Here KITTY KITTY KITTY!!!

I know what you're thinking ....... my tuxedo clad denizens of the night have returned with the irresistible lure of dog food.  The telltale morning whiff on the air however, told a different story.  Believe me, if they are here, you can SMELL them.  Here is my midnight visitor who showed up for dinner at 8:00 ... a beauty to be sure!!

THIS ..... THIS is what I love to see.  He shows up about every three nights.  A Mother Nature creation beyond compare.  Just look at that tail!!!  Sadly, he was too late for the buffet.  The kitty kitty beat him to it and ate every single morsel.  

Stolen from the internet, this is about what he looks like in the daylight, although our variety may be a little more red.  They are after their favorite, the backyard chicken dinner.  Upon closer look, the guy above has recently received an award for Predator of the Year, my very own Gopher Abatement Team.  It appears, from the big hole where the little hole once was, that he extracted Loin of Gopher dinner from my lawn.  HOORAH!!!

So why was there no whiff on the morning breeze?  I'm hoping it was because yesterday was my first work day.  You can see I'm in my Sunday best boots and shorts, heading out to install the skunk retaining wall.  

It was harder than I expected.  There's an art to pounding in these spikes, and as you know, my art includes a sewing machine, not a big hammer.  I immediately ran into a problem.  It seems every fence post has concrete at its base, making it a little difficult to pound anything into it.  In the end, I decided to cover up every hole, or even hint of a hole, and wait to see how it goes.  

After several tries, I finally figured out you pound at each end, then the middle, to keep it from bending.  

Voila!!!  Skunk fence!!  We shall see if it works.  Much later this morning when I stuck my nose out the door, I caught that essence of de'pue.  I'm hoping it was in frustration because they were knocking, but couldn't get in.  I'll check later this morning.

Time to check out the midnight camera.  I'll let you know if I find anything that will cause me even MORE work in the stickers and dirt.

Oh .... another good thing .... FOUR of the six fire ant mounds have no visible movement.  HOORAH TWICE for that good news!!

Driving War Time Tanks!!

There's lot of things I won't admit, but being spoiled is one I have to own up to.  I'm not sure how it happened ... probably when my husband ran off with the love of his life he met on the internet ... so I decided to buy everything I ever wanted ... mostly.  I am after all, a cheap accountant!

My sewing machine is a Mercedes Benz of sewing machines.  It rides like a dream, has all the bells and whistles and will do anything I ask of it, including embroidery as well as sewing magnificently, all at the touch of a button.

Finding a temporary replacement is like one of the worst things to have to do.  Any machine out there under $500 is a tank ... a battle tank like this one.  Imagine driving a tank across the landscape.  Better yet, imagine driving a 1960 Volkswagen Beetle, standard transmission down a washboard road in the Mohave desert, with the clutch grinding every time you shift.  Yeah, it's about like that.

So here it is ... my new temporary machine from Singer.  It sounds like a tank going down the highway at 50 mph.  You can hear every single gear, feel every bump and it's hecka hard to shift gears while moving.  There's no power steering either.  Every time the needle goes over a seam it sounds like a woodpecker ... bang bang bang.  

Right off the bat, it sucked my fabric down into those lovely gears ... TWICE in a row.  I quickly learned you cannot get anywhere near the edge of the fabric.  The light is so dim, it throws shadows next to the foot so you can't really see if you are at the edge or not.  I actually set up my flashlight next to it to shine a little light on the subject.

Let's see ... there MUST be something I like about it.  Oh yeah ... it has automatic thread cut, which was a must have AND needle down, so when you stop, the needle helps hold the fabric in place.  It wasn't exactly cheap, but better than the next step up which ran $1200.  Nope, not going there.

It's NOTHING compared to the sleek smooth quietness of my Brother machine, but it does sew two pieces together and will keep me from going mad for lack of something to do.  It's kind of like driving that old WWI Jeep we had on the ranch.  However, it did work to sew the last twelve seams on this quilt.  Operator error ended in ... well an error.  Can you find it?

This is the corrected version.

After a couple of hours and one set of ear plugs, I was able to get two borders sewn on.  One more to go and it will be ready to quilt.

Here's my latest tidbit on Wyatt Earp.  These images came from Facebook Historic Tombstone.   This is Wyatt and his brother Virgil at about the time of this story, told by their sister Adelia, the last surviving sibling of Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan, James and Warren Earp.

Before her death in 1941, she wrote down some stories about the boys.  Virgil and Wyatt worked on the railroad when in Wyoming.  They got in a really big argument with two big Irishmen and a "mighty" Swede laborer while knocking down some drinks in a saloon.  A real brawl broke out. Virgil did a lot of damage, but in the end, they put him down and out.  Wyatt lasted about a minute, taking a terrible beating.

The next day, battered and limping, Wyatt decided he better learn how to fight.  He looked up John Shannasey, a professional boxer, and quickly learned enough so he could hold his own.  He also learned all the rules and laws, doing some refereeing as well as boxing.  That's how he got into the profession and occasionally refereed big matches.

One of the last things he did before leaving the railroad job was to call upon the big Swede.  Wyatt "mauled him up bad and was mighty well pleased" said Adelia.  Now you know why Wyatt was so fast at knocking bad guys over the head with his gun before they could cause trouble.  Little did they know he was a professional boxer.  That was news to me too.

One more picture.  This is the old wooden jail in Gleeson Arizona, probably the only remaining image.   The bad guys were just climbing out the roof, so they built the concrete jail just behind.  The wooden one was torn down ..... the concrete one remains to this day.

If I can muster up the gumption, today will be skunk interference day as I see if this new underground fence is going to work.

Going South ....

 Not me ... yet anyway.  I'm not going south, but THINGS are still going south at a pace that would win a horse race!!  It's all part of the game of life.  In fact, now I'm laughing at myself as I eat that pint of ice cream in one sitting!!

I set up my game camera, or at least I tried.  The strap goes through a plastic piece so the camera can be tied to a tree ... or a corral post in my case.  The plastic piece broke, meaning there's no way to tie it up.  No problem, I scrounged around in my several backpacks of camera gear and came up with the top of a tripod and screwed the camera on.  Ha!!  Take THAT!!

Or not.  Ever night I have been putting out a small bit of dog food that Cooper refuses to eat, in order to capture my little fox friend on camera again.  I was so excited ... FINALLY ... the dog food was gone!  I grabbed the camera and raced inside.  

The red lights of DOOM appeared on the front.  NOOOOO!!  What that means is the camera misfired and the infrared lights stayed on, killing the batteries.  DOUBLE RATS!!  There's not one video to be seen.  Well that was a disappointment!!

It did make me feel better that two more big mounds of fire ants have ceased to have any movement.  I rather imagine it's only temporary.  I've got three more bites on my feet testing the waters before letting Cooper out, but thank goodness he has not received any.  

With all my good luck, I've been staying AWAY from the kitchen.  There's no use tempting fate, but I ran out of edible freezer things.  Being too tired from late night hot encounters of the tuxedo kind, I have not been to the store.  Maybe I can do something with a can of tuna.  

Talk about comfort food .. back on the cattle ranch, one can of tuna would feed four big mouths for two meals.  Personally I could eat the entire casserole all by myself.  This, along with mac 'n cheese have always been my all time favorites.

However, it helps if you have the right ingredients.  I had this.  Spaghetti.  Pasta is pasta, right?  This should work just fine.  Or maybe not so much.  Here's the thing.  Just how much pasta do you cook?  Since I wasn't sure just how long this stuff had been in the cupboard, I decided to use what was left ... half a box.

My mouth was watering ... I couldn't wait to taste my concoction.   So here's my tip of the day.  Do NOT use spaghetti in your tuna and noodles.  It looked pretty good right after mixing it together, but apparently I required twice the amount of sauce I made.  It also could have used at least a tablespoon of salt.  No matter, I ate my fill.  

The real problem was the next day when it had congealed in the fridge to a mass of gluey pasta so thick I could barely cut it with a knife.  Even after a minute in the microwave, it cut like a steak.  Guess I'll be going to the grocery store today.

I did make one quick trip yesterday to pick up my prescription.  I had checked out Good RX for a discount.  If you haven't used this discount app yet, it's a pretty good one.  I always get prescriptions (at least those that I fill in the U.S.) for a few dollars less.  

So I look it up and the price is $5.95 for a 3 month supply.  The pharmacy tells me $17.63.  I look again.  THIS is why I get my meds in Mexico.  The doctor said 12.5 mg which (when I changed the app to that) came out $15.  The 25 mg size (twice the size, right?) is $5.95.  

I could get a six month supply if the Doc would change the pill size ... for one dollar a month ... because I could cut them in half.  No worries, I'll be getting a two year supply in Mexico for probably $10 ...  and they wonder why Americans go to Mexico for meds!!  

In the meantime, an interesting tidbit on Wyatt Earp has popped up and a new photo of the Gleeson Jail.  I'll post those tomorrow because right now ... I'm on the hunt for a sewing machine!!

I'm On A Roll!!

 Why stop when I'm on a roll?  Let's just keep rolling along until I fall off the cliff.  After all, I have my stun gun, offered to me eight times yesterday because my wife looks easy (according to the emails), my loan for $9,525 has been approved without my signature seven times, I've apparently won three new prizes ranging from $50 to $1.5 million, my Gold IRA needs to be verified according to Amanda, my weed killer claim was cancelled, my life insurance needs attention and my burial insurance is in the bag.  No big deal if I crash tomorrow!!

In the meantime, even harder to get than the $1.5 million is my prescription renewed.  

I called the pharmacy.  I can pick it up a week later.  The pharmacy does not call back, so I call them ... a week later.  No on that prescription because the doctor won't approve it.  But I have a six month supply and have only used one.  NO!!

Three calls to the doctor later, I get an appointment.  I arrive right on time and am told to wait in the hot sun in my truck, along with six other vehicles outside with their engines running trying to stay cool.  Forty five minutes later with no call, I'm REALLY hot under the collar.  I go inside to find no one in the waiting room and no call on my phone to go in.  

The words coming out of my mouth quickly got me seated in the room farthest away from everyone.  

Doctor:  You have a prescription.  There's no reason it did not get filled.  WOW your blood pressure is through the roof!  

Me:  Tell that to the pharmacy please.  And yes it is because I'm so mad about the way you handle patients.  She refused to let me go until I took a pill.  

Me:  It's not that high, I can tell.  Take it again please.  It was almost back to normal, but they held me hostage until I took the darn pill.  

I received no confirmation until three hours later when the pharmacy notified me the cost would be $17.93.  I checked Good RX for a discount and should get it for $5.36 ... a 3 month supply.

By the time all that was done ... four hours later ... I was literally falling asleep on the couch.  I downed some salt and two cups of coffee trying to get my blood pressure back UP to normal.  I finally wandered off to the Elks Lodge NOT in my monkey suit because there's no use getting steak juice all down the front and having to pay the cleaning bill.  Once dinner was over, I changed upstairs.

It was a very long night as "our flag" was said 50 times while handing them out to the new members.  We are proud to have so many people join our organization.  There are already 10 in line for the initiation next month.  

I would love to say I'm heading out to the skunk wall of shame, but with only four hours sleep last night, I probably won't make it for the installation of my latest experiment with the big hammer.  Thank goodness there's nothing else on my to-do list for the next three days, except try to extract that prescription from the pharmacy.  Wish me luck!!

Death and Taxes

I'm beginning to think I should lay out some green on Bingo talisman items, go find a rabbits foot for my keychain and plant four leaf clovers in the back yard.  Nothing is assured but death and taxes I suppose, but I could use a little luck.  You could say problems keep your brain thinking and your body moving, but really ..... I've had enough for this month and it's only half over.

I literally cried when my beautiful sewing machine decided not to pick up the bottom thread any more, meaning even though I sewed that seam three times, it's still in two pieces.  No biggie you say, just get it fixed.  Well ... my luck didn't work there either!

Last week the only repair shop in the Central Valley (for these machines) decided one of their best repairmen just had an attitude they could not deal with any more.  He truly had anger issues.  With great trepidation, and rightfully so, they fired him .... nicely I assume.

So he gathered up his stuff, went outside, got in his car and drove it through their front door, 70 feet into the building.  Luckily there were just a few cuts from glass, but lots of damage to the building and most of the inside.  Yes he's in jail on attempted murder charges.

It will now be another week before they can reopen and I'm guessing a week after that before I can get an appointment to have my machine repaired (which takes a minimum of another ten days).  I'm OUT of the sewing business.  I'm not freaking out yet .... but I'm quickly going into withdrawal.  Tomorrow I'm driving all over town and see if I can come up with a cheap stand-in.  I'm sure it won't be as pretty or as easy to use, but at least I can finish up the quilt that's currently on the wall.

Finally ..... some good news!!  The metal skunk deterrent fence has finally arrived after being shipped all over the country to the wrong address.  The box looked like someone already beat them up with a hammer, but they are intact.  Maybe beating them in place with a BIG hammer will make me forget my $200 sewing machine repair (minimum charge).

In the meantime, what's with me and the critters?  They seem to be attracted to my aura ... or something!!  There I was, sitting in the dentist chair when I heard some noise ... and "hey little guy"!  I figured someone brought in a puppy.  Suddenly the hygienist gave out a little squeal and ran from the room.  Guess who came to visit me!!

Poor baby squirrel ... and he is a baby ... somehow ran in the front door of the building and was now scurrying around trying to get back out.  I volunteered to get my gloves and catch him, since he didn't seem all that wary of us, but by the time I returned, they had scared the little guy underneath a counter and so far back in the corner that he could not be reached.  I didn't hang around, but I'm sure they finally caught him.  Don't you think he was a happy camper to get back outside to his tree!!

Back home, I sprinkled Amdro over the ant hills that could be found and covered them up so Cooper couldn't get near.  Sure enough, they went for it.  All activity on this one stopped and the holes caved in.  One down, only five to go.

Last night I took Cooper out, but not before walking on the grass for two steps .... BAREFOOT .... to make sure he would not end up getting bit.  He already has two big bumps on his foot that he chews on constantly ... kind of like me.  

By the second step I had five new fire ant bites and was jumping around like I stepped on some thumb tacks.  Man those guys are fast ... they bit me before I could even SEE them!!  The grass is so thick and cushy that it hides their mounds completely.  I moved over a few feet and plunked Cooper down.  We both ran back in the house.  This morning I'll check the next two spots and see if they are gone.  Scratch scratch!!

In other interesting local news, it's not safe to go out for Pizza and watch the ballgames.  Apparently there was a Raiders game on and some overly enthusiastic fans.  Something bad was said about the Raiders, so this crazy guy pulls out a gun and shoots him.  I kid you not!  Three others were shot, but luckily only one died.  The shooter is in jail ..... over a lousy baseball game.  Although now, since California is trying to be the worst state in the nation by not requiring bail ... just letting them go ... he might be back on the streets.  Makes you crazy, right???

Today I'll be gearing up for the mega Elks initiation event ... 67 new members coming in to our tiny lodge room which will probably be about 90 degrees.  It's an historic old building with no air conditioning.  Add to that the tight-neck shirt, tie and jacket.  At least we keep the dry cleaners around here in business.  Cooper was helping.

Another day in the books.  I'm still breathing and moving quite well, so I can't complain too much.  Just as soon as my luck turns, I'll take a chance on washing the roof of the fifth wheel!!

And It All Went Downhill FAST!

Some days you win, some days you break even and some days you just keep going downhill with no end in sight.   My bad luck is stacking up quite nicely!!

The nice refrigerator repairman I called showed up right on time.  Not single, I checked.  It took less than two minutes to discover this big hole in the mechanism on the door.  You are looking UP the ice dispenser which should have a flap that closes and shuts out all the 85 degree weather in my kitchen.  That's why he gets paid the big bucks ... to discover things like this.

So when all that hot air went up, it melted all the ice, causing it to run out this front door.  The funny part is that I rarely EVER use this dispenser.  The not so funny part is that the entire thing will have to be replaced, if he can even find one, for a NOT so nominal fee.  C'est la vie. 

The current fix was to stuff a towel inside the freezer into the hole to keep the hot air out, which was now much hotter from my sniveling.  He will call back in a week or two.

This is the bottom of my ice dispenser bin.  The entire piece on the right fell out and neither of us could figure out how in the world to get it back.  A replacement bin is $180 plus shipping.  I may never have ice again!!

I went outside to catch my breath.  What should I find, but the results of my spraying an entire can of ant spray on all the hills in the yard.  It's weird because you can't see all the sand piled up under the grass.  That's not a shadow ... the ant killer killed the grass instead.  Big sigh ......... and now there are six big soon to be dead spots!

Upon further inspection, I found two of these condos which the ants have piled up.  I've never had anything so bad as these.  I got out my Amdro Fire Ant killer and sprinkled it on top, kind of like sprinklers on a sugar cookie.  They went for it like it was cotton candy!!  I placed a big bucket over the top to be sure Cooper didn't get close.  If it works, I'll do the same on the other five mounds I now have.

There's more, but it can wait until tomorrow.  It all went downhill so FAST .... because last night was BINGO at the Magic Kingdom!!  I acquired a new victim .... I mean helper .... to count cards while I tapped away on the infernal machine.  Too bad she can't help EVERY Tuesday night.  A fast learner, she did a great job, even if she did call a 649 "that double thing", which is something else altogether!  I was watching and knew what she meant.  It's hard to figure out the names of all those cards.

I think we had a record number of credit cards, but the Mini Infernal Machine (M.I.M.) just kept on truck'n and didn't let me down.  It was a night of epic coinage, since it appears everyone spent their money over the holiday weekend and now had to break into their kids piggy banks to get their bingo fix.

There was only one snafu.  There is an order to the many boxes of bingo packets.  Get them OUT of order and you're in trouble when six people win that $200 payout.  It requires us to count on our fingers and toes.  You see, there are only so many winners every six boxes we order.  Use a box from another order and you get multiple winners.  That doesn't make the Castle peasants happy at all.  Payouts were as low as $33 per person.  Not your traditional Bingo fare.

They will at times gang up on you like a mob with pitchforks heading for the Frankenstein Castle.  That last call by the Handler of the Numbered Balls led to screams they could hear a block away.  The King was called to make a ruling akin to Solomon in the Bible cutting the baby in half.  Only one will come out the winner!!  As that was happening, I snuck out the back door.  No use getting caught by a pitchfork in the butt!!

As for the big California recall, it came out just as expected.  California is pretty much a homeless community with well over 10,000,000 Newsom fans who don't want their welfare checks cut.  The other voters who are tired of paying twice the taxes, only amount to about 5,000,000 and so Newsom was not recalled.  I'm sure we can now expect retribution for the miscreants.

I'll finish up the rest of this story tomorrow, as I'm in dire need of shut eye time, otherwise I tend to drift off in ..... to ..............   zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

A Normal Day In The Life .....

 There's nothing like writing a blog and having to explain the weird images posted there.  Here's the first one.  Having been bitten again by what now appears to be a fire ant hill the size of Texas in my back yard, I made a run for the ice to stop the burn.

Apparently the ants are in as bad a shape as California, since they are congregating towards the top four inches of sandy soil looking for water.  I'm sure that's the reason for all this nonsense ... my sprinklers.

So there I was, heading for the freezer when I stepped in a rather large puddle of water.  UH OH!!!  I looked down to see water running down the front of my freezer to the hardwood floor.  Big sigh .... can't just ONE day go by without incident?

This is what I found ... the front cover to my ice maker is covered in frost.  I can't figure out if that's because it's not defrosting or maybe defrosting all the time.

The ice bin in the door was full of ice, but it was melting.  It took me an hour to clean up the mess.  Seriously, figuring out this kind of stuff is MAN work.  So I called the number inside the fridge for repairs.  The thing is, it's a huge JennAire side by side that is built in to the house.  They gave me the number of two "authorized" repairmen, neither of which were within 50 miles.

I called an Appliance Repair shop only 30 miles away and they said YES they could fix it.  I'm not so sure about that, but they are coming this morning.  This kind of stuff is so frustrating, which is why it's better handled by Prince Charming, who has not ridden by on his white horse yet.

In the meantime, my foot is a lovely shade of red.  At least this spot isn't itching any more, but I don't think the fabric store will appreciate me going in barefoot since I can't get a shoe on.  And of course now I have three more bites!!

I finally located a 20 year old pair of flats that were way too tight, and off to the quilt store I went.  I required three pieces of fabric to keep working on the next quilt.  On the way back, I began to crave a Habit Burger.  With onion rings!!!  My mouth was watering.

As I pulled in to the drive through, I noticed a white corvette in front of me.  Nice!  You may not know that I owned a 2001 Corvette for ten years .... LOVED it!!  Anyway, it took forever for him to get his order that practically filled the car.  I laughed when I saw him reach for the bags while wearing black driving gloves.  Seriously, no one does that!!

At last I got my order.  I should tell you I never look in the bag ... ever.  I don't know what possessed me to look this time, but low and behold ..... chicken tenders.  I drove around the corner and snagged a waitress coming out the door.  This is not my order!!

She disappeared back inside and I waited ..... and waited.  Finally I parked and went inside, wondering who ended up with my $12.63 burger instead of their $5.00 chicken tenders.  The nice lady said my order was coming right up.  Ten minutes passed.  Surprisingly, my patience had kicked in ... a rarity.  

Finally she brought the bag and I double checked the order.  I was ecstatic when I got home .... mmmmmmm burger.  EXCEPT ... they forgot the $.80 piece of cheese I paid for.  Lucky for them (because I really would have driven all the way back) they gave me a ticket for a free burger.  I finished it all, but somehow it didn't taste nearly as good.  The next time ... when it's FREE ... I will dissect the order before I get home.

Now stuffed to the gills, I began with the next quilt in between playing with Cooper on the floor.  Truly, it's what keeps me flexible and able to get up off the ground once I'm down there.

Here's the first four blocks, and oh lucky me, there's enough fabric left over from that roll to make another whole quilt!!  Waste not want not!!

In the meantime, I'm not so patiently waiting for my skunk fence to be delivered.  I can't wait to get going on THAT project!!  But of course that also includes dragging those 7 x 12 foot chain link panels back to the horse stall.  That's just another MAN job on my plate.

All Is Quiet ..... OUCH!!!

Retribution reigns King in the animal world.  There are consequences!  DIRE consequences for killing off those fire ants in my bathroom.  I was feeling pretty smug they were no longer carousing in my sink or swimming in the shower.

While checking out the sprinklers in the back yard, I noticed one was completely covered with grass.  A quick fix is to grab a steak knife and cut all around, pulling out the roots along with a good chunk of dirt and tossing it over the fence.  Now the sprinkler can actually work as intended.  

That's when it hit me!!   Ouch ... OUCH!!!  What the heck??  I was instantly covered in a million fire ants.  They were stinging me right and left.  You've never seen anyone, especially me, move that fast!!  After several bites, I was able to get them off and smashed!!  I take no prisoners!

In the meantime, the concrete was a little hot on my bare feet, so I made the mistake of stepping back onto the grass, but at least 12 feet away.  In a flash, I felt it again ... bite after bite.  I did my best impression of RiverDance, as I made my way back to the house.  My feet and arms are now covered with red splotches that itch like crazy.  As I said, retribution!!

That made it a little difficult to sew, since every few minutes I was scratching off another layer of skin.  By noon I did at least finish this one.

There was no way I was going back outside, so after checking my stock in the grocery market, I scrounged up another quilt-in-a-bag that has been laying around for ages.  One of these days I might even get them all finished!  If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you!!

This is one block, although made up of four.  This one involved a lot of cutting little squares and ironing half squares before cutting again.  I was at least happy I wasn't getting stung by those ants any more, scratch scratch.  

Finally in desperation, I grabbed a scrubby and just gave it ..... well you know, I scrubbed until my skin came off.  If it works for chiggers, it should work for this.  The idea is to scrub deep enough to remove the venom they put in.  Well ... that worked fine until I realized I actually took off the entire top layer of skin, kind of like a burn.  Big sigh!!  However ... it's not itching any more!!!!!

So here's my big tip of the day.  Don't mess with fire ants and DON'T DO THIS!  As I hit the fridge for something to ease the pain, I spotted this guy out my back window.  He's actually quite far away, but my camera caught him doing something really stupid.  This is a TWO STORY house!!  I'm sure your solar panels needed cleaning, but this is NOT the way to do it.  

These are tile roofs and very steep, since every room has vaulted ceilings.  He's up maybe 35 feet right here.

Seriously???  I kept my camera on him and my phone at hand so I could call 911, or maybe the coroner, when he fell.  His problem now is that he can't get back to the ladder which is out of sight on the left hand side.  You can tell how long he was up there by the change in the light of day on the roof.  This guy is no spring chicken either.  I'm guessing he's in his 60's and should know better!!

I'm happy to say he made it, although he almost fell when he finally reached the ladder.  I have to say I now feel really good about going up on my little fifth wheel roof to wash it off.  Eleven feet versus almost 40!!!

I'm off to the Elks Lodge today for pictures.  Not mine, but my photographer friend who is taking them for the wall of fame in the upstairs hallway.  It helps newcomers know who to complain to, and we have 67 new members being initiated this week.  Yup that means a tuxedo in a 90 degree room.  Woohoo!!

Johnny Ringo - Cowboy

 Another of the old west bad guys was Johnny Ringo.  Born John Peters Ringo in Wayne County Indiana, his family moved to Liberty Missouri in 1856.  He was actually related by marriage to the Cole Younger gang.  His aunt was married to Coleman Younger, the uncle of Cole Younger.

Although some think he was college educated, it is doubtful since his family was not well off.  He was apparently an avid reader however, and could spout off Shakespeare and a little latin when he wanted.  He and Doc Holliday might have been friends in another day and time.

By 1864 when he was 14, Johnny and his family were in Wyoming on their way to California.  His father was killed as he stepped off the wagon while holding a shotgun in one hand.  It went off accidentally, putting an end to his life.  That's a hard way for a kid to grow up.

By the mid 1870's, Johnny was knee deep in the Mason County Wars in Texas.  He befriended Scott Cooley, an ex Texas Ranger, whose adopted father was a rancher in the area.  Johnny took the ranchers side in a war against cattle rustlers.  The adopted father Tim Williamson was arrested and killed for the hanging of two cattle thieves. Cooley retaliated by killing the deputy sheriff, scalping him and throwing his body down a well.   Nice company Johnny was keeping.  This is Scott Cooley.

One of Cooley's supporters, Moses Baird, was led into an ambush and killed, leading Johnny to his first murder.  James Cheyney was the culprit (or at least they thought he was) so Johnny and his friend Bill Williams, killed him.  Ringo was eventually caught and thrown in jail where he met John Wesley Hardin.  Now there's a pretty bad character.  Their gang broke them out and they parted company.

Time to move on to Arizona.  One thing Johnny Ringo liked was alcohol.  In December of 1879 a drunk Ringo shot Louis Hancock in a saloon when Hancock refused a complimentary drink of whiskey, stating he would rather have a beer.  Makes you wonder, right?  Luckily Louis lived.  There was no "attempted" murder in the old days.  Being rather cantankerous, Ringo tended to hang out with the Cochise County Cow-boys.  Not the cattle kind, but the bad guy kind of cowboys, so called because they stole cattle.  

On January 17, 1882, Johnny Ringo and Doc Holiday, having traded threats against each other, were both arrested in Tombstone by then Police Chief James Flynn who hauled them before a judge for carrying weapons in town.  Once released, Ringo was arrested again for a robbery in Galeyville.   He was also suspected of being included in the December 1881 ambush of Virgil Earp and the murder of Morgan.

The general consensus is that Ringo was out of town at that time, but Wyatt was adamant.  Wyatt Earp then killed Johnny's best friend at the time, Curly Bill Brocius.  It was upon the word of Florentine Cruz that Wyatt insisted Johnny Ringo was involved in Morgan's murder.

While Wyatt and his Federal Posse went after those they thought responsible, Johnny Behan got warrants from the local judge to arrest Wyatt and Doc Holliday.  Behan deputized Johnny Ringo and 19 others involved with the Cochise County Cowboys.  They never could find the federal posse. 

According to the movie Tombstone, Johnny Ringo had a run-in with Doc which ended in his death.  No one really knows for sure what happened, but Johnny Ringo's body was found laying up against a tree in West Turkey Creek Valley near the present day Chiricachau Park on July 14, 1882.  

His feet were wrapped in strips of cloth torn from his t-shirt.  It's probable he tied his boots to his saddle, a common practice to keep scorpions out, and his horse got loose from his picket and took off.  Here's the interesting part.  His colt single action Army revolver still had five live rounds in it.  No empty casing was found in the gun.  His gun belt was strapped on upside down.  He had a big hole in his temple along with a knife cut like someone was going to scalp him, but changed their mind.  It was ruled a suicide.  What??

He had been seen drinking a lot in Galeyville and talking about feeling his eminent death, and so they decided it was suicide.  He was buried at the base of the tree he laid up against.  It's pretty obvious someone killed him, but WHO?

In later years, his death was claimed by Wyatt who was in the area, but then denied later on.  Some think Doc killed him, but researchers say Doc wasn't even in the area at the time of Ringo's death.  

Another theory was Buckskin Frank Leslie.  While in Yuma Prison serving time for killing his wife, he told a guard he shot Johnny Ringo, thinking he would receive favor from the Earps, or maybe to enhance his reputation.  

So in the end, no one knows who really killed Johnny Ringo, but he is buried next to the tree where he was found.  There is a small headstone there today.  Although on private property, you are allowed to go visit him.  It will be one of my first stops when I return to the lawless land of southern Arizona.

NEVER FORGET 9/11

REMEMBER 9/11 ... NEVER FORGET THE DESTRUCTION AND LIVES LOST

 It always makes me feel so nice when I'm welcomed back to Buzzards Roost in Cali.  At least this time (so far) I haven't had any black and white parties in my honor.  The ants now hanging out in my bathroom sink AND my shower, were more than enough.

Little did I know however, that the gophers were planning a SURPRISE event!  Welcome back Nancy ... we dug three holes for you!!  OH BOY!!  The hose ran for about 30 minutes full blast, without one drop of water coming to the top.  Hopefully it caved in their creation.  Not that I don't appreciate a party, just not one of the hole-y variety!!

Which brought me to this!  All my chain link panels used to keep out the denizens of stink were literally chained to the ground with grass.  It took all my strength to lift up the steel panels of the corral, pin them back together, then lift the other panels you see here covered in grass. 

It's all in preparation for the latest idea to keep those critters at bay.  I can tell you it's not going to be fun cleaning all that grass off and dragging them clear across the corral to where they live in the horse stall.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed this new idea works.  Whether I plug up the fox hole is debatable.  I rather like seeing that little guy who has not showed his little head since the first day.

Next on the list, I was on the hunt for diesel.  Most every station around here is at $4.31 a gallon.  As you know, California sucks in that department.  Funny, California sucks in MOST departments!  I was rather surprised to find diesel lower than regular gas.  This is the first time that has happened since I bought my truck in 2005.  Sixteen years of paying more than gas for the cheapest fuel there is.  Obviously it's still not cheap.  I got just a tad over half a tank for $125.00, but I do have a 50 gallon tank which I absolutely LOVE!!

On to the next item on the list.  My poor truck seems to get completely covered in grease when traveling to Arizona and back.  I did hit a car wash before I left, which didn't even phase it.  Add to that another 1600 miles of road tar and I expected to have to hand wash it.  On a whim, I pulled in to a Mister Car Wash.

I told the girl I was coming back through a second time (for free) if it didn't come clean.  Surprisingly, she said that was just hunky dory!  The trip through is always a psychedelic experience.

I love how they color the soap!!!  Which they should, considering this wash cost me $18.00.

I was shocked and amazed when I came out the other side and there was not a spec of grease on the truck. The windshield, not so much.  Those bugs stick pretty good, but I can clean that up.  The rest is sparkly clean!!!  WOOHOO!

I stopped for groceries on the way back home.  I always try not to wander too close to the magazine aisle.  They have cookbooks that scream my name.  I'm usually pretty good at looking the other way, but this Taste of Home magazine with recipes of all things pumpkin just turned my head.  I ALWAYS, without fail, check the price since getting caught once with a $13 magazine purchase.

I think I'll make every recipe in the book.  First up ... pumpkin cake.  Boy oh boy is this moist and delicious (it has applesauce in the recipe).  It did look a little forlorn however.

NOW it looks better.  Hey WAIT!!!  Who's been in the cake?????  Must be the gophers!

Stuffed to the brim (no, I didn't eat it all), Mr. Cooper and I hung out on the couch for the evening.  Funny guy, he has to be laying on my leg ... every time.  That of course means I'm not allowed to move, even an inch.

Coming up next, more old West stories.