THE NORTH RANCH GARAGE SALE THIS MORNING WAS OUR ONLY EXCITEMENT FOR THE DAY………..

With only about 3 weeks before we arrive home & the amount of snow on the ground & cold temperatures around the Great Lakes area in Canada it is not likely we will get home to a snow free house & property.   Every time temps come up bit snow slides off our roof on the north side & creates a large snow bank along the entire length of our house.  Freezing & thawing turns much of that snow to ice.  Due to that heavy snow load being on the north side plus the fact our Bayfield house is surrounded by tall Pine trees it means that big block of snow & ice will not be totally gone until around the end of April…..maybe even early May sometime this year.  The Sun just cannot get into that area of our yard to melt that hardened snow pack.  We are definitely not looking forward to arriving back to all that cold frozen mess.  Happened to us 3 years ago & I had to use a pick-axe & shovel to break up the frozen snow & ice to clear a safe path to our front door.  Not nice!!  ‘Snow, snow, go away & come back another day when we are once again so very, very, far away’.

 

Had to roust ourselves out a bit on the earlier side this morning.  No way was Kelly going to miss out on being on the front lines at North Ranch’s semi-annual big garage sale.  And no way was I going to get out of driving the Jeep around making about forty three hundred stops at every little table full of goodies.  Had thought about hooking the utility trailer on just in case the Boss came across some stuff we just could not absolutely live without but decided not to.  Would have, could have, & should have……hooked up that trailer!!

THIS IS KIND OF HOW WE DO OUR GARAGE SAILING, KELLY WALKS THE STREET WHILE PHEEBS & I OBEDIENTLY FOLLOW SLOWLY IN THE JEEP

 

SOME DRIVE WHATEVER THEY COULD WHILE OTHERS LIKE OUR FRIENDS CARYL & JERRY PREFER TO JUST GET OUT THERE & HOOF IT FROM SALE TO SALE

Made a lot of stops, waved at people we knew, hollered a few Hello’s while we past by other familiar faces, dodged half a dozen golf carts & twice as many ATV’s.  And we never even spent a penny despite having to return home for the utility trailer to go back & load up a couple free glider chairs.  Only time I got out of the Jeep all morning was to look at those free chairs.  Figured they would be good on our front porch.  And that’s where they are.  By 10 a.m. our excitement for the day was pretty much over so we headed home & just kind of slipped into a dormant state for the rest of the day & that was it. 

 

 

Looks like we have us another desert Jeep trip coming up this Tuesday with the same cast of characters we were out with to Crown King recently.  And that includes Emmi & Pheebs.  This trip will take us to Alamo Lake west of Congress where we will be in search of a certain Slot Canyon out there somewhere.  We will all rumble out of Congress around 8:30 Tuesday morning.  Arizona time that is:))

REALLY LIKED THIS PHOTO TAKEN BY FELLOW RV BLOGGER & FRIEND NINA OF ‘WHEELING IT’ FAME…...SHE ENTITLED IT, ‘A MAN, A CAMERA AND HIS DOG’…THANK YOU NINA:))

We’re cautiously optimistic Pheebs nose this time may be finally healing.  Of course I’ve said this a couple times before this week only to have her scratch it open again half a dozen times.  By my publishing deadline tonight she has not scratched her nose for well over 24 hours.  Our fingers & paws are crossed……………

 

THESE 2 EURO-GLIDERS & ACCOMPANYING OTTOMANS WILL BE JUST FINE ON OUR FRONT PORCH…ASIDE FROM A LITTLE WEAR ON THE MATERIAL THESE CHAIRS ARE AS GOOD AS NEW

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him.
She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe. So, she had an idea of how to handle it.
She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her. She said that since she was up early with her own two kids anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.
The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole week. As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week.
Finally she said to Timmy, "Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?"
Timmy nonchalantly replied, "Yeah, I know who she is."
The little girl said, "Well, who is she?"
"That's just Shirley Goodnest," Timmy replied, "and her daughter Marcy."
"Shirley Goodnest? Who is she and why is she following us?"
"Well," Timmy explained, "every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!"

A WEE HIKE WITH NINA & PAUL & HAPPY HOUR AT JANNA & MIKES…WE ARE SUCH SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES:))

LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL CACTUS BLOOMS AT NORTH RANCH

By morning our overnight cloudy skies had cleared & it wasn’t long in heating up.  Slipped on down the road to see Nina & Paul from WHEELING IT.  Caught them in the middle of breakfast…..Ooooops.   Yep, know how that feels.  We did have us a tour of their rig (super nice) & a wee walk around the neighborless neighborhood.  (also super nice)  Polly & Pheebs hit it off much better once Polly understood she wasn’t being attacked by the great conehead Monster.  Pheebs nose was looking much better this morning so we had not put that cone back on her since removing it Thursday afternoon. We didn’t feel a trip to the Vet was necessary.

STOPPING FOR A SIP OF WATER

  

JUST A COUPLE DOGGY PALS HEADING ON DOWN THE TRAIL

KELLY CHECKS OUT A BEAVER TAIL CACTUS BLOSSOM BESIDE ONE OF THE 2 OLD PIONEER CEMETERIES NEAR WHERE NINA & PAUL ARE BOONDOCKED >>>

We sure liked their 08 Holiday Rambler Class A Motorhome.  Lots of room & we liked the extra touches & quality one finds in those higher end rigs.  Definitely not an entry level coach.  We didn’t stay real long because we knew we would be seeing them later in the day over at JANNA & MIKE'S.

 

 

NINA BESIDE ‘THE BEAST’ >>>

Because Pheebs nose was looking better we debated about going to Wickenburg & finally decided against it.  Turned out to be a needed restful afternoon with Kelly catching up on some sleep.  Had received an email earlier from RAY & CINDY who were at North Range for a couple days.  We stopped in to see them on our way over to Janna & Mikes later in the afternoon but we missed them.  Thought we would have been over earlier in the day but we just didn’t make it.  They are pulling out in the morning.  Sorry we missed you guys.

QUITE A RAZZLE DAZZLE PAINT JOB ON THIS BIG CLASS WE SPOTTED AT NORTH RANCH

We had a little time to kill  before Happy Hour at 4:30 so we drove around North Ranch looking at all the absolutely beautiful cactus blossoms.  Sure is some great South-West landscaping & lot of nice South-West architecture in most of the homes there.

 

  

Nina & Paul pulled into Janna & Mikes just a couple minutes after we did.  Janna took Kelly & I on a tour of their beautiful 40’ Diesel vintage 90’s Country Coach.  What a beauty.  I especially loved the soft pastel colors inside.  Quality at every turn.  What a gem this Motorhome is.

  

Nina told us about her ‘first’ Rattlesnake encounter she & Polly had just had about an hour before coming over to Janna & Mikes.  Her & Polly were fortunate to be far enough away from the snake when she saw it crossing the road ahead of them. 

Happy Hour turned into Happy Hours as we all sat outside until the Moon rose well up into the evening sky & twilight began giving way to night.

It was a nice time getting to know all these folks a bit better.  We will see Janna & Mike again over the next few days but not sure when we will see Nina & Paul again.  Nina was kind of anxious to get on the road & exit the area putting a bunch of miles between her & that Rattlesnake!!

 

In the morning we will be back over to North Ranch again for their big semi-annual garage sale.  We bought our utility trailer at their last sale last November.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A bill collector knocked on the door of a country debtor and asked the woman who answered the door, "Is Fred home?"
"Sorry, Fred's gone for cotton."
The next day the bill collector tried again. "Is Fred here today?"
"No, sir. I'm afraid he has gone for cotton."
When he returned the third day he humphed, "I suppose Fred is gone for cotton again,?"
"No, Fred died yesterday."
Suspicious that he was being avoided, the collector decided to wait a week and check the cemetery himself. But sure enough, there was poor Fred's tombstone, with the inscription, "Gone, But Not for Cotton."

I LIKE THESE PEOPLE:))

WE SURE LOVE OUR MORNING DESERT WALKS

Any pet owner who has had to put a plastic cone on their best Pal’s head for a few days in the best interest of their pet knows how difficult it is to resist that natural urge to remove that cone.  This isn’t the first time we have experienced this.  Had to cone our Checkers one time after an operation or she would have pulled out her tummy stitches.  This is the second cone incident for Pheebs & hopefully the last. 

On our morning walks we know it’s hazy when we can’t see Harquahala Mountain to our South-West.  Cooler with a bit of cloud cover stopped old Sol from trying to evaporate us up off the Planet today.  Without the hot sun I figured it would be a good day to putter about in my garden so went out & hung myself off the end of my shovel for awhile.  I enjoy that.

 

THERE IS NEVER MUCH RHYME OR REASON TO MY LANDSCAPING, I JUST MAKE IT UP AS I GO ALONG & CHANGE IT LATER IF I DON’T LIKE IT

In my haste to get outside this morning I tripped on our kitchen mat & fell face forward onto the top of our kitchen cupboard.  Fortunately the lid was off our Lemon Crisp Cookie container sitting there & the impact of my face on the counter was lessened considerably when my mouth landed in the cookies.  Fortunately I had it open at the time & about half a dozen Lemon Crisp cookies absorbed the shock & cushioned my fall.  Strangely enough I came away without a scratch but ended up with a bunch of crumbs in my mouth & a tummy full of cookies.  I must learn to be more careful of that slippery mat when hastily walking through the kitchen…….:))

Like my post title says, ‘I like these people’.  Better yet we both like these people.  I’m talking about Nina & Paul from WHEELING IT of course.  Yes, they are the couple boondocking very close to us at the moment.  Nina, Paul, & their dog Polly dropped in this afternoon for a couple hours.  We had briefly met Nina at Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs a couple years ago but this was our first time meeting Paul.  What a delight these folks are.  I’m not always comfortable with people anymore but felt right at home with Nina & Paul.  That comfort feeling for me comes from being able to have a meaningful two way genuine conversation with someone.  I so like it when I occasionally meet easy to talk to people like Nina & Paul.  I’m not one for sitting & telling stories & neither are they.  Yep, I like these people:)) 

Pheebs & Polly weren’t talking so easy though.  We still had the cone on Pheebs & when she rushed up to Polly to say Hello the big cone scared Polly & they didn’t just hit it off the best after that.  We did finally take the cone off Pheebs later but she really started to itch herself all over.  Nina suggested another Benadryl pill.  That worked & Pheebs stopped the scratching after a bit.  We are going to up her Benadryl & see if that will help her better.   

  

In the morning we are going to slip over to Nina & Paul’s to have a look at their rig & maybe do a short hike around their area.  Good exercise for everybody & the doggy guys too.  If Pheebs nose is still looking rough we may take her into the Vet in Wickenburg.  We have to pick up a few things in town anyway.  Maybe some Neosporin for her nose.  Right now tonight as I write this she is resting comfortably & not scratching herself.

MESQUITE TREE LEAVES

Kelly’s been a little under the weather for the past few days or so.  We think the Auto Immune/Liver problem she has tires her more quickly.  We may not pursue any further plans for a short boondocking venture over the next couple weeks.  With our long homeward trip coming up in about 3 weeks we may just rest up & concentrate our efforts on preparation for that journey.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The Government found about 200 dead crows near a major city last fall, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.
They hired a Bird Pathologist to examine the remains of all the crows, and he confirmed that the test results showed it was definitely NOT Avian Flu, to everyone's relief. However, he determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, and only 2% were killed by car impact.
The province then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine why there was a disproportionate percentage for truck versus car kills. The Ornithological Behaviorist determined the cause in short order.
He concluded that when crows eat road kill, they always set-up a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
His conclusion was that the lookout crow could warn the other crows by saying "Caw! Caw!", but the crow could not say "Truck! Truck!"

(Hey……after all it is called GROANER’S CORNER eh:))