SURPRISE VISIT BY A FELLOW RV BLOGGER & HIS BISCUIT

HAD NO IDEA THIS MORNING WHEN I WOKE UP I WOULD BE SLUGGING AROUND RAILWAY TIES

Warm enough for me to sleep with my window wide open last night & fan going to boot.  Not warm enough to be uncomfortable & not cool enough to close the window.  This will end in a few days as temps are predicted to begin dropping.

PHEEBS, I GOT MY EYE ON YOU >>>

We are either dealing with a very wily Skunk or a nimble footed Pack Rat.  The popcorn leading up to both cages was gone this morning as well as the popcorn in the cages.  And one of the bait dishes consisting of popcorn & cat food was tipped over.  But neither trap was sprung.  Wily critters indeed.  And the Critter Cam in the attic showed there was no activity up there again.  Tonight I will place the Critter Cam outside to monitor the Skunk traps & see who we have getting food out of the traps without setting off the traps!!

POPCORNS GONE & NO SIGN OF THE SKUNK

Determined this morning our Sirius Satellite Radio mobile vehicle antennae is indeed broken so if we want our nice relaxing ambient music while rolling down the road we are going to have to find a new antennae that fits our particular model of radio.  Seems every time they come up with a new radio model they of course have to change the antennae port which I’m thinking is purposely done to generate the sale of Sirius Satellite radio antennae's at nearly $30 a pop.

HELPING PHEEBS WITH A STICKER IN HER PAW THIS MORNING

We had noticed some HUGE piles of railroad ties sitting by the tracks in Congress near the junction of highways 71 & 89.  Those big timbers are often used in landscape gardening projects.  On her way back from Wickenburg Monday Kelly saw some guys working there so stopped in to see if we could buy a few ties.  They said yes & gave her a number to call.  The railroad just went through here a few months ago replacing hundreds if not thousands of old ties & these piles of ties were from that upgrade.  Kelly phoned that number & got a purchase order number for 16 ties.  Hooked up our Saturday morning garage sale trailer & off we went.  Took us about 3 minutes to reach the pile of ties.

 

Workers were in the process of loading a couple big flat bed trailers with banded bundles of 16 ties each.  Fella said that truck was headed for California.  Lowes buys them & sells them for about $14 to $18 apiece.  We got em right there beside the tracks for $6 apiece.  It was a good test for our new to us utility trailer.  A young fellow deftly handled his fork lift machine with ease & loaded 8 ties on our trailer.  We whisked them home where I slugged them off the trailer.  We were back for our second & final load about 10 minutes later.  And that was that.  We now had 16 railroad ties to try & figure out what to do with.

IT WAS A GOOD TEST FOR OUR LITTLE TRAILER & IT PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS

These railway ties are 8’ long & they are not light so I had to figure out some ways of moving them around & getting them into place.  And then to get them level.  I started out using some rope, a couple shovels, & a few blocks of wood.  I ended up just finally manhandling the darn things into place.  One of the problems I have when I get myself into this kind of a project is that I simply do not know when to stop.  I sort of get it in my mind that I am going to keep at the project until I either get it done or I hurt myself.  Well I didn’t get the project done & I was lucky enough to be spared hurting myself by a surprise visitor.  Had this fellow not dropped in I would have just kept going until one of my arms fell off or something.

 

I didn’t recognize the spiffy looking white 4 door new Jeep Sahara when it pulled into the driveway.  Didn’t even recognize the driver at first.  But then I saw little Biscuit:)))))  Well by golly it was RETIRED ROD his very self.  Boy was I glad to see these guys because that meant an automatic work break for me.  Rod hadn’t set out from Mesa with the intention of coming to Congress.  He has a squeaky back seat in the Jeep & him & Biscuit were out for a test drive to see if the could find the squeak.  Before long they were up around our neighborhood so decided to pop in.

 

WE HAD US DUELING NIKONS AT 3 PACES

 

OOOOOO I LOVE THOSE PHEEBER SMOOCHES

   

Really nice to see Rod again.  When we last saw him & Biscuit a few weeks ago in Albuquerque NM we were both very tired & didn’t stay too long.  Had just come from Crackle Barrel & were heading for the Route 66 Casino to grab some much needed rest.  Kinda bothered me we hadn’t visited with Rod longer but when he pulled in today I felt better.  Hauled ourselves up on the porch & set us a spell.  Kelly & Pheebs returned from the Library so Biscuit & Pheebs were able to get some rollicking running time in.  That little Biscuit is a cutie patootie.

 

Always lots to talk about with fellow RV Bloggers & today was no exception.  We tried to get Rod to stay for supper but he had just stopped at the Wickenburg McDonalds before rolling on up to our place.  Rod stayed a couple hours & Kelly didn’t let him & Biscuit get away without taking a turkey sandwich for the road with them.  Thanks for dropping by big guy & who knows, maybe we’ll get ourselves on a road trip down around your neck of the woods sometime this winter:))

TOODLES

We also had us an electrician fellow drop around today.  He actually works for Les our yard guy but does electrical work as well.  Needed an extra receptacle put in my bedroom plus my bathroom light is just hanging from the ceiling by it’s wires & that was needed fixing as well.   Also wanted him to have a look at a few other electrical problems in the house.  He will be coming back again in a few weeks to rewire some old wiring that was never done right in the first place when the house was built back in the 50’s.  Electricians name is Wendell.  Nice young fella.

<<< CHECKING OUR MAIN FUSE PANEL & WORKING ON MY HANGING BATHROOM LIGHT FIXTURE

I set the Critter Cam up outside tonight facing the Skunk traps.  Kelly brewed up some more popcorn & sprinkled it around & inside the 2 live traps.  If we don’t catch anything in the cages again maybe we can at least catch something on our Critter Cam.

Another device that is handy for spotting critters at night are Digital Night Vision Monoculars.  And thanks to another RVing Blogger I just happen to have a pair of those.  A few years ago Alex from SPRINTER & I met up in a Tim Hortons’ coffee shop in Goderich Ontario.  Alex presented me with a pair of Ranger Night Vision Monoculars made by YUKON ADVANCED OPTICS.  Monday night I spent some time again scanning our front yard for Cactus eating critters right from my bedroom window.  Also use them occasionally if & when I hear Coyotes near the house at night.  It’s amazing what one can see in total darkness where the unaided human eye cannot go.  Thanks again Alex.  By the way, Alex recently completed a 7,456 mile round trip through 18 States.  And he even made it through Congress Arizona as well:)) 

DIGITAL NIGHT VISION MONOCULARS

Sure like walking out in our little front yard Cactus garden on Moonlit nights.  With a host of Crickets providing their soothing background ambient music it is just an overall good feeling seeing the landscape bathed in the glow of a ka-zillion million Moonbeams………………...

 

GUESS I KNOW WHAT I WILL BE DOING IN THE MORNING…….LOVE IT:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((    Patient: Doctor, if I give up wine, women, and song, will I live longer?
Doctor: Not really. It will just seem longer.

Patient: Doctor, I think I swallowed a pillow.
Doctor: How do you feel?
Patient: A little down in the mouth.

As the doctor completed an examination of the patient, he said, "I can't find a cause for your complaint. Frankly, I think it's due to drinking."
"In that case," said the patient, "I'll come back when you're sober"

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

KELLY HEADS TO WICKENBURG WHILE PHEEBS & I HOLD THE FORT…AND THE SKUNK TRAPS ARE SET……….

OUR ARIZONA ADOBE DIGS

I woke up to the sounds of a crowing Rooster & Pheebs woke up to a big tummy rub.  And I felt the warmest morning breeze through my bedroom window I have ever felt on a still dark Arizona morning.  Knew we were in for a hot day so whatever things we had to get done we had better get done early.

WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE A YEAR & A HALF AGO WE ALSO MADE THEM INCLUDE THIS PIECE OF SEVERED PROPERTY BESIDE OUR HOUSE AS WELL………

Had the attic creature stirred in the night Kelly was prepared to go out & sleep in the rig.  But not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  Maybe it sensed the Critter Cam & being camera shy did not want to have it’s picture splashed across the internet via my blog.  So no pics on the Critter Cam this morning but I do have it set up for tonight again.

THIS IS THE ONLY BIRD PICTURE I MANAGED TODAY, BOY DID WE EVER HAVE A YUMMY SUPPER:))

At the suggestion of a couple readers Kelly tried re-formatting that SD card out of my Nikon D90.  And it seems to have worked.  SD card is back in & so far no error messages.  Thanks:))

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ:))

Devoted some time to the rig this morning doing a pre-trip check.  Oils were Ok, battery cells good, greased the slide in step & slide gear.  Partially filled the fresh water tank, etc. etc.  Just have to load er up with a few things & we’ll be ready to rumble next week.  Long range weather forecast is calling for rain on the week-end followed by cooler temps for this area.  I think we topped out around 85F today.  And I was reminded by ME & MY DOG’s post today that I had better see if I can find out why our Sirius Satellite radio antennae lost the satellite signal about half way to Arizona a few weeks ago.  Radio itself is fine & I have it playing inside on a Sirius boom box at the moment.  Has to be some kind of an antennae problem. 

<<< LES DROPPED OVER LATE THIS AFTERNOON & SET THE SKUNK TRAPS…STAY TUNED LOREE I MIGHT HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT SKUNK CAPTURE QUESTION SHORTLY

I’m sure Kelly was happy to head off to Wickenburg this morning by herself.  She likes hitting stores of interest & of course I don’t like dragging around in stores much at all.  Always nicer for her if I’m not along grumbling about all the store stops.  She always gets far more accomplished without me along anyway.  And besides, Pheebs & I were happy to stay just where we was today.  She picked up an Arizona tag for the utility trailer today too.  And the lady at the ‘Out West Title Company’ remembered Kelly from last winter when we sold our Class A Damon Challenger. 

AWW NUTS JUST FOUND THIS IN OUR REFRIGERATOR >>>

In my bathroom there was a deep closet made of crappy cheap shelves.  Cowboy construction for sure & not very well done.  It is one of the areas we have detected dead mouse smells & mouse dirt.  This morning I tore that whole mess of a closet out of there.  No wonder critters were getting in from under the house.  Sure was shabbily built.  We’re going to have someone come in & finish off the walls properly & seal up the holes.  May put some shelves in again but not so deep this time.  We have one other problem area in a crawl space behind that closet which also needs attention & some renovating.

  

TO THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT OF THIS CLOSET SPACE IS MY STAND-UP SHOWER

John over at JUST FINDING OUR WAY has another modification completed on his Scamp.  For all you mechanical & techno do-it-yourselfers out here you really ought to keep a close eye on John’s blog because you are going to pick up a lot of ‘how-to’ stuff along the way.  Just boggles my mind how some people can make projects like this look & sound so easy.

  <<< FLARE DROPPED BY AN F-16 FIGHTER JET OVER OUR HOUSE TODAY

Thanks for the name suggestions for our hand carved wooden garden Eagle.  Cactus Jack seems easy to remember but I like El Pica too.  And how clever Butterbean Carpenter’s AL E. OOP.  I wonder how many folks remember that old Alley Oop cartoon strip.  And did you know there was a 45 RPM record out about ALLEY OOP.  It was done by the Hollywood Argyles.  I know because I bought that 45.  Again thanks for the many suggestions from folks on Critter deterrents.  Mr Ed from the FLIP FLOP RESORT INN  had a couple suggestions.  That ‘strobe light’ idea is commonly used in the South-West when keeping Pack Rats out of from under engine hoods.  And I will let Les handle the Skunk or Skunks issue.  He’s had a lot of experience with Skunks under his own house.  And it’s important the Skunk is caught within the next few days before the weather begins to cool off or else it will go into hibernation & we’ll have to deal with him when he wakes up in the Spring.  Would rather get this problem taken care of now.  And to answer CAVE DWELLER DONNA’s question, yes we did use our fireplace a few times last winter.  Not very heat efficient with most of the heat going up the chimney.  Probably not something we will use much this winter either.  NEW MEXICO DESERT HAWK identified that skull in Sunday night’s post as that of a horse.  And yes LADYBUG the sheep in last night’s post are the very same darn varmints that ate our cactus………. 

 

We have been keeping kind of an eye on our weather back home & it has not been good.  Cold temperatures, snow, snow squalls, power outages, road closures & the usual rash of highway accidents due to slippery roads.  Kelly & I are very fortunate in that we do not have any strong Christmas or work related ties & are able to escape Winter’s nasty grip each year & head south by mid October.  Our November weather here in Congress has been nothing short of fantabulous.  To me November was always the most depressing month of the year back home.  And sitting here tonight my mind wanders & wonders……what has ever become of TIOGA GEORGE?

WE WERE ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATE FOR THIS QUICKLY FADING FIERY SUNSET IN OUR BACK YARD TONIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  You are working on your family genealogy and for sake of example, let's say that your great-great uncle, Remus Starr, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889.
A cousin has supplied you with the only known photograph of Remus, showing him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture are the words:
"Remus Starr: Horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, 1885. Escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged, 1889."
Pretty grim situation, right? But let's revise things a bit. We simply crop the picture, scan in an enlarged image and edit it with image processing software so that all that is seen is a head shot.
Next, we rewrite the text:
"Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad.
Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

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

 

TURNED OUT TO BE A SMOOCHIE MORNING WALK FOR PHEEBS

 

NICE TO SEE SOME AUTUMN COLORS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

First thing Pheebs & I saw when we stepped outside about 6 this morning was a Meteorite streaking through the Big Dipper from West to East.  A nice way to start the day.

Although I didn’t have the Critter Cam positioned to catch our cactus garden Varmint actually eating the cactus I think it is safe to say our night time visitor is a Wascaly Wabbit alwight.  Tonight the cam goes up into the attic to see what is living up there & keeping Kelly awake at night as it rumbles around right over top Kelly’s bedroom.  I was woke up last night by the pounding.  But it wasn’t the Critter doing the pounding.  It was Kelly with a broom stick pounding on the trap door leading to the attic!!!!

  

CRITTER CAM CAUGHT THIS RABBIT NEAR MY PLANTED CACTUS 

ALTHOUGH BLURRY IN THE EARLY MORNING DAWN I DID MANAGE TO CATCH THIS BUNNY IN THE ACT OF EATING A CACTUS PAD I JUST PLANTED A FEW DAYS AGO

With the exception of the Skunk I think the best way to deal with these pesky critters is to get ourselves a live trap.  This is simply a cage with some bait in it.  Critter goes in to get the snacks & the trap door shuts.  Animal is not harmed.  I could then transport the Critter to a similar environment away from our property.  Killing anything is not an option for me.  It’s the same way we had to deal with Squirrels in Bayfield a few years ago.  When I worked at the Stratford Art Gallery one time it is the same way I dealt with a Raccoon problem there.

 

CRITTER CAM IS SET UP IN THE ATTIC TONIGHT READY TO CAPTURE SOME GHOSTLY VARMINTS

Guest in the Shout Box asks, “Do you need to water the cactus to get them to root”?  Answer to that is yes & no.  A Cactus pad just thrown on the ground can somehow root itself but when planting like I do it is best to give them some water to speed up the rooting process.  I give them a bit of water about once a week for a few weeks & then let Mother Nature take over & finish the job.  Should also mention there is a difference between the Prickly Pear Cactus which grows wild here & the type of Cactus I have been planting.  Prickly Pear is just that…..prickly.  If one bumps into a Prickly Pear cactus it can be very painful.  Type of Cactus I have been planting is called Nopal & it has no stickers.  Pads are very smooth & leathery feeling.

 

SMOOTH NOPAL ON LEFT & PAINFUL PRICKLY PEAR ON RIGHT

Remember me talking about the garage sale clock that didn’t work in Sunday’s post.  Well the reason it didn’t work is because I tried to get it to work.  Kelly later worked her charms on the clock & it sprang to life & has been keeping perfect time ever since.  It’s the way things happen at our house all the time.  I try, nothing works.  Kelly tries, everything works.  Great for her….not so great for me:((

I’M THINKING OF PUTTING A STRAP ON THIS WORKING CLOCK NOW & TURNING IT INTO A WRISTWATCH

It just got too hot too fast today.  It was over 70 on our 8 o’clock morning walk already & by 11 we were well on our way to the 80’s.  So the rest of our day was spent inside with windows & doors closed & fans going.  We were comfortable.

ONE OF THESE GUYS IS NAMED ‘PORK CHOP’

TURNED OUT TO BE A SMOOCHIE MONDAY MORNING WALK FOR PHEEBS

   

PHEEBE MEETS NASH OUT FOR A WALK IN THE DESERT

OH OH…SHEEP ENCOUNTER COMING UP

GEEEEEZZZZ, MORE SMOOCHES……

My Nikon D90 started malfunctioning this morning & kept popping up a ‘CHR’ error message.  Checked my manual which told me the SD card was the problem.  Took it out & replaced it with the card in my spare D40 camera.  All is well with the world again.  I will replace the D40 with a 2GB card.  I never store photos on cards so do not need a more expensive bigger storage card.  I erase my SD cards every night when I transfer the pics from my cameras to my computer.  That SD card had not been out of the camera since I put it in there about 3 years ago.  My D90 was new then.

 

CURVE BILL THRASHER ON SOME NOPAL CACTUS

Kelly reminded me of another fellow RV Blogger this morning who had slipped through the cracks on me.  I remember this lady & her dog from a couple years ago.  Another one of those brave single RV’ers out there doing it on her own.  You can find ME & MY DOG.....AND MY RV on our sidebar from here on in.  She is in Quartzsite with her dog Katie at the moment & having quite a time with Critters & Varmints getting into her Class C’s engine compartment etc.  Has a nice big Lizard photo as well.

DON’T KNOW WHAT THIS CRITTER WITH THE BIG TEETH WAS BUT I SUSPECT A TYRANNOSAURUS REX……:))

Burned a bit of brush, did some yard raking, worked on getting the shed re-organized, & spent most of my time inside where it was cooler watching a bit of TV.  A week from today we will likely be in California somewhere. 

THIS ELDERLY LADY WAS OUT FOR A SUNDAY MORNING DRIVE ON GHOST TOWN ROAD

{UPDATE}  Talked to our yard fellow Les late today & he is going to bring over a live trap & remove the Skunk probably early Tuesday evening.  He will also deal with the Pack Rat that may be in our attic plus put us in touch with someone who can do some minor renovations for us like sealing up some of the spots where Critters are getting in.  And getting in as far as my bathroom too!!

 

WE ALWAYS HAVE NICE SCENERY ON OUR EARLY MORNING WALKS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  When the waitress in a New York City restaurant brought him the soup du jour, the Englishman was a bit dismayed. "Good heavens," he said, "what is this?"
"Why, it's bean soup," she replied.
"I don't care what it has been," he sputtered. "What is it now?"

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