SURE WAS A SOCIALIZING SATURDAY FOR US FOLKS:))

THREATENING SKIES OVER OUR BACKYARD THIS MORNING

Our day dawned on the cooler side under a patchwork of darkening clouds.  With company coming we were hoping for warmer sunny skies but at least it wasn’t windy & freezing cold.  Not too often I find myself in window cleaning mode but this morning was an exception & cloudy days are best for that kind of thing.

Recognized the yellow Jeep pulling into our yard & new who was in the big white Ford pick-up following close behind.  We’ve traveled a fair few miles following that Jeep of Janna & Mike's over some rough trails last year.  Nice to see them again.  Brenda & John from both Dogpounds North & South were the folks in the big white Ford & today was our first time meeting Brenda.  John we had met in Quartzsite back in 09 when he scouted us out in the desert & knocked on our RV door one day.  Nice to see John again & how nice to finally meet Brenda.  John is one of those 6’ something guys looking like he just stepped right out of an old wild west gun’s a-blazing Hollywood movie years ago.  Both he & Mike look like a couple of Tombstone territory cow pokes.

BRENDA, PHEEBS, & KELLY

 

MAYA, BRENDA & JOHN

 

MIKE & EMMI ALONG WITH JANNA, PHEEBS, MAX & MAYA 

RAINS FINALLY STOPPED & BRENDA MOVED HER CHAIR BACK FROM UNDER THE PORCH

 

PLAYTIME FOR THE DOGGIE GUYS

EMMI’S PRETENDING NOT TO HEAR A WORD MAYA IS SAYING…..SO THERE!!

  

PHEEBE KNOWS JOHN HAS A SNACK IN HIS HAND

Mike, John, & I had us walk around the property as the ladies pulled some chairs together on our front porch as rains began a spittin down.  Wasn’t long & we fellers were on the porch out of the rain as well.  We could have all moved into the house but with Montana & Alberta folks there was no running inside just because of a little rain.  We were all  perfectly dry under our covered porch.  Mike & Janna had brought little Emmi plus John & Brenda had brought their 2 best guys Max & Maya as well.  Pheebs was all happy that she had some new Pals to play & hang out with.

JOHN, EVER THE REAL LIFE COWBOY DECIDES TO TAKE A PHONE CALL FROM ALBERTA REGARDING A LEAKING PIPE AT HOME…FUNNY THING IS HE TOOK THAT CALL STANDING UNDER A LEAKING ARIZONA SKY

Never a shortage of things to talk about when RV folks get together & with the help of some great tasting pastries & a few cups of warming coffee we laughed & wiled away a couple good hours.  Nice to see Janna, Mike, & John again as well as finally meeting Brenda after all these years.  Nice folks all these fellow RV’ers are.  But our day wasn’t quite over yet:))

PHEEBS KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON THE DESERT TABLE

 

JOHN’S HAT SHOWING TODAY’S RAINFALL

A RATHER APPREHENSIVE LOOK ON PHEEBS FACE

   

 

TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE AS JOHN CONTEMPLATES HIS RAINY DAY PHONE CALL

 

 

But it was only a temporary good-bye for a few hours.  We were invited to have Pizza with some of the North Ranch gang over at new home owners Jim & Ellie Meachum’s place.  We first met Jim over in Bouse Arizona years ago & his wife Ellie a few weeks later when Kelly & I actually hosted a very impromptu RV get together in the Kofa Mountains one time.  Think we had a total of 5 couples show up.  Here is the link for that day……A GET TOGETHER IN THE DESERT.  This afternoon at 4 o’clock was the first time we saw Jim & Ellie again since that time.  Janna & Mike plus Brenda & John were there as well.  Pat & Mike McFall were unable to attend.  Really cute house Jim & Ellie bought & they are busily remodeling & painting it.  Mike slipped over to the Congress Depot & picked up 3 deluxe pizzas & it didn’t take long for us to demolish 2 of them.  We stayed nearly 3 hours & in that time lots of stories & laughter rolled around the room & we were able to get to know folks better.  Sure is a change of pace for Kelly & I being out socializing like that.  And we both remarked driving home how strange it was for us to be driving after dark.  Can’t even remember the last time we were out after dark & I was kinda mesmerized by the dash lights in the Jeep.  Thought I was in a space ship when I first turned the headlight switch on.  That’s after I finally found the light switch.   Anyway a good time was had by all & that Kelly & I in fact had not turned into Pumpkins after all:))

JIM HAS A MIGHTY BIG PIZZA SMILE ON HIS FACE

 

NO THIS IS NOT JIM & ELLIES NEW HOUSE IT IS BRENDA & JOHNS SUPER LONG HORSE TRAILER WITH RV LIVING QUARTERS IN THE FRONT & HORSE TRANSPORTATION QUARTERS IN THE BACK.  JOHN & BRENDA TRAILER THEIR HORSES BETWEEN RESIDENCES IN ALBERTA CANADA & MARICOPA ARIZONA EACH WINTER…NOW THAT IS A LOT OF TRAILER…THEY WERE JUST VISITING AT NORTH RANCH FOR A COUPLE DAYS & HEAD BACK TO ‘DOGPOUND SOUTH’ SUNDAY

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I finally figured out why I am so "full-figured."  As I was conditioning my hair in the shower this morning, I took time to read my shampoo bottle. I am in shock! The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my entire body says "for extra volume and body." Seriously, why have I not noticed this before?
Tomorrow I am going to start using "Dawn" dish soap! It says right on the bottle, "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove."  It pays to read the warning labels my friends.

TURNED OUT TO BE A CARDINAL KIND OF DAY

  

One of my favorite relaxing pastimes here at our Congress home base is to simply tip way back in my outside gravity chair with camera on my chest near the single birdfeeder we have hanging in a nearby Mesquite tree.  Last winter I put out as many as 4 feeders & the little feathered Dickenses nearly ate us out of house & home. Sitting quietly I love watching all the flying antics of my tiny feathered friends.  Sometimes I’m tipped back so far in my chair I can’t see the birds on the ground or lower branches & have to shoot around my shoes.   Just nice to feel a warming sun & hear natural sounds of happy chirping little birds all around me.  So relaxing I sometimes doze off but with each whirring of tiny wings going by I am wide awake again with a quickening grip on my camera:))

REALLY GETTING HIS FACE INTO THE SEEDS

Kelly jeeped off to Wickenburg this morning to have a look at a new kitchen faucet assembly plus a few other things.  I finished my front fence cactus bed then busied myself for hours with a bunch of ‘around the house stuff.’  Both my bathroom & bedroom were due for a good clean up so that kept me busy.  Laundry, vacuuming, & dishes were just a few of my domestic chores.  Haven’t tackled the Motorhome yet but aside from a light desert dusting I really don’t think I need to wash the whole thing this time.  Maybe just the bottom third & wheel rims plus windows.

HALF A SECOND AWAY FROM TAKE-OFF

 

AWWW SHUCKS I WAS JUST A FRACTION OF A SECOND TOO SLOW

At one point this afternoon completely surrounded by happy chirping little birds coming & going to the feeder I suddenly heard a sharp swish go right past my head to the right as a Goshawk without his incoming screech flew with lightning speed right into the gathering of small birds, skimmed the ground, deeked left then right & landed.  Turned himself around & quickly flew off.  It didn’t appear to me he had caught anything but I could be wrong.  I was instantly aware of an overall deafening silence around me where just seconds before the air had been filled with a cacophony of twittering bird sounds.  This afternoon’s tiny Tweeters had scattered in all directions.  I waited about 5 minutes but no birds returned.  Packed up my camera, tipped forward in my chair, lumbered myself to my feet, & headed off into the house to start editing a few bird photos.  Checked the feeder about an hour later & all the birdies were back:))Today’s Cardinal photos have not been color enhanced, that handsome devilish & rather dapper fellow is really as red as he appears.

KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON THE FEEDER BELOW

We have a couple surprise RV’ers dropping around in the morning for coffee.  Well not a surprise to us of course because we have already been in touch with our fellow travelers by email.  One of these two folks we met years ago in Quartzite & it is he who writes their blog but the second half of this well known Canadian couple we have never met.  Hint:  This fellow Blogger once flew with England’s ‘Battle Of Britain’ leading legendary war ace Douglas Bader but this fellow RV Blogger is not a pilot.  Stay tuned:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  As the old man lies dying in the bedroom, out in the parlor the family discusses funeral arrangements. Son Gary says, "We'll make a real big thing out of it. We'll have five hundred people. We'll order fifty limos."  Daughter Grace says, "Why do you want to waste money like that? We'll have the family and maybe a few friends. One limo just for us."  They proceed. Grandson Jeff says, "We'll have lots of flowers. We'll surround him with dozens of roses and lilies, dozens and dozens."
Daughter Alice says, "What a waste! We'll have one little bouquet, that's enough."  Suddenly, the voice of the old man is heard, wafting weakly from the bedroom, "Why don't you get me my pants & I'll just walk to the cemetery."

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- 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.

SAY WHAT YOU WILL…..'I LIKE MY STUFF’

ALREADY OUR BRICKS HAVE COME IN HANDY AS A TEMPORARY RE-POTTING TABLE

Surprisingly, with just a little soreness in my lower back muscles I was not nearly as stiff as I thought I was going to be this morning.  Soon as I managed to get myself moving around a bit all was good to go again & it wasn’t long before I had all the Agave plants in the ground.  I know some Agave’s will make it & some won’t but the thing with Agave is the Rabbits don’t eat them.  The majority of Agave cactus I planted last year are doing reasonably well so far.  I’m guessing I have maybe 10 active Agave’s growing at the moment & if half the ones I planted this morning take root I’m guess I’ll have another 5.  I planted an additional 8 small ones in pots too.  Might have to call this place ‘Al’s Agave Acre’ in a few years:))

 

DIDN’T GET  A GOOD ROOT BALL ON THESE AGAVE’S SO THEY MAY NOT MAKE IT

I’M HOPING MY WIRE CAGE AROUND THESE CACTI WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE RABBITS

A cooler cloudy morning but it was alright for working outside so I dug in another cactus bed along our southern east facing fence line.  Have to take advantage of softer earth after last week’s rain & snow.  Even if nothing is planted this year it at least softens up our ground for maybe next year’s ideas.  Just trying to think ahead a bit.  Finally leaned my shovel against a Palo Verde tree about 1 o’clock & called it a day.  Probably should have leaned that shovel against a tree about 10 this morning but you know what it’s like for some of us.  We just don’t seem to know when to quit sometimes.  We have a habit of overdoing things until it hurts.  Not so good:((

  

YOU CAN SEE IN THE CENTER PHOTO MY ROUGHED IN LINE FOR THE BED

Let it be said……“I like my stuff & I like my stuff a lot”!!  In the RV world we often hear folks talk about getting rid of all their stuff.  Can’t wait to be free of their stuff.  Got tooooo much stuff!!  Sell the house, sell the car, sell your socks & travel far.  Works well for a lot of people for sure but I still like my stuff.  Some day when I’m gone somebody can come along & get rid of all my stuff but by golly as long as I’m still kickin I’m a gonna keep my stuff.  It’s mine, I’ve collected it, I’ve worked for it, I’ve created it & it’s who I am.  Some of my stuff is good stuff & some of my stuff is kinda junky stuff but it’s still my stuff.   When we return to Bayfield my favorite stuff is still right where I left it.  I like that.  When we roll into Congress next fall my favorite  Congress stuff will be here right where it’s supposed to be.  I like that.  We very seriously considered selling our house & all our stuff in 08 but we didn’t.  Our house is still in place & we have a home & stuff to go home to.  We like having a permanent home.  Why??  Because it’s got all our very much most favoritist stuff of ever in it that’s why:)))))))))))

 

   

Ivan found himself in the center of some police action when he returned to his RV out in the desert west of Buckeye Arizona recently.  His security cam picked up officers with weapons drawn.  Better check out his post at Life & Death in the Desert.  Some of his photos made Fox news…………..

GROANER’S CORNER:((  An elderly couple are both lying in bed one morning, having just awakened from a good night's sleep. He takes her hand & she responds, "Don't touch me."  "Why not," he asks. She answers back, "Because I'm dead."  The husband says to her, "What are you talking about? We're both lying here in bed together & talking to one another."  The wife says, "No, I'm definitely dead."  Her husband insists, "You're not dead. What in the world makes you think you're dead?"  His wife answers, "I know I'm dead because I woke up this morning and nothing hurts!"

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- 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.    

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