WICKENBURG, 18 CACTI PLANTED & WE’RE GONNA GET OUR WEEDS WHACKED

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS LITTLE FELLOW IS

More Mesquite & Palo Verde tree trimming this morning.  Definitely a gloves job because both those trees have very sharp prickers.  Kelly slipped the Jeep down to the garage to have the fellow test the battery.  Said it was borderline & looked like the original.  Because we are sometimes way out in the desert where there is no cell phone coverage we decided to play it safe & have that aging battery replaced with a new one.  Will do that Thursday morning.  Also decided to go with a good ‘used’ spare for Winnie The Bago.  Much cheaper than a new Michelin tire we may never have to use.

SPOTTED THESE TWO FELLERS CRUISING BY THE ACE HARDWARE STORE IN WICKENBURG THIS MORNING

Hadn’t been in the Wickenburg Alco store since the last time I was in the Wickenburg Alco store.  Nothing much had changed.  Groceries at Safeway & off to Ace hardware to pick up our new Gravity chair.  From there it was back to our Adobe Digs in Congress. 

MATTHEW AROUND THE CORNER FROM US PULLED SOME CACTUS PADS OFF THE BIG CACTUS FOR US

Neighbor Matthew said he would pluck off some new Nopal cactus pads for me today so I slipped around & picked them up.  Didn’t take me long to get myself in planting mode & it wasn’t long before I had 18 of the lovely little things in the ground & watered.  Thanks to ‘Guest’ in our Shout Box for the list of hardy desert plants.  I will print that out.    

YEP I’M AT IT AGAIN…THESE ARE THE NEATEST THINGS:))

 

PHEEBS WAS A BIG HELP AGAIN TODAY AS SHE DUG SOME OF THE CACTUS HOLES FOR ME

In a comment, Jerry from OUR LIFE ON WHEELS said, “Don'tcha just love our desert”?  And my quick answer to that is ‘yes we sure do’.  I have heard it said about the desert ‘you either love it or you hate it’.  Lucky for us it is the first case.  I will never understand how some people cannot see the absolute beauty that abounds here in the Sonoran Desert.  Not just rocks, scrub, gravel, sand, & prickly cactus.  We can easily look out & see miles upon miles of green.  The desert landscape is so diverse & ever changing.  Just gain or drop a few feet and the flora begins to change.  Cozy up to a ridge line & again plants quickly change as soil has a higher water content from run off.  Not many Saguaros on the desert floor behind our place but just walk over to the base of rocky outcrop & there they are.  Saguaro Cactus all over the hillsides.  Rock formations everywhere with enough old worn & craggy Indian faces in them to keep an imaginative mind alive indefinitely.  Our rural farms & forest landscape back in Ontario are beautiful in a different way than the rugged desert landscape we have here.  Both are picturesque in their own right & fortunately I see & appreciate that beauty in both places.  Each compliments the other & we are extremely fortunate in that we can live & love each one for a whole 6 months of the year.  And it is that extreme difference & change that keeps my interest peaked.  Just as I do not like a cold Canadian winter anymore I would probably not like a hot Arizona summer either.  So again, despite my grumbling about stuff sometimes, we do have the best of both worlds:))

YEP WE LOVE OUR DESERT ALRIGHT

I remember someone commented one time about getting out for Jeep rides in Arizona with Pheebs just like we do back home in Ontario.  Great idea except for one small thing.  In Ontario where we live the countryside is crisscrossed with countless thousands of miles of country roads.  Once could spend the entire day driving in a 50 mile radius of home & never travel the same road twice.  That’s what makes it so interesting.  Here in Arizona there basically are no country roads criss-crossing with each other like in Ontario.  You are either on a paved highway or you are on a rough dusty trail in the desert.  Always a good idea when on those trails to have 2 people along so Pheebs & I have haven’t been out bombing around by ourselves.  But I know she’s needing a Jeep ride real bad so we are just going to have to work out some Jeep time logistics. 

CHATTING IT UP WITH THE NEIGHBOR’S ACROSS THE ROAD THIS MORNING

Mr. Gingerich rolled into our driveway somewhere around 4 this afternoon.  Recommended by Pat & Mike McFall over there in that Escapee North Ranch place Les is a competent yard maintenance fellow.  Worked out a deal where he is going to come in & weed whack our weeds & I will rake up & dispose of them.  He will then look after our weed problem in the future.  No more Sheeps!!

THIS IS ONE OF THE CRITTERS THAT ATE UP OUR CACTUS

On our way south last week I remember spotting the smallest fifth wheel I had ever seen.  John from FINDING OUR WAY commented on my post he had one of those fifth wheel Scamps & would be happy to drop by sometime this winter & show it to us.  So John if your still reading bring it on by:))

PHEEBS GOT A LITTLE TIRED OF DIGGING CACTUS HOLES SO STOPPED FOR A SHORT SNOOZE

Not sure if I have Craig & Sue’s link correct for OUR FIVER ADVENTURES but welcome aboard folks & thanks for popping up on our Google Friend Connect list.   If I have the wrong link let me know & I’ll get the correct one in:))

IN A COMMENT FLOWERGIRL WONDERED HOW BIG THE ANT HILLS WERE IN TUESDAY’S POST PHOTO…HERE ARE THE SAME MOUNDS BUT IN PERSPECTIVE WITH A POWER POLE…OF COURSE I AM ONLY ‘ASSUMING’ THESE ARE ANT HILLS…COULD BE SOME KIND OF RODENT TOO………

 

And a big hello to Morris, Elizabeth, & Wilf Blakey way up there in that Timmins place Ontario Canada:))

KELLY RELAXES IN OUR BACK YARD WITH HER BOOK THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A new York Divorce Lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates. Saint Peter asks him "What have you done to merit entrance into Heaven?" The Lawyer thought a moment, then said, "A week ago, I gave a quarter to a homeless person on the street." Saint Peter asked Gabriel to check this out in the record, and after a moment Gabriel affirmed that this was true.
Saint Peter said, "Well , that's fine, but it's not really quite enough to get you into Heaven." The Lawyer said, "Wait Wait! There's more! Three years ago I also gave a homeless person a quarter." Saint Peter nodded to Gabriel, who after a moment nodded back, affirming this, too, had been verified.
Saint Peter then whispered to Gabriel, "Well, what do you suggest we do with this fellow?"
Gabriel gave the Lawyer a sidelong glance, then said to Saint Peter,
"Let's give him back his 50 cents and tell him to go to Hell."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

CACTUS MAN IS BACK ON HIS FEET:))

VULTURE PEAK APPEARS TO LOOM OVER CONGRESS 

So surprised when the Jeep started right up this morning.  Figured when I hit the key there would be nothing again.  I think last weeks long days with the key in the ignition while being towed put a lot of strain on the battery despite starting it up every day & letting it idle for awhile.  We will carry the mobile charger with us from now on just in case.  Had to wash all the road grime of the Jeep today too.  What a mess it was from being towed behind our rig for the first few days in a Michigan/Indiana rain.

I WASN’T OUT OF MY BED 2 MINUTES & GUESS WHO WAS RIGHT IN MY SPOT

Slowly beginning to shake off our travel lag from last week & make the adjustments to our new 3 hour time zone change from back home in Bayfield.  Traveling relatively quickly through time zones does take it’s toll.  And if your over 65 just about anything takes it’s toll these days:((

GIZMO COMES RACING AROUND THE CORNER TO SEE PHEEBS THIS MORNING

Spent an enjoyable morning burning accumulated brush & trimming Mesquite & Palo Verde trees.  Surprised at how fast & how many sucker branches had grown in just 6 months.  Kelly put a call in to a yard maintenance company here in Congress.  After our disastrous sheep decision we have decided to do things differently in the future.  First thing is to get rid of the weeds professionally.  I don’t think mowing them is the answer.  They will just be back next year waiting for us when we roll in again.

ANOTHER ONE OF PHEEBS MORNING PALS…ONE OF TWO YAKKY DOODLE DOGS…THEY ARE ALWAYS BARKING

I may have to rent a flashing neon sign saying something to the affect, ‘Stop Here For Free Birdseed’.  Feeders have been up for well over 24 hours & not one bird to be seen yet.  But how nice to hear the ‘Woot Weet’ of the Curved Bill Thrashers again not far away in the Mesquite trees.

HAD TO TRIM THESE PALO VERDE TREES BACK FROM THE SIDE OF THE WINNIE WAGON

Noticed one of the dumpy junkyard places down the street is for sale.  Half an acre with an old tumble down trailer on it.  Trailer has to be removed as part of the deal.  Asking price on the half acre is $69,900.  Real Estate company is promoting the lot as a great place for Snow Birds to park their rig for the winter.  Wow, were we ever lucky to get our house & property for the price we did just a year & a half ago.

 

BURNING UP SOME BACK YARD BRUSH IN THE FIRE PIT

I didn’t block the Skunk out last night. We might go with the Moth Balls & dog poop ideas sent in by readers.  I do not like to kill or cause grief to any kind of animal so if we can find a gentler peaceful way to discourage Louie LePew then that is what we’ll do.  Our neighbor has several skunks under his house & doesn’t mind them.  Said they keep snakes & mice at bay.  And maybe that skunk last night was blasting one of those Demon Squirrels for all we know.

 

I MANAGED TO GET CACTUS MAN BACK UP ON HIS FEET TODAY

Those nice red stone pathways I had in my little front yard Cactus garden last winter are pretty much gone now.  The small stones are still there but the hot unrelenting Arizona sun has bleached the color right out of them.  Hard to tell the graveled paths from the rest of the ground.  So that nice pathway idea is busted & another Arizona landscape lesson learned.

A CRATERS ON THE MOON PHOTO?  NOPE JUST ANT HILL DOMES AROUND THE CORNER

Still doing pretty good at staying away from those miserably aggravating morning television so called news programs.  Instead of heading out to the living room & habitually snapping on the TV every morning I just remain in my room seated in my comfortable Ikea chair with my Bose Ipod music & laptop.  It sometimes takes a location change to break a tough habit.  And how nice to sit here each morning & look out at 2 giant Saguaro Cactus right outside my window:))

 

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

VIC NESHYBA joined our ‘Google Friends Connect’ section today.  Thanks for dropping by Vic & nice to have you along:))

Just remembered a reader inquiring as to why I stopped mixing up my SOUNDS YUKKY-TASTES YUMMY daily soy shakes about a year & a half ago.  Had been drinking those amazingly wonderful shakes for over 10 years when for no real reason I just got up one morning & decided to have a bowl of porridge instead.  Been eating porridge every morning since.  But here is one reason I quit the shakes.  When traveling in the rig with a smaller refrigerator my soy shake ingredients were taking up a lot of room.  Had to deal with big bundles of Romain lettuce, packaged carrots, banana bunches, celery stalks, & a stock of apples.  My big messy shakes just got to be a little much in the small kitchen area we had.

 

THESE ARE THE CACTUS PADS I WILL BE RE-PLANTING 

We are off to Wickenburg in the morning.  Arco has a sale on heaters & with colder weather slowly approaching we want to be prepared.  Need a new blade for my Bow Saw as well.  Groceries are on the list too.  Got a Gravity chair to pick up at Ace hardware so the little Pheebs will be holding the fort in Congress for a few hours.

SUNRISE FROM GHOST TOWN ROAD

GROANER’S CORNER:((  GRANDPARENTS ANSWERING MACHINE
Good morning . . . At present we are not at home but, please Leave your message after you hear the beep. beeeeeppp ...
If you are one of our children, dial 1 and then select the option from 1 to 5 in order of "arrival" so we know who it is.
If you need us to stay with the children, press 2
If you want to borrow the car, press 3
If you want us to wash your clothes and ironing, press 4
If you want the grandchildren to sleep here tonight, press 5
If you want us to pick up the kids at school, press 6
If you want us to prepare a meal for Sunday or to have it delivered to your home, press 7
If you want to come to eat here, press 8
If you need money,press 9
If you are going to invite us to dinner, or, taking us to the theater start talking we are listening !!!!!!!!!!!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

A SKUNK JUST SET OFF A BIG STINK BOMB UNDER OUR HOUSE!!!!

HAVE ONLY SEEN ONE YELLOW JACKET SO FAR…LAST YEAR THEY WERE EVERYWHERE

When I took Pheebs out tonight & had a look to the sky I was fortunate to spot the International Space Station going over.  Have seen it many times years ago so recognized it’s familiar glow & steady movement across the night sky right away.  How nice to see the Milky Way again & all the stars.  Oh my, all those wonderful stars I have not seen since leaving here last April.  And the pulsating fast moving moving lights darting amongst the stars.  Fighter pilots in their F16’s on dog fighting night maneuvers.  I could hear them all day & see the white puffs of markers in the sky but never did catch sight of one as they dodged & dashed around & around through white puffy clouds.

 

THIS WAS CACTUS MAN A YEAR AGO

THIS IS CACTUS MAN TODAY…HOPE TO HAVE HIM BACK UP ON HIS FEET TOMORROW

Gordon in our Shout Box is right about the overall cost of fuel being cheaper traveling from west to east.  We have always noticed that as well.  Last Spring on our 4 day necessity rocket ship trip home in the 23’ Sunseeker our fuel bill was $900.  Of course we took the shortest possible Interstate route as well up through Oklahoma City & St. Louis.  I believe Interstate travel is cheaper on fuel in the long run.  Cut’s way down on the stopping & starting of secondary roads & small towns.  Personally I prefer secondary roads but if one is in a hurry to reach a destination Interstates are the way to go.  Heading east one always has a good chance of tail winds.  Our trip to Arizona last week was a longer route & put us into some mountain driving over around Trinidad & Santa Fe.  I’m sure that attributed to our gas mileage numbers as well.  Luckily we never ran into any kind of head wind the whole trip.   And, I think Chevy engines are probably better on fuel consumption than Fords.  Commenter Camille explained that when she said………….. “I sell RVs at Camping World of Tampa and just want to back up your comment about the V-8 in the Damon having more pep than the Winnie V-10. In your case, it is true, the V-10 in a class C puts out 305hp where your Vortec was rated at 340hp. However, in today's class A's, the newer Fords have a "beefed up" engine and chassis, so your Challenger with today's engines would have 362hp. Class C's have not been changed”.

Commenter Teri had a couple questions as well…..”Just curious, if you are not getting better gas mileage in the new rig - why did you downsize to a smaller rig that is not as comfortable and that you will now have to pay to add solar to the new rig”…….Well that’s a darn good question.  Easier to drive & park for Kelly – brings us up to 2011 from 2003 meaning less maintenance in the long run.  I have absolutely no interest, skills, or patience for trying to fix older aging vehicles.  Tires, exhaust systems, shocks, brakes, etc are less expensive on a Class C chassis as well.  Not as high a profile as a Class A.   And a smaller unit is easier to keep clean.   And I really appreciate having my own easy in & out driver’s door.  That’s a biggy.  Anyway, those are just a few of the pluses for a C.  There are pluses for A’s as well & cons for both.

JEAN & SKIP’S ROOSTER IS STILL ALIVE & WELL:))

JOHN & JACKY’S PRICKLY PEAR IS LOOKING A BIT STRESSED SO I GAVE IT A DRINK

AND MONICA’S GARDEN NIGHT LIGHT HAS FIT RIGHT IN JUST FINE, JUST HAVE TO REDO THAT WRECKED-UP LITTLE CACTUS GARDEN >>>

Also, wondering about something in an earlier post - your description of the Ford engine gearing down automatically - I have the Ford E450 engine and I change to 3rd, or sometimes 2nd on my own when going downhill - am I missing something?…..Engine only does that when one is driving with their Tow/Haul feature engaged.  Otherwise in normal driving mode the engine will not gear itself down.  In our Winnie the towing button is in the end of the gearshift.  In the Sunseeker & Damon the button was on the dash.   When towing something of weight the button should be engaged.

 

FOR VEHICLES NOT BEING DRIVEN EVERY DAY IN OUR AREA IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO LEAVE ENGINE HOODS UP TO DISCOURAGE PACK RATS FROM CHEWING WIRES & BUILDING NESTS

I might have been a little hasty blaming our neighbors sheep for the total destruction of our cactus plants.  Talked to that neighbor this morning & he said yes the Sheep did eat some of the Cactus which surprised him.  Said the main culprit in the destruction of our Cactus plants were the large desert squirrels living under our house.  Said he saw 3 of them this summer dragging cactus chunks back to their lair there.  I now remember friends of ours up the road telling us about all the problems they have with with those Devil Squirrels on their property.  They shoot them on sight.  Apparently these Squirrels are very nasty customers.  And we do know for sure we have critters under the house at the moment because we can hear them.  Could be Skunks, Pack Rats, or large Demon Squirrels.  We are in the process of trying to figure out right now how to get rid of them.

THIS IS WHERE THE CRITTERS ARE COMING & GOING UNDER OUR HOUSE…HAVE TO GET THEM OUT OF THERE & THEN SEAL THE HOLE

Mathew our Sheep fellow said he is going to do a major cut back on his Cactus plants shortly & would give us all the cuttings we want.  It’s not the standard Prickly Pear cactus he has, it’s something different.  Much bigger pads & will grow 10 to 12 feet high.  Exactly what I want.

 

WHEN WE LEFT LAST APRIL I HAD THIS ENTIRE FENCE LINE PLANTED

LOOKING KIND OF BLEAK NOW

Realistically we cannot grow anything else here except hardy Cactus plants.  Reason we can’t grow other things is simply because we are only here 6 months of the year.  To grow things I really like we would have to be here all summer to water & chase critters away.  And that just isn’t practical.  We don’t want to have to pay someone to just come in & water plants here either.  Arizona is a very dry & arid place & here in Congress we pay for every drop of water we use.  So we are limited to Cactus plants or anything that is native to the surrounding desert & will survive on it’s own.

DESPITE BEING TRAMPLED I SEE NEW GROWTH HERE FOR THIS CACTUS

  

ALSO SEE SOME NEW GROWTH HOPE FOR THESE TRODDEN FELLAS AS WELL

FOUND THIS BARREL CACTUS TIPPED OVER IN THE DESERT LAST WINTER SO HAULED IT HOME…I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE OK

I keep a pail in my washroom.  It takes exactly 13 glasses of water from my sink’s hot water tap to finally get hot water.  I don’t like running water down the drain for nothing so I fill the first 10 glasses of cold water plus 2 glass of warming water & dump them in my pail.  Also set the pail in the shower & run the shower head water into it until I have the temperature correctly adjusted before stepping into the shower.  I then use that pail of water to water things outside.  It’s a win/win situation.

 

NICE TO SEE THESE YELLOW FLOWERS IN THE DESERT 

Jeep wouldn’t start this morning.  Stone dead.  Jumped it with a 700W portable charger we carry.  Let the Jeep run for half an hour.  Went to start it a couple hours later & it was stone dead again.  Jumped it a second time.  We bought the 2006 Jeep in June of 2010 & have no idea how old the battery is.  Cables are tight on the posts.  If it doesn’t start I’ll jump it in the morning & head for the Congress garage.  Do not want to run the serious risk of an old battery not starting way out in the desert somewhere. 

OUR ‘CANADIAN TIRE’ MOBILE CHARGER

Got last week’s flat tire out of Winnies storage bin so will see what the fellow has in used spares.  Or should we replace that spare with a new Michelin?   Three of my bird feeders are now up so we’ll see how long it takes the feathered gang to notice a new food source.  Spring on our screen door broke.  Fixed it.  Fired up my weed whacker & it wore me out in about 10 minutes.  Could take me a year trying to deal with the weeds that way.  Anybody out there got a good cheap lawnmower that will start every time on the first pull?  A lawnmower would be the best way to deal with the type of weeds we have.  As much as I hate the noise & unreliable starting ways of small gasoline engines I guess I may have no choice but to use the infernal things!!

A LAWN MOWER WOULD MAKE SHORT WORK OF THESE GUYS

In Bayfield I use our desktop computer to change my header photo periodically with no problem.  Not so when I tried it Sunday night with my laptop here.  Did all the same things I do with the desk top but could not get the photo to fit the frame.  Tried again today but gave up in frustration & eliminated the header photo entirely.  Any ideas?

CHAIR ON LEFT IS GOING BACK TO CAMPING WORLD

One of our Camping World Gravity chairs has an assembly mistake & Camping World has agreed to take it back & reimburse us.  Going to get another Gravity chair at Wickenburg’s Ace hardware & use the box to return our faulty one to Camping World.  Also going to look into either Direct or Dish TV & get rid of our Canadian Shaw provider.  Would like to have a dish mounted on the house & be done with this mobile satellite stuff once & for all.  We have a dome TracVision set-up in our Winnie Wagon so would like to have the same programing for that as our house.  Kelly’s working out the logistics.  I’m working on another peanut butter & honey sandwich.

 

As I sit here tonight just about ready to hit the ‘Publish’ button a strong pungent skunk odor fills the house.  Kelly said I smell a skunk.  Me too.  A couple hours ago she had partially blocked that hole with a cement block.  I figure it is a skunk we have been hearing & when he came to go out tonight he found his entry way partially blocked, panicked, & let off a big stink bomb right under our house.  I cautiously slipped outside with a flashlight & unblocked the hole so Stinkbomb Louie LaPew can get out.  I will go back later & block the hole hoping that he is out somewhere foraging around for some grubs.  He’s gonna be really ticked when he comes back & his entryway is blocked.  He just might blast a big load of skunk juice all over our whole house.

GROANER’S CORNER:((     A young couple drove several miles down a country road, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument, and neither wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules and pigs, the husband sarcastically asked, "Are they relatives of yours?"
"Yes," his wife replied. "I married into the family."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.