SUNROOM THOUGHTS, A BIRD PHOTO TIP, & FEEDJIT LIVE TRAFFIC

A SIGN OF SPRING AT OUR HOUSE TODAY
Half a dozen short sharp wind gusts early Saturday night had us both on our feet & out the door wondering, ‘what the heck was that’.  Noticed it was raining again so all & all I guess we did get a pretty good soaking Saturday after all.  Went I went out with Pheebs this morning at 6 we had a clear sky overhead with stars from horizon to horizon.  Two hours later when we head out for our walk we had a heavy cloud cover sitting on some of the distant mountain tops.  By 10 a.m. the mountains were free of clouds & we had clearing skies with warming sunshine.  But it didn’t last.  Clouds rolled in by mid afternoon, temps dropped & we ended up inside with the heater going for the rest of the day:((

 

Porch furniture all back out, RV vents, windows, & door open again, chairs & tables back on the cement patio & the shed doors open once more.  Bird feeders filled & we were good to go for another day.  Go where I didn’t know but ready to go anyway.

FROM A DISTANCE WE THOUGHT THIS CACTUS HAD A BLOOM, BUT……………
Deer Park Lodge’s owner will be in England for a week beginning today so the calls have been forwarded to Kelly & she will be taking the reigns until Kirsten returns.  Didn’t take long for reservation inquiries to come in today & I once again heard that familiar warm & charming professionally friendly voice as Kelly once again eased right back into her familiar driver’s seat:))

Our house has an ‘L’ shape to it at it’s southwest corner.  Every time I look at that area I see a nice little sunroom built on there.  A sunroom would serve a very practical purpose in the winter time.  With no central heating such as a furnace our house remains on the cold side.  We only have 2 small windows facing south & that’s not much room for the warm southern sun to slip it’s warming rays into the house.  Just for fun I measured it out this morning & the room would be 15 x18 feet with the longer wall facing facing south.  With big windows it would for sure be the warmest room in the house during winter.  It would look out onto our quiet back yard & nearby bird feeders.  Interior entrance door would be through our dining room with a second door leading outside onto a west facing cement sidewalk & 16 x 17 foot concrete patio.  It’s all a dream of course but we all know where our dreams can sometimes lead us.  If I was a handy person I would already have added this to our house for sure……And then there is my old weathered wooden gate & Spanish arch idea between the house & garden shed.  Okay, Okay, that’s enough Sunday morning dreaming out of this guy for now.  Back to reality…………………..

A SUNROOM COULD FIT NICELY FROM THAT WINDOW AT RIGHT OVER TO THAT CORNER BESIDE THE WHITE DOOR AT LEFT
 
YEP, LOOKS LIKE A MIGHTY FINE PLACE FOR A SUNROOM ALRIGHT
And here’s a little tip for photographing birds around your bird feeder.  I have noticed for some time now bird’s around feeder’s have flight patterns.  Many birds coming into the feeder do not come from a long distance directly to the feeder itself.  They will often come in & land in a tree near by first.  They will watch the feeder making sure there are no threats.  When they feel safe they fly the last short distance from their branch to the feeder.  Birds will often use that same spot on a branch to stop for a few seconds before flying in.  Sit & watch your feeder & try to determine where that favorite spot in the tree is where birds are first landing.  Take your camera whether hand held or on a tripod & pre- focus on that spot.  Now if you are on Auto Focus, switch it off.  As long as you don’t move your camera position all you have to do is wait for a bird or birds to fly into that pre-focused zone.  ‘Click-Click-Click’  With a bit of practice & concentration you can anticipate the birds movements & catch them in flight coming into or out of the pre-focused site.  Try it, this is much easier than trying to chase small birds around in flight with your camera:))

  

After traveling for who knows how many years without a tow car SASSY just got herself a toad.  Raining? No problem just leave the Harley parked & take the toad.  Temperatures below freezing?  No problem just leave the Harley parked & take the toad.  Ahhhhhhh, what a life eh:))
 
  

Sharon over at THE ODD ESSAY had a comment question in which she asked, “I see you have "Live Feed" (or something similar) way down on the right hand column... it's pretty neat! Looks like a fun thing to have”.  Not sure but I think she might be referring to FEEDJIT.  This is a live traffic feed showing in ‘real time’ people clicking on our Blog site & where they are coming from.  From an icon on my desktop it also shows me what photos people find interesting & click on.  Also tells me from who’s blog site they came to ours from & who’s blog site they are going to next.  Tells me from what Country visitors have arrived as well.  Not that it’s important to me but Feedjit also tells what browser & operating system visitors have.  Also states the date & time of each visit.  As an example, in the last 5 minutes visitors have clicked on our blog from Penticton BC, Blossom TX, Ft Lauderdale FLA, Hayward CA, Las Vegas Nevada, Franklin Tennessee, Houston TX, Oakland Ca, Parker AZ, Dayton Ohio, Birmingham Alabama, Herbert Saskatchewan, Paradise Valley AZ, Columbus Georgia, Chandler AZ, Tyler TX, Phoenix AZ, Kitchener Ontario, etc. etc.  You may or may not have noticed a trend here but stats also show American visits to our site outnumber Canadian visitors to our site by about 10 to 1.  It’s not often I look at our statistics but with Sharon’s question this morning it was kind of fun to have a look at a few of them again.

WHILE TAKING SOME BIRD PHOTOS THIS AFTERNOON THIS LITTLE BUTTERFLY CAME ALONG & LANDED ON A BLOOMING FLOWER PLANT BESIDE WHERE I WAS SITTING
GROANER’S CORNER:(( Few people know that the late Mr. Maxwell, founder of Maxwell House Coffee, was a veteran skydiver and RVer. Near his hometown, it was common to find Mr. Maxwell at the airport in his Avion Fifth Wheel, relaxing and visiting with his many friends as he waited for his next jump. One fateful day, however, something went terribly wrong, and his parachute failed to open. His friends and employees were horrified, to stay the least, at the demise of this very kind and gentle man. And so when it came to preparing his epitaph, they had no problem finding the words: "Mr. Maxwell . . . Good to the last drop."

A RAIN DRIZZLED GRAY SUN SPLASHED SATURDAY KEPT US MAINLY INDOORS

 

WE DEFINITELY DID HAVE US AN UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER DAY

Heard a bit more rain in the night but overall I don’t think we really had the harder rain the desert really needed.  Shallow root plants were happy but deeper rooted trees were not.  I poked a little hole in my dirt pile & could see the rain had soaked in 2 or 3 inches.  WeIl at least everything looked pretty darn wet first thing this morning & I did notice that sweet desert aroma permeating the air after the rain.  I had also been hoping for a hard rain to wash all the Sedona dust off the Winnie Wagon as well.

NICE TO SEE DALLY AGAIN THIS MORNING >>>

With the heavy dark cloud cover hanging overhead this morning the question was whether to take a chance & put all our outside furniture & South-West decor back outside again.  Would it rain?  Probably not, but……  Oh life is tough when it comes down to major life altering decisions like that isn’t it…………..{Update:}  I did finally put the porch furniture back about 1:15 this afternoon.  It started raining again at 1:25 p.m.  Back in with the porch furniture.  At 1:45 we were in blazing sunlight but I was not about to be fooled a second time.  Porch furniture stayed inside.  Twenty minutes after that we had the hardest rain of the whole day for about twenty minutes & that was that.  Now the trees were even happy:))

I’M SURE MY RECENTLY PLANTED JOSHUA TREES LOVED THE RAIN TODAY

Working away at my post tonight with my kind of music emanating from our Sirius Satellite radio beside me I am once again reminded what it is about music I love so much.  For me quite simply speaking it is the sound of whatever it is making the music.  The human voice like any musical instrument is an originator of sound & when I hear someone singing or a voice being used in a piece of music it is the sound of that voice I listen to.  I am not interested so much in what the singer has to say as much as I am interested in the sound quality of a singer’s voice.  As an example, I was never a big Bob Dylan fan simply because I never did care for the sound of his voice.  But I did like his ‘Nashville Skyline’ album years ago when he concentrated more on his voice than the meaning of his words.   There are many, many, fine sounding voices in the world both young & old.  Blending voice sounds produces many pleasant harmonies just as blending musical instruments creates so many ‘pleasing to the ear sounds’.  Put all those fine instruments together in a quality way & you have what I like to call music.  And yes there are songs I do enjoy the words too.  When the Sons Of The Pioneers with their excellent harmonies paint me wonderful word pictures of the Santa Fe Trail, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, or When It’s Springtime In The Rockies, I do pay attention & let their words & music take me to the places they sing about………………..:))

Here’s a good example of how I am an impatient guy.  We all like ice cream right?  Some may like ice cream right out of the freezer when it’s rock solid hard.  Some may like it softened up a bit & will set it out on the counter to soften up for 10 minutes.  I am of the latter & like my ice cream soft.  But my impatient nature comes into play with the 10 minute waiting factor.  Thank heavens somebody years ago invented the Micro-wave oven for people like me.  ‘Zap’ & 30 seconds later I am pouring ice cream with the consistency of a Milkshake down the hatch & loving it……………..

HERE WE ARE 2 YEARS AGO TODAY BOONDOCKED JUST SOUTH OF NORTH RANCH NEAR CONGRESS…WE WERE IN SOME ANXIOUS DAYS AT THE TIME NEGOTIATING OUR HOUSE DEAL…RV SUE & HER CANINE CREW WERE CAMPED JUST A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY OFF TO OUR RIGHT

I noticed on Sherry’s blog, IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR DREAMS she talked about her husband David’s recent haircut.  Having just reluctantly done the same thing I did leave these thoughts on Sherry’s post regarding David’s haircut…….'Well, as a recent convert to short hair I can attest to the fact it is definitely easier to manage. If my hair had not become so unmanageable I would have kept it. Maybe David is the same way. In a world of shorter hair some of us guys just prefer the longer look. It's our freedom statement. It's our wild west Buffalo Bill look. It's our 'I don't wanna look like everybody else' look. It's that rebellious nature some of we fellers have in us. It's that little boy in us saying, 'no I don't want a haircut & I'm not going to get a haircut....so there!!!! I understand David not liking his short hair look. I know where he is coming from’…………… By the way David has some ‘Before’ & ‘After’ photos for you to look at too:))

NICE TO SEE MORE & MORE BRITTLE BUSHES COMING INTO BLOOM

March 1rst already & in a short 30 days or so the main priority on our plate will be travel plans for heading home.  We will be in the early stages of getting the house & property prepped for it’s long hot dormant stage until we return once again sometime in the Fall to breathe new life into it again.  It is always a sad but necessary time each year when we have to leave our beloved deserts & mountains of the great South-West.  But hey, all that’s still a whole month away.

GUESS WHO WAS SOUND ASLEEP IN A PILE OF COVERS ON MY BED THIS MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:((  In the stock market today, Helium was up; Feathers were down. Paper was stationary. Elevators rose and Escalators continued their slow decline. Mining equipment hit rock bottom and the market for Raisins dried up. Coke fizzled. Balloon prices were inflated and Tissue Paper hit a new bottom.

THE DATE OF FEBRUARY 23RD 2012 BLEW RIGHT PAST ME……

HEAVY CLOUDS OVER THE DESERT THIS MORNING

It was February 23rd 2012 when Kelly & I first took a drive down Ghost Town Road in Congress Arizona.  Kelly had spotted a few houses for sale in the area so we were out driving around having a look at them.  In our travels over the years we had always been in the habit of checking out local real estate in various areas we travelled.  We missed the house we were looking for, went up to the end of the road & turned around, came back & pulled into the driveway.  Oh Dear what a sad looking neglected place this was.  We had seen so many dumpy places in our real estate search over the years  But not to be intimidated by dumpiness we got out of the Jeep for a closer look see.  This then was the first day we saw what was soon to become our house:))

THIS IS THE VERY FIRST PICTURE OF WHAT WOULD TURN OUT TO BE OUR HOUSE THE FIRST DAY WE SAW IT

OUR HOUSE TODAY

   

Had the price not been so cheap we may not have given it a second look but as we walked around & seen the land that came with it I began to see some potential.  Right off the bat I envisioned the house stuccoed & knew I could do the grounds work myself.  And that lit the fire.

  

It would be another week or so before we had a Real Estate agent from Prescott show us the interior of the house.  Despite some obvious problems we knew we could clean things up & with some paint, hard work, lots of elbow grease & a heaping helping of TLC we could make this old house into something comfy & cozy.  We had done it before with old unlived-in places & by golly we knew we could do it again.  And we did……………………

As I’m typing this tonight I hear a seldom heard sound on our roof.  It is followed shortly thereafter by the sounds of giggling.  No need for me to get up & investigate.  I know the sound of rain on a roof & I also know the sound of happy little plants outside:))

PUT A BIG TOP HAT ON THAT ROUND UPPER ROCK & I SEE A W.C. FIELDS PROFILE

In a comment on Thursday night’s post Mike M over at North Ranch said in part…"Nice Blog Al, and quite interesting. I can imagine the time and work you put in to publishing such a blog!!  It almost gets like a JOB!!!
But as long as you enjoy it keep it up...'cause it pays real well,,,don't it??? :-)”  My answer to Mike is a resounding ‘YES’ it does pay real well but not in a monetary way.  Yes it is like a job alright with a lot of the same ups & downs.  Some days it all comes together amazingly well while other days just connecting a couple seemingly simple thoughts together is a major chore.  Technical problems are the worst for me.  We have a slow internet connection & I about tear my hair out sometimes over the frustrations that brings.  But overall I do enjoy putting a post together each & every day.  The rewards for me are many.  Just thinking of things to write about keeps my brain creatively alive.  Writing a blog gives me purpose & incentive each & every day.  It purposely sends me out the door in search of new photos & new ideas.  My mind is constantly at work on how I am going to intertwine photos with writing ideas & that keeps the cobwebs at bay.   It takes me many hours to put my posts together but for me that is a positive thing otherwise what would a do with that creative time slot.  Waste it watching television?  No, I greatly enjoy doing this because I know that out here in the cyber world a small group of people are enjoying what I am doing.  And that is the greatest reward for me of all.  Just knowing I am creating something interesting, entertaining, & useful for folks makes it all worthwhile for me.  If I was getting paid or making money doing this it would not be the same.  Not that we couldn’t use the money but I would feel an old familiar & unwanted stress factor that I do not care to put on myself again.  Favorable responses from readers is reward enough for me & tells me that what I find enjoyable to write about, readers find enjoyable to read about.  A winning combination & a warm personal reward for me each & every day…………. :))

PHEEBS MEETS SOME NEW PALS ON THE TRAIL THIS MORNING

 

PHEEBS ALSO GOES NOSE TO NOSE WITH A GOAT FOR SOME FREE SNACKS AT TSC’S PETTING ZOO

 

CAMEL RIDES IN THE PARKING LOT

ED, a stickler for keeping things correct (and I’m glad he does) had this to say about our problematic Rabbits, errrr Hares…… “Peter & Beatrix’s comment is partially correct. The 'rabbits' that Al has pictures of are 'hares' as defined for biological classification. But they are NOT Desert Hares, they are either antelope jackrabbits (Lepus alleni) or black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus).
The Desert Hare (Lepus tibetanus) is a species of hare found in Northwestern China and countries adjacent to it”. (and no action on the Critter Cam last night)

NOTICE HOW ALL THE GOATS ARE FOCUSED ON PHEEBS BUT SHE’S PLAYING SHY

Had a strange yet familiar feeling on my face this morning.  Many years since I experienced it & the feeling actually felt good.  Kind of lite & breezy is how I would describe it.  It was shaving cream of course.  Kelly picked me up a can of Barbasol at the Dollar Store Thursday.  All these years with the beard I never used shaving cream.  Just a little soap, hot water to trim here & there.  I had forgot that nice cool face feeling after one lathers up & shaves it off.  And now I get to do it every morning if I want.  Nice:))

  

DOGGY RUNNING FAST ON THE TRAIL AGAIN THIS MORNING

Had an email from Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida earlier in the week in which she said, “I've worn shorts to the golf course the last three weeks,  Hope to play again on Tuesday. My golfing friends don't want me to quit. They don't mind driving the cart to where I don't have to do a lot of walking.  I still get very tired by the 14th hole, & all my stamina is gone.  However, I manage to finish the game, no quitting here.  Would much rather drop on the golf course than sit in a nursing home looking out the window”.  Yep, that’s my good old Aunt Jean alright & she will be turning 87 in July:))

OUR DESERT WALKING ROAD MOST MORNINGS

{Quote) So, into every life a little rain must fall.  And I guess into every dry camper's life a LOT of dusty sand must fall, too, and I drove right into it”. {Un-quote}  It was with these words Barbara started off her recent ‘STUCK’ post.  Did she get herself un-stuck?  Well……….  While your over there helping to push check out this clever idea on Barbara’s site.  DAD COLORS IN HIS KID'S DRAWINGS

 

MORNING CLOUD PATTERNS

In addition to Thursday’s post about the Wickenburg Massacre Site I was able to pinpoint the exact location on Google Earth this morning.  This is an aerial view from about 2,500 feet up.  The co-ordinates are at the bottom right of the photo which you can click to enlarge.

Knew we had a big unsettled weather front headed our way so spent some time battening down the hatches later today.  Outside things to be put inside, windows & roof vents closed, tools into the garden shed, etc.  Been quite awhile since we have had any rain.  In fact we have not had any rain of consequence since we arrived here back around the end of October.  All the plants have been spitting dust for quite awhile.

NOT A LOT OF SUN TODAY BUT AT 7:20 THIS MORNING WE DID GET A NICE SUN SPLASH THROUGH OUR DINING ROOM WINDOW WHILE I WAS EATING MY CURDS & WHEY

GROANER’S CORNER:((  When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, Keep off the Grass.

Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, You stay here, I'll go on a head.

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.