, we would have run into the Thirsty Lizard.  Instead, to my surprise, Dan turned right onto a road that headed straight for the mine pit.  We were instantly transported back in time.

As the Bisbee Mining Company expanded, so did the mine claims.  In 1879 Mr. Salmon filed several claims, but never worked them.  In 1899 Frank Hatchett from Lowell Massachusetts purchased the property and started the Lowell and Arizona Cooper Mining and Smelter Company.  He had a monthly payroll of $10,000 for 60 employees.  That's about $166 per month per person.  Considering my first job in 1964 garnered me $142 a month, they were well paid!!

A tent community of miners grew almost immediately.  A real town named Lowell was soon developed with Erie Street being the center.  The first businesses were two saloons and a livery stable.  

From here it's confusing depending on what you read. Phelps Dodge owned Atlanta Copper Mine in 1882 and merged with the Copper Queen Mine to become one of the richest in the State.  This is what mining housing looked like.  Other accounts say the Lowell Mine bought the Cooper Queen.  I've no idea who is right.

In no time they even had an electric railway that ran from Bisbee to the Warren District, with about 8 miles of track to carry citizens from small town to small town.  By 1917 the town and the mines were booming.  This picture is looking down Erie Street in Lowell.

In 1917 Phelps Dodge mining company and the miners were in dire straights.  Phelps Dodge were union busters and the men were on strike.  In an early morning raid with the most likely paid-off Sheriff, they rounded up 1300 men, handcuffed them, marched them to the railroad station, loaded them up in railroad cars and shipped them off to New Mexico with a warning never to return.  

The Bisbee Deportation never hit the headlines.  The Sheriff seized all the telephone and telegraph lines so word would not get out.  Their excuse was the need for copper during World War I.  It was eventually found to be completely illegal, but no one was prosecuted.

This is what Erie Street looks like today.  The Lowell Americana Project came about because the local businesses owners wanted to save a piece of history.  They have worked hard to restore the town to the 50's, including adding a Greyhound bus at the end of Erie Street. 

In no time, Lowell became pretty prosperous.  They had cafes, barbershops, shoe stores and pharmacies.  The Lowell Clubhouse even held dances every Friday night.

Even the original gas station still stands.

By 1950, Lowell was in danger of demolition due to the increasing size of the Lavender Mine pit.  More than 250 homes and 20 businesses had to be moved.  Saginaw District became the new Lowell when over 200 homes were moved to that location.  Bakerville, Galena and Briggs came about the same way.

By 1957, few were remaining in Lowell.  Relocating Highway 80 due to the expanding pit didn't help.  Eventually all those little Districts created by the mining companies were annexed into Bisbee.

It's like stepping back in time to my childhood.  Once in a blue moon we got to head 50 miles down the hill to the big town of Bakersfield.  It looked exactly like this.

If your Harley needed repair, this was the place.  There's an amazing car dealership building next door.

I'm not sure Harley's were a thing in gold mining towns, but the local group made sure they were well represented.

Even the Police Department survived ... with a red-light-on-top police car.  How cool is that?   If you've got time to wander, this is a great place to do it.  It will definitely take you back in time to your childhood.

We also stopped at the mine proper ... the big hole in the ground, and I mean BIG!!  I'll post more about that tomorrow.  

Today I'll spend quilting (I hope) two more quilts.  I'm stuck at the moment since I can't seem to tell the machine exactly where it is and what I want it to do.  But first, I'm going to watch those six hummingbirds fighting over the nectar in my patio!!  And of course check my game camera.

Bisbee, Warren, Tintown, Saginaw

 Hallelujah!!  For the next few days we are hanging out at around 95 degrees.  It's a glorious 77 right now and I'm soaking it up!

Back to Bisbee .. here's some info right from the horses mouth so to speak.  This was written by the grandson of LeRay and Minnie Brehm who moved to Bisbee in 1921 and owned a jewelry store for 65 years.  Who would have thought a jewelry store would be a good thing in a mining town. 

Bisbee suffered from repeated calamities of floods, fires, and epidemics. Sewage ran freely everywhere. Garbage and animal carcasses littered the streets. Burned black powder, sulfurous smelter fumes, and wood smoke added to the pervasive, pungent odors. There was constant noise from round-the-clock mining operations, including rock crushers, explosions of dynamite, steam hoists, and railway locomotives. The upper end of Brewery Gulch housed Bisbee’s red-light district, an area of whorehouses, dance halls, gaming parlors, and saloons. This area was notorious for robbery, assault, and drug use. Overcrowded schools and inadequate parks contributed to poor living conditions for miners and their families.

I had a couple of interesting photos of the districts in Bisbee, but they refused to load.  This one I captured on my phone and was one part of town I was looking for to take a picture in the exact same spot.  

It doesn't exactly sound like the best place to live, but money was the name of the game.  Apparently different mining companies set up their own little towns to keep their miners happy. The Warren District was one, as was Tintown, Saginaw, Galena ... and many others.  Tintown was settled by Mexican immigrants and got its name from the scraps of tin they used to roof their houses.

Little did I know when I said I need to find Brewery Gulch, that it was the home of gaming parlors, saloons, dance halls and the red light district, where over a hundred ladies of the night plied their trade. 

Once we made the big loop around the one way road, we landed smack dab in the middle of what appears to be the exact same red light district.  There are lots of seedy looking bars with the accompanying characters out front.  I only realized this when I got back home, so no exact same picture.

THERE IT IS could probably be heard around the block when I spotted the Pop-Up Art Gallery.  At least that's what they are calling it.  Someone got the idea to nail a few pictures they had painted on the wall.  I guess that came from the "artist community" that took up residence here after the mines closed.  I wouldn't exactly call them Ar-tists ..... but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Patty and Dan said they were not in need of artistic awakening and stayed in the car.  The mountainsides are littered with these winding steps and stairways going up the hills.  The better to hide the nefarious goings on I suppose.  

The sign says Surgery Room and Therapy.  Yup I can just imagine the kind of therapy behind THAT door.

I kept looking over my shoulder as I ran up the stairs, but didn't see a soul.  Maybe a ghost or two.  There's a lot to take in, as the gallery wall goes all the way around the corner and up the mountain.  

That was enough for me.  I turned around and headed back down the steps, just imaging the things that went on here back in the day and I'm sure STILL go on today.

A little research came up with the fact that your chances of getting hit with a violent crime in Bisbee is 1 in 50.  It's not exactly the safest town around.  It's fascinating though, and every little district has it's own history.  

In the parking lot at the botton of the stairs sits the Old Bisbee Brewing Company.  Though not open when we were there, I hear they have good food and lots of beer if you are interested.  The Gallery steps are right across the street.

Both places are easy to find.  Make a left behind the Mining and Historical Museum on Howell Ave, a right on Opera Drive and another right on Taylor Ave, which heads back down the hill.  I wouldn't advise your one ton truck ... maybe a jeep.  You'll know it when you get there.  There is another one way path up the hill, but we missed it.

As we headed out, we stopped by the mine pits.  Yup ... that's a big hole in the ground that gave birth to the fascinating little town of Bisbee, followed by many more districts to lure the miners into working.  The mine with the nicest housing and amenities, got the cream of the crop miners.

I'll go into that a little more tomorrow, and yes, there is yet another little town to visit.  In the meantime I'm enjoying a little COOL.