BETWEEN SNOOZING & READING TO-DAY I WAS ABLE TO FIT IN SOME DOZING

RATTLESNAKE CRAFTS IS LOCATED OVER THERE IN THE GLEESON MOUNTAINS

It was 20 days ago that we left Ontario & to-day we had the quietest day since leaving home.  Kelly headed off to the exercise class but I decided to stay home.  My back is feeling normal again & I want to keep it that way.  Besides, I was able to get a bit of house cleaning done.  Did the dishes, vacuumed the floors, & made my bed real darn good.  I'm a handy little cuss to have around sometimes but just don't ask me to do any of that silly cooking stuff!!

THE A-10 BOYS FROM YUMA PAID US A VISIT TO-DAY

Want to clear something up about last night's blog.  There are no rattlesnakes at Rattlesnake Crafts.  John & Sandy do catch the rattlesnakes out in the desert but are not in the habit of bringing them home alive.  Their crafts are made from rattlesnake skins, rattles, etc.  John told Kelly there is no point in keeping live snakes around because they will just escape anyway.

 

Thanks for the compliments on last night's photo with myself in the blue ball.  If you look at the photo  you can see that blue ball in the bottom row about half way down.

Our weather changed a bit to-day with gusting winds coming in from the southwest & bringing the temps down to a more comfortable level.  It was a nice day for snoozing & reading with a bit of dozing in between the two.  And we didn't have to put the A/C on either which was a bonus.  Whenever you have to run the furnace you know it is too cold & whenever the A/C has to be turned on it's obviously too hot.  Somewhere between those two temperature extremes resides a little place called temperature heaven.

HEY, WHAT DID YOU SAY!!
LEGGO MY NOSE!!	OK, I’M SORRY
	YOU 2 GUYS ARE NUTS!!

We don't normally associate snow with Arizona but on February 10th of this year while at the ranch we did get snowed on:((  Saw snow on the Swiss Helm mountains to the east two days before so we should have known we were getting close to a dump.  By noon most of the snow had melted but I did manage to grab a few photos before it left.  Check out our BLOG & Picasa Web Album  WE GOT SNOWED ON for that day!!

WORKING WITH THE NEW COLEMAN

I do intend to try out the Yoga class in the morning but I'm sure not going in there with the attitude I did at the exercise class this past Monday morning figuring, 'hey' there isn't anything those women can do that I can't do.  Well, there was & my 21 year old attitude didn't match up with my 65 year old body & I paid the price.  Lesson learned!!

KELLY AT THE COMPUTER TALKING TO HER MOM & DAD ON SKYPE THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A man walked into a bar and sat down beside a women.  Suddenly her glass eye popped out and he caught it. She thanked him and asked him if he would join her for breakfast the next day. He agreed and got her address. The next day he went to her house and had a lovely breakfast. He asked, "Do you treat all men like this?" She smiled and said, "Just the ones who catch my eye."

I think my Live Writer problem last night may have been caused by a poor Verizon connection.  Same problem to-night so re-connected & I was OK.  Thanks to Rick for his advice comment to-day which I followed:))

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

WE WILL SOON BE HEADING BACK TO THE ARIZONA RANCH FOR AWHILE:))

SUNSET AT THE RANCH HOUSE....March 09

(All of to-day's photos were taken last winter)

In last night's blog I paired up a wrong link with a correct photo.  I have since changed that & the correct link for our rig with the wheels in the ditch can be found HERE .  Thanks for spotting that Jerry:))

KELLY HEADS OUT FOR A BIKE RIDE AT THE RANCH

In less than a week we will heading back to the ranch in Arizona where we spent 7 weeks last winter looking after a few critters for some friends.    We had never met Jeanie & Ray, owners of the ranch until they stopped into our boondocking site near Tombstone Az one day.  But, the actually story of how that meeting came about begins a couple of months before that & is a good example of......... you never know who's reading your blog:))

WHISKER RUB FOR BANSHI

We were boondocking for awhile in the California desert on Ogilbe Road about 10 miles west of Yuma in December of 08.  One day an email came in from another RV couple who said they had been following our blog, were presently camped east of Yuma, & would we like to get to-gether for a visit.  Those people turned out to be Doug, Joanne, & their standard poodle  Fillmore from LIVING OUR DREAM.    We met on a Saturday morning at McDonald's in one of Yuma's Wal-Marts.  About half way through our conversation Joanne asked if we might be interested in a ranch sitting job for some friends of theirs.  Well, that immediately conjured up herds of charging cattle, cowboys on wild bucking broncos, buffalo from horizon to horizon, blazing saddles, city slickers, & legends of Curly's gold.  Very scary stuff to say the least so over a Big Mac & fries we said we would definitely think it over.JOANNE, DOUG, KELLY, & AL , OUTSIDE McDONALDS IN THE WAL-MART STORE...YUMA

HORSES IN THE CORRAL & SNOW COVERED MULE MOUNTAINS

BANSHI & SPORTY GALLOPING IN FOR SUPPER

PONCHO, NELLY, & SARAH....(but maybe not in that same order:))  THE HEE HAW GANG

Took us a couple days to weigh the possibilities of roller skating in a buffalo herd, being attacked by roving band of wild chickens, & spending the cold desert nights out on the lone prairie under the endless stars with rattlesnakes in our sleeping bags & coyotes snapping at our heels.  Well, afterall, we were northern folk & not being from these parts we weren't sure just what to expect.  Guess we had just seen too many totally rootin tootin dust em up cowboy movies.  Luckily, common sense prevailed & quickly dispelled most of the fears.  Yes, the nights were cold with endless stars but it was hibernation time for all the snakes anyway & besides, we didn't have any sleeping bags or blazing saddles anyway.   Yep, we said........."we'll do it."

THE RANCH HOUSE

SAND HILL CRANES HEADING INTO THE SUNRISE

Joanne had given us Jeanie & Ray's email address so we first met Jeannie on-line.  Emails went back forth, questions were asked & answered from both sides as we all got to know each other.  We agreed on a time to head on down to the ranch in southeastern Arizona & the rest as they say is history. 

THESE GUYS SURE LIKE TO EAT

And what about those endless buffalo herds, bucking broncos, wild chicken attacks, charging cattle, & blazing saddles??  Well, we never did see a buffalo so never had a chance to strap on the roller skates .(Roger Miller song;))  The bucking broncos turned out to be a couple very friendly expectant mares named, Banshi & Sporty & the closest we got to a charging herd of cattle were 3 schmoozy burrows, Pancho, Nelly, & Sarah.  The attacking chicken gang turned out to be 9 lovely ladies residing in a coop near our motorhome complete with their very own in house rooster named Rodney.  We have since heard that Rodney & one of the ladies have moved on to poultry heaven:((  And those heel snapping coyotes turned out to be a couple of big slurpy doggy guys named, Pearce & Gleeson who quickly became our most  bestest pals.  We did feed a cat or two every night but never did really see them.   Probably those big fierce mountain lion types from the movies I'm sure.

WOKE UP TO SNOW ON THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS ONE MORNING

FRIENDS INGRID & TOM DROP IN SO IT'S SNACK TIME FOR THE DOGGY GUYS

It is this same ranch we are heading back to next week while Jeanie & Ray take another long extended vacation this winter.  For many years they worked that ranch & couldn't go anywhere because of the cattle they raised & fed.  We're just happy to fill in for them again plus it gives us a nice place to stay for awhile in an area rich with old west history.  If anyone is interested they can slip over to our archives & check the dates from February 6th to March 23rd of 2009 for our antics on the ranch plus many day trips.  Same dates for our photo albums.  Lots of photos from the ranch including sunrises over the Swiss Helm mountains to the east & sunsets over the Mule Mountains to the west.  And lots of frolicking critter pics, and........snow!!

SAND HILL CRANES IN FLIGHT PAST A CRESCENT MOON

SUNSET OVER THE MULE MOUNTAINS

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Did you know a toothache is the pain that drives you to extraction!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

STORM CLOUDS & SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS

THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE RANCH


The rooster started up about 4 & the rain started about 5. The wind never got started because it never got stopped from the night before & yes, I know it's not proper English to use the word got but I'm tired so I gets to say what I wants:)) SAND HILL CRANES FLYING BY THE MULE MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE RANCH


By the time the doggy guys rumbled in & out for their morning constitutional we had about half an acre of yukky mud in the rig........everywhere.

We donned our seldom used raincoats & headed for the chicken pen about 8:15. Jeanie met us half way & walked around with us as we fed the chickens & dogs. She checked the rain gauge & noticed we had a quarter inch of rain this morning. Ray came out & we all walked down to the corral being careful to steer clear of the muddy patches. Luckily the rain quit & we were able to shed the cumbersome raincoats. Because the donkeys & horses stayed in the corral & pen areas overnight they had to be fed this morning. Normally they are out on the range feeding but because of the inclement weather they are staying under cover for a few days.

PORCH CORNER WITH MULE MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE

The dark rain clouds had dropped snow in the mountains & as they slowly lifted off the mountain tops I made a bee-line for the rig to grab my camera. It's not every day we get to see scenes like this. Flocks of Sand Hill Cranes were making their way north to their feeding grounds & the snowy Mule mountains to the west gave them a picturesque backdrop. My hands were freezing because of the wind-chill factor but I did manage to get a couple of nice photos. The cloud shrouded Dragoon & Gleeson mountains to the northwest caught my attention next & as I turned to the east, the snow covered Swisshelm mountains presented another photo opportunity. What a splendid morning it turned out to be despite the cold temperatures. The rest of the day evolved into a mixture of sun & clouds so we decided to take a drive down to Douglas this morning around 10. The cloud shadows playing across the Swisshelm, Perilla, & Pedregosa mountains on the way to Douglas made for a beautifully scenic drive. In the mixture of sky & earth it is the clouds that add character & to-day what a moody & mysterious character the clouds presented themselves to be. Downtown Douglas was very quiet as we drove along the main street admiring the old buildings. We reached the south end of town & had to swing round to the west because we were right at the Mexican border. Found a spacious mall with a good selection of stores including a Wal-Mart. We weren't long in getting a grocery cart rolling & spent half an hour picking up a few groceries. CLOUD SHROUDED DRAGOON MOUNTAINS TO THE NORTHWEST

We were back to the ranch by noon & spent the rest of the afternoon shoveling all of the morning's mud out of the rig. Mats to be shakin out, steps to be swept, doggy paws & shoes to be cleaned, etc. The winds outside made for a cold day so we stayed inside & watched a DVD about the San Pedro River. Very informative & we learned more about the plants & animals in the area. To-night's DVD movie was called, Run The Wild Fields. I liked this quiet heartwarming tale which takes place during the mid 1940's in rural & small town America. Just kind of a feeling good kind of movie with the producing, directing, & acting, all done well.

We've got another storm front rolling in to-night so we'll see what to-morrow brings.

TACK HOUSE, PENS, & CORRAL

Afternoon chores went off without a hitch so all the critters will go to bed to-night with full tummies. I've always known that animals are a heck of a lot smarter than us people folks & now I'm seeing it in the actions of the horses & donkeys here. Just little things so far but it's nice to know I've been right about my theory all along....................:)) THE FARMYARD

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