OUR ARIZONA DAYS ARE COUNTING DOWN………:((

WILL THE BLOOMS BE OUT BEFORE WE LEAVE IN 3 DAYS??

I like it when a warm wind blows the stars around.  Stayed out extra longer Sunday night with Pheebs because I know we will soon be leaving this big expanse of Arizona night sky far behind.  The stars will still be up there when we get home but it’s just not quite the same as a lonesome desert night.

This week will go fast for us with each day counting down quickly to the following day.  As any RVing Snow Bird traveler knows, it’s those last few days before departure when things really get crunched.  It’s all part of that anxious excitement that comes with getting the big wheels rolling.  Guess I’ll have to come up with a different phrase for that now since we don’t have the big Motorhome wheels anymore.  Ok, ‘get the little wheels rolling.’  Nawww, just not the same…………….

PHEEBS MOST NEWEST, NEAREST, & BESTEST PAL SHE JUST MET THIS MORNING

Our friend Paula from Bisbee stopped in this morning on her way from Bisbee Arizona to the Portland Oregon area.  Paula, an eastern Gal likes to spend her winters in Bisbee.  We met Paula a few winters ago when we were Ranch sitting near McNeal & Elfrida Arizona.  I was able to lead Paula & the Bisbee Mule Team Hiking club up into Rucker Canyon one day to Fort Rucker & the Mary Kidder Rak homestead.  You can read my post for that day here……ANOTHER FINE DAY IN THE CHIRICAHUA'S RUCKER CANYON.

  

SAFE TRAVELS PAULA & ALL THE BEST TO YOU & TIGGER

And a question from SallyB the other day wondering how Aunt Jean is doing.  Jean is doing good basking in all that hot & humid Florida sunshine.  She was out golfing last week & routinely does her early morning daily neighborhood walk.  And she just scrubbed all her floors too:))

 

THIS LITTLE GAMBLE QUAIL HAS TO VERY WARY WHEN RED TAIL HAWKS ARE ON THE PROWL OVERHEAD

Kelly’s feeling better so we’ll stick to our original departure date this Friday morning.  Another reason for heading home is the temporary Arizona license sticker we have in the back window of the Sunseeker.  That expires later this month.  In less than a month from now we should be cruising around with regular Ontario license plates & up to date stickers.  That will mark the end of this long ordeal of purchasing a vehicle in the States & importing it to Canada.  Not too likely we’ll do that again any time soon.

RETIRED ROD & Loyce fired up the rig & flew their Mesa Arizona coup.  They are presently making their way back to Kansas.  JOHN & BRENDA southwest of Phoenix will be leaving their Dog Pound South digs for their Dog Pound North digs in a couple days heading for Alberta up their in that big Canada place.  PETER & BEA are already home on the east coasts Campobello Island but not all was well when they got there:((  GEORGE & SUZIE slogged themselves through some Tennessee rain to stop at country singer Loretta Lynn’s place on their trek north to Canada as well.  And oh Dear,  RV SUE has got herself into a spot of trouble, or should that read…….troubles:((

Yep, the southwest is clearing out fast & it looks like we’ll be a couple of the last one’s to leave.  Next year we would like to try & stay for the whole month of April & see the desert come into bloom.  Delays our Fall departure time though.  No problem for Ontarians being in the States for 7 months but the States does not want us here for any longer than 6 months.  Too bad about all this fuss between our two great countries…………………  

   

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Late one night in Washington,D.C., a mugger jumped into the path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs.
"Give me your money," he demanded.
Indignant, the affluent man replied, "You can't do this - I'm a U.S. Congressman!"
"In that case," replied the robber, "give me MY money!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

JUST THE WAY SOME OF US SENTIMENTAL FOLKS ARE….

It was in short sleeves we sat on our front porch Saturday night reminiscing about our good fortune in finding our Ghost Town Road house a year ago.  Pheebs played out front with one of her furry squeaker toys.  House Sparrows tucked themselves into warm Saguaro nests as the setting Sun’s rays bathed the distant Weaver Mountains in glowing hues & embers.  It was Saturday night & all was well with the Bayfield Bunch.

 

From my bed I can look out & see our giant Saguaros standing tall against a starry Arizona sky most every night.  We have those 2 saguaros lit with a couple solar lights giving them  a soft touch of light against the night sky.  In the morning they are back lit by fiery sunrises.  With bedroom windows open now in the warming morning air we are surrounded by a cacophony of bird songs.   Listening to those chortled warbles my mind drifts sleepily to a gathering thought……Oh no, we’re out of birdseed again!!

Cheryl Ann at DEEP CANYON had a question about our travel route home.  That will depend on the weather of course but from Congress we’ll head up through Prescott & the Chimo Valley to I-40 at Ash Fork.  We’ll hang a right on I-40 & head for Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Indianapolis & on to Port Huron Michigan where we will cross the border.  Same route as last year but depending on weather & our whims, any of that could change at any time along the way. 

NICE TO SEE OUR BACKYARD MESQUITE TREES FINALLY GREENING UP

  

Just clicked on Mark’s blog over at the BOX CANYON BLOG & oooops, looks like those folks are having themselves a string of bad luck there right now.  Got something to do with transmission trouble on their Lazy Daze . Yikes, not good:((

Did manage to pick myself up another half wheelbarrow load of Cactus this morning.  Will wait until the pads dry out a bit more before planting.  Too hot by noon to be out there scratching around in the dry dusty dirt anyway.  We stayed close to the shade today.  Think we got up to 80 something.

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE FLOWERS IN THE DESERT

Had ourselves a pleasantly different afternoon from our usual daily routine.   Mike & Pat McFall invited us over for an early Easter dinner this afternoon with friends Jeri & Larry.  Had ourselves a great meal topped off with strawberry shortcake & whipped cream.  For somebody like myself who spends most days hanging out with himself it’s really nice to sometimes sit around with a small group of good friends & let my hair down a bit.  Lots of laughter, a few stories, some serious stuff & maybe a wee bit of bafflegab here & there.  Gotta love that bafflegab.  Although I rarely show it I am always sad on the inside knowing hugs & handshakes before departures may be final ones.  Don’t know if other people think like that, but I do.  I’m the same way with places we go.  When leaving I always think to myself, will I ever be here again.  Will I ever see this person again.  Guess that’s just the way some of us sentimental folks are.  But looking on the bright side…………. see y’all in the Fall:))

 

AND THIS ONE’S FOR YOU MIKE…MISS YOUR BLOG

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A young minister, in his first days at his first parish, is obliged to conduct the funeral services for an eccentric man who has just died. At the funeral home, he stands before the open casket and tries to think of words to console the widow.
Finally, the minister says, "I know this must be a very hard blow, Mrs. Jones. But we must remember that what we see here is only the husk, the shell. The nut has gone to heaven.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

en."

MAYBE A CHANGE TO OUR DEPARTURE DATE

PHEEB’S PALS MOLLY & TIPPY ANXIOUSLY WAIT FOR THEIR SNUGGLES, SMOOCHES, & SCRUFFLES FROM THE BAYFIELD BUNCH MOST EVERY MORNING…PHEEBS DOES THE SMOOCHING PART

Cloudy start to the day but it was warm.  And warm is all that counts after the yucky cold winter we had here.  Next winter we hope to be much more flexible & if it’s warmer in Yuma for a week or two then that’s where I hope we can head for.  We know some nice quiet little boon docking spots down around that area.  But a stop in Slab City to have Solar Mike at THE SUN WORKS install a small solar system on our rig will be one of the first orders of business before we head off to do any boondocking anywhere next Fall.

OUR RESIDENT GILA WOODPECKER ON AN OCOTILLO BRANCH THIS MORNING…I CALL HIM MR. GILAPECKER

Topped up the rig’s propane this morning & threw a $50 bill in the gas tank.  That plus the quarter tank of gas already in there should get us well up into the Chino Valley before completely filling the tank.  Don’t want to be climbing the Yarnell Hill up the Weaver Mountains with a full tank of gas if we don’t have to.

QUITE AN ANGLE WE’RE ON FOR OUR PROPANE FILL UP THIS MORNING

Ramped up our packing today because Kelly hasn’t just been feeling the best this last little while & there is a chance we may be rolling out for home a little earlier than planned.  We’ll see how the next couple of days go.

 

LITTLE GIZMO RACES UP & DOWN THE FENCE LINE TRYING TO GET PHEEBE’S ATTENTION

Planted myself another dozen NOPALEA type Cactus pads this morning & our Mexican neighbors have a dozen or more of another kind of tall growing cactus for us as well.  Will get them in the ground Sunday morning.  Not likely all these Cacti I am planting will grow but if they do we may have ourselves a rather formidable Cactus forest growing around us in a few years.  Depending on the rains, the neighbor’s say all these cactus plants are fairly fast growers.  The kind I planted this morning do not have the thorns & barbs on them.

Kelly & I haven’t been been ones to celebrate Birthdays, Anniversaries, & special holidays like Christmas, Easter, 4th of July etc. these last bunch of years.   We always keep those things very low key around our house.  So, in keeping with our low key policy & not wanting to voluntarily get myself into hot water tonight I won’t tell you who’s Birthday it was today.  Nope, not Pheebs & nope not me, no sireeeeeeee.  But the folks on Facebook knew……:))

DESPITE A CLOUDY DAY THE DESERT IS ALWAYS A PLACE OF WONDERMENT

Tammy & Art over at "IT'S GOOD TO BE US" are sure cooking themselves up some great excitement right now as I type this.  It is their first  on the road RVing day & their excitement & enthusiasm are at an all time high.  I’m sure we can all remember those days & all those mixed emotions when everything about this RV lifestyle was so knew to us.  In case you don’t remember, be sure to head over to Tammy’s blog & refresh your memory.  All the feelings are right there so grab onto their coat tails, your gonna be in for a groovy ride right from the beginning of their whole new & great lifestyle.  Watch for them on our sidebar:))

Kelly the eternal Optimist believes we will not have one single problem when we import our Class C Sunseeker to Canada at the border in a couple weeks.  Me the obvious Pessimist believes once we reach the border we may never be seen or heard from ever again!!

Hypothetical question:  If you received an invitation to write a guest post for a legitimate magazines RV section, I'm wondering how many folks would seriously consider doing that?  Just curious……….

---

RETIRED ROD had the following comment question about my Nikon D40… “Al, as much as you use that camera with the dust in the optical system, wouldn't it be prudent to get someone to clean it out”?  Well, I was the someone who tried to clean it out a couple times 3 years ago & ended up just making it a whole lot worse.  The dust particles are on the cameras sensors & it is recommended the sensors be cleaned by professionals.  Very expensive to have done I hear.  It’s easy for me to use my ‘Retouch’ tool in my PICASA 3.9 photo editing program for removing those dust particles…...& that is why I have never paid the big bucks to have it cleaned.   All the photos I take are only for my blog anyway & not for printing into large pictures etc so I’m OK with a few retouchable dust spots.  And no, I am not going to try & clean that sensor again…..learned my  lesson!!

A quick add on to Thursday night’s ‘off Auto focus’ in the target zone.  If your higher flying bird is in the air free & clear of trees & branches (Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Eagle etc) & it is on the move, be sure to have your ‘Auto focus on’.  Lock onto the bird with your auto focus & pan (move) with the bird for a second & fire.  Did that with Friday’s Turkey Vulture photos.  Biggest problem I have with this ‘on or off’ auto focus thing is remembering to set it back to auto focus after using manual focus.  And by the way just in case I’ve confused anyone…..I use ‘Auto Focus’ on about 95% of all my photos.  My DSLR auto focus can focus a photo far faster & far better than I can.

AND ONE YEAR AGO TONIGHT WE WERE ALL HOOKED UP & READY TO ROLL OUT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING WHICH WE DID AROUND 5 A.M.

And today we here at the Bayfield Bunch remember our dear sweet little Cora, aka Motormouse, or as I liked to call her in the last few years of her life, ‘Beans’.  It was one year ago tonight she passed away just hours before we began our long & very sad journey home.  We all love you Beans wherever you are & we thank you for all the timeless joy & love you brought us while you were here.

   

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A friend hosted a dinner party for people from work and everyone was encouraged to bring their children.
All during the sit-down dinner one co-worker's three-year-old girl stared at the man sitting across from her.
The man tried his best to just ignore her, but finally it was too much for him. He asked her ,"Why are you staring at me?"
Everyone at the table had noticed her behavior and the table went quiet for her response.
The little girl said, "I just want to see how you drink like a fish!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

FIGHTER JETS OVER OUR HOUSE…THE SOUND OF FREEDOM

By 7:45 this morning we knew it was going to be a hot day as we made our way around the block.  Seemed to be the pleasant aroma of orange blossoms in the air.  We pass the old Cowboy gate leading to the desert but know we cannot take a chance walking Pheebs out there now because of active Rattlesnakes.  Too bad because I really miss those quiet walks on a waking desert morn.  Not likely we’ll do any more desert Jeep jaunts before we head out next week either.  Time to install the tow gear back on the front of the Jeep.

SOON TO BE COLORFUL CACTUS BLOSSOMS

Not much I can blog about today.  Kelly was off to Wickenburg to check out a ‘going out of business sale’.  Same place we bought much of our furniture this past winter.  Pheebs & I hung out inside staying cool.  Think we hit 80F today.  Still working on our going home Sunseeker packing.

  

THIS WILL BE OUR SUMMER YARD CREW

For you photography buffs out there wondering how to take better photos & tweak your camera settings for better quality photography I recommend this fellow’s site.  KEN ROCKWELL.  I bought my Nikon D90 through the ADORAMA link on this fellows site back in 2011 after dropping my D50 DSLR on a concrete slab:((   Ken Rockwell’s site is the only place I go for anything to do with photography.  One stop & you’ve got it all.  Personally, if you are seriously interested in photography I wouldn’t settle for anything less than a DSLR camera.  (Digital Single Lens Reflex) I especially liked Ken’s take on, THE BEST CAMERA FOR EVERYTHING.  And be sure to read on down that page to, ‘Forget Resolution and ISO’ plus ‘Best Pocket Camera.’(it’s a Canon)  Now, If I could only do what it is he tells me to do as well as he tells me to do it………

 

And in case any photo folks missed pro photographer Gordon W’s note in the Shout Box, he says…. ‘I usually underexpose by 1/3 stop, Al, mostly to reduce blowing out highlights, but nothing’s free. By underexposing, image noise is increased when increasing brightness to compensate for the underexposure and it lessens shadow detail and dynamic range, so one doesn’t want to overdo underexposing’.  You can catch Gordon’s superb photography here at GORDON WOLFORD.  You can check out Gordon’s personal blog site here at NORTHERN NEWS

 

WAS SURPRISED THIS MORNING TO LOOK OUT & SEE A GROUP OF 17 BIRD WATCHERS SHUFFLING BY ON THE ROAD 

Tammy from IT'S GOOD TO BE US had a few questions about photographing birds in flight.  There’s the right way to do it & then of course there is my way.  I use an older Nikon D40 DSLR with a 75-300mm lens.  All my birds are taken at 300mm.  I set my ISO setting on the camera to 1600 in order to give me a fast enough shutter speed to stop the wing action.   I also have that camera set to focus only on the center portion of my screen.  It’s called spot metering.  I sit myself in a lounger about 30 feet away.  The sun is generally behind the subject or off to one side a bit.  That way the sun shines through the feathers giving the wings that transparent angel like look.  I pick a spot either on the bird feeder or on a branch where the birds have a habit of landing & pre-focus on that spot.  Make sure your camera is off Auto focus so it doesn’t have to waste time trying to focus itself because you only have a mili-second to hit that trigger when a bird flies into your target zone.  Now begins the waiting game.  Watch your birds & you will soon see they have their own little routes, habits, & flight plans.  Try to anticipate a birds flight into your pre-focused target zone.  Your probably going to end up with a number of blank frames at first because your reaction time will start out slow.  But, with a little practice & improved reflexes you will soon be catching birds in flight.  A better way to do this is to use a tripod but I’m kinda lazy & do most of my stuff hand held.  The Pros would use a tripod for sure.

 

OUR FRONT YARD OCOTILLO IS BLOOMING

One of these days I hope to get myself disciplined enough to once again get all my photo albums (birds, critters, people, flowers, artsy, etc.) updated & re-organized in my SMUG MUG account.  No small task considering I have countless thousands of photos.  No point in trying to make any sense out of my scattered Picasa Photo Albums anymore since Google stepped in & messed with all that a year or two ago.  Just don’t have that kind of patience.

 

PHEEBS & HER DUCKY 

Sure don’t know what I would do without my music.  I would just be a lost soul adrift in a gray void of nothing.  At home in our Bayfield sunroom & here in my nice southwest Congress bedroom my music is always beside me as I type my post each & every day.  I wake up with music & I go to bed with music.  When I am out working around the yard, walking or hiking somewhere it is the music in my mind I listen too.  And it is me my very self I listen to as long as no one else is close enough to listen to me:))

 

A YEAR AGO TONIGHT ASLEEP IN THE MOTORHOME

I’ve heard folks here in this country say the sound of military jets in the air overhead is the sound of Freedom.  I couldn’t help but think of that today as I watched two F-16 fighter jets high overhead twisting & turning in mock combat.  Those folks are right.  If it wasn’t for the young people training in those planes, ships, tanks, & armies, it’s very likely none of us RV folks here in the United States or Canada would be enjoying the lifestyle freedom we do.  With the goings on in North Korea right now I watched those planes in their tight training maneuvers thinking how soon their lives could be on the line for my lifestyle & my freedom.  And I haven’t even met those young folks…..

 <<< TURKEY VULTURE

GROANER’S CORNER:((    Grandma had never been sick in her life, so she didn't take it kindly when a bad case of the flu sent her to the hospital for observation.
By the time she was tucked into bed, she had managed to complain about everything: the temperature, the lights, the skimpy gown, the food and the mattress - especially, the mattress.
Suddenly, she spotted a small plastic item with a button, attached to a cord. "What's that?" she demanded with great suspicion.
"If you need anything in the middle of the night," said the nurse, "just press that button. It will turn on a light in the hall for the nurse on duty"
"A light in the hall?" responded Grandma. "I'm the sick one around here. If the nurse needs a light on in the hall, she can get up and switch it on herself."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.