THIS MONTH’S FULL MOON WILL BE OUR LAST FULL ARIZONA MOON UNTIL NOVEMBER:((

NEST BUILDING IS WELL UNDER WAY AROUND OUR HOUSE

Biting cold north wind first thing this morning had us in our winter duds.  Couple hours later our Arizona winds died down & it was short sleeves & sitting in the sun time for Kelly.  I busied myself planting a few more pieces of dead Saguaro skeletons we have picked up in our desert travels.  By the time it occurred to take a picture of them they were already on the shady side of the house.  Tomorrow.

PUTTERING ABOUT IN THE YARD TODAY

Put a small cement brick border around our water faucet which is now in our new flower garden & moved the birdbath & bird feeder into that same area as well.  This will bring the birds closer to the house where we can see them better & closer to a water supply for keeping the birdbath topped up.  Because of Palo Verde tree roots I do not want to dig a small pond into the ground so I have to keep an eye out now for some kind of large shallow container to hold water.  I will then blend that container in using dirt, rocks, plants, pieces of desert wood, etc.  And I want to keep the pond under the tree for shade purposes which means the pond will be in & part of the flower garden.   Needless to say I am feeling much better this week now that I have my teeth into another project again:))

  

MINUTES AFTER I HAD RELOCATED THIS FEEDER OUR BACKYARD BIRDS WERE ALL OVER IT

POND WILL GO ABOUT WHERE THE RED SHOVEL IS

We had a tiny water leak in the main part of the house from our recent rains so I was up on the roof today with some tar patching a small hole I found when an older tar job had dried out & cracked.  Took a few photos from the roof while I was up there.

FRONT YARD

 

GOOD VIEW OF BIG EEE’S ROOF & SOLAR PANELS

Not often we see Arizona’s Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam from the air but Darrell from Goza’s Wanderings & Wonderings hopped himself aboard a 20 passenger sightseeing plane & took some aerial photos over the dam & canyon.  Must say I am amazed at the quality of photos this fella consistently gets from his cell phone.  Check out Darrell’s Aerial Exploring.  And the Furry Gnome from way up there in frozen Ontario Canada is still getting out most days taking lots of great freezing cold snowy scenery photos.  I have memories of many beautiful winter days but I have only a handful of digital photos but that’s OK I don’t mind at all if someone else braves freezing cold days to show the rest of us the beautiful side of winter.  Hogg's Falls………Winter Fences.

A BIT BLURRY BUT IT’S A GILA WOODPECKER IN FLIGHT

 

MR & MRS GILA WOODPECKER

ANOTHER REASON FOR LOCATING THE POND THERE IS BECAUSE OF THE CLOSE WATER SOURCE

<<< LITTLE MISS GAMBLE’S QUAIL

Gene in Ohio had a Shout Box question asking how long it took me to dig that section of flower garden in our back yard Tuesday.  I took a couple breaks doing it but I would say about half an hour to dig, edge, & rake it out.  A half hour enjoyably spent I might add.  And someone else asked awhile back if I had painted our inside front door yet.  Answer is no & that is because I simply had forgot about that.  Thanks for the reminder.  Another little project for me.  And I think someone else asked if we would be planting native wildflowers & the answer is yes.  Same kinds as our neighbor has blooming right now.

I’M HOPING TO GET OUR YARD LOOKING LIKE OUR NEIGHBOR’S YARD AROUND THE CORNER

Watching tonight’s Moonrise it occurred to me this will be our last Arizona full moon for the next 7 months meaning we’ll likely not see another desert moon until November later this year.  I so much look forward to each full moon every month here in the southwest & so enjoy how it’s soft glow bathes this mystic desert landscape we live, love, & travel in……………….

TUESDAY NIGHTS NEARLY FULL MOON WITH A TOUCH OF CLOUDS

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I was driving my father and grandfather down a rough country road. My inexperience in handling Grandpa's four-wheel-drive vehicle made for a particularly bouncy ride.  Embarrassed, I offered a lame excuse, "The sun shadows through the trees make it hard for me to see all the potholes." "Don't worry," Grandpa said. "You're gettin' most of 'em."

---

As the passengers settled in on a West Coast commuter flight, a flight attendant announced, "We'd like you folks to help us welcome our new co-pilot. He'll be performing his first commercial landing for us today, so be sure to give him a big round of applause when we come to a stop."  The plane made an extremely bumpy landing, bouncing hard two or three times before taxiing to a stop. Still, the passengers applauded.  Then the attendant's voice came over the intercom, "Thanks for flying with us. And don't forget to let our co-pilot know which landing you liked best."

KIND OF IN A REFLECTIVE MOOD TODAY

How nice to see a sky full of stars when Pheebs & I stepped out early this morning.  Started our day under sunny skies but by late morning we were again under a band of heavy dark clouds.  But no matter, I was anxious to take my new shovel (Big Red) for a test drive so it wasn’t long before we were tearing up the back yard.  Decided to start with an area beside our cement patio & make a wildflower garden.  After our rains of the past couple days I knew the ground would be perfect for digging & time was a wasting.  I was surprised by the fine quality of soil so figure wildflowers will do well.  Photos below show only the first phase of the flower garden.  I plan to extend it right around the patio.  Have also had it in the back of my mind for quite some time to put in a small shallow pond under the shade of the spreading Palo Verde tree in the pictures below.   Pond would have a pump & re-circulating waterfall.  Kind of a bird sanctuary place.  Maybe next winters project:))

GETTING STARTED…GARDEN TOOL IN THE FOREGROUND IS MY ‘EDGER’

NOTICE HOW MUCH BETTER THAT OLD PALO VERDE TREE LOOKS NOW THAT I HAVE INCLUDED IT IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

And by golly did you know Congress Arizona made Triple AAA’s magazine Highroads.  Short article is entitled, Quirky Congress & it’s got something to do with a frog:))

STARTED OUR DAY IN SUNSHINE, SPENT MOST OF IT UNDER CLOUDY SKIES & FINISHED IT UNDER MORE SUNSHINE

Years ago while ranch sitting near McNeil Arizona Kelly & I spent several months each winter over the course of 3 years taking in many sites & activities in Arizona’s Cochise county.  Some of our best memories are centered in that region & our time on the ranch will go down as some of the best times we have ever spent here in the great southwest.  Many of my archived posts cover those memorable days beginning with our first ranch sitting day February 5th 2009 The Bayfield Bunch Arrives At The Arizona Ranch to our last ranch sitting day on January 15th 2012 entitled Back To The Land Of Giant Saguaros.

 

NEIGHBOR’S PROPERTY TODAY & KELLY IN HER BEDROOM TALKS TO HER MOTHER ON THE PHONE MONDAY

Looking back over a few of my blog posts from our ranch sitting days I felt a sense of happiness knowing that I have kept up my daily blog posts from those ranch sitting years & the years preceding that time & these years since that time.  My memory is such that I would have no recollection of probably 80% or more of our past 9 RVing years had I not recorded it all through words & photos right from day 1.  As yet I don’t look back often on my old posts but who knows, someday I just might & it’s a comforting thought to know I have the option of traveling back in time if I should ever decide to do so.  It’s all there nearly a decade in words & pictures.  When the day comes & all is said & done our life & times may remain floating somewhere forever in cyber space long after I’m gone.  And if I’ve accomplished nothing else in my life I will be content knowing something I have created & stuck with for a change will hopefully remain & maybe for a time be remembered………… 

A FOGGY MORNING ON DARBY WELL ROAD NEAR AJO ARIZONA…JANUARY 23RD 2012

GROANER’S CORNER:(( This guy goes to the doctor and says, "Doc, I ache all over. Everywhere I touch it hurts."
The doctor says, "OK. Touch your elbow."  The guy touches his elbow and winces in genuine pain. The doctor, surprised, says "Touch your head."  The guy touches his head and jumps in agony. The doctor asks him to touch his knee and the same thing happens. Everywhere the guy touches he hurts like hell. The doctor is stumped and orders a complete examination with X-rays, etc. and tells the guy to come back in two days.
Two days later the guy comes back and the doctor says "We've found your problem."  "Oh yeah? What is it?"
"You've broken your finger!"

---

The patient who came to my radiology office for abdominal X-rays was already heavily sedated. But I still had to ask her a lot of questions, the last one being, "Ma'am, where is your pain right now?"
Through her medicated fog, she answered, "He's at work."

SNOW BIRDS ARE ALREADY BEGINNING TO SCATTER

Guess I had better start off Monday night’s post with a correction to my Sunday night post.  Kelly informed me this morning that ‘yes’ we did have permission from the realtor to move our motorhome onto the property.  I had no recollection of that.  So the realtor did know we were there but didn’t know we were in the house.  Good thing I have someone here to keep my memory on the straight & narrow.

A RATHER SOGGY START TO OUR MORNING

 

With heavy overnight & morning rains at times our backyard lake materialized once again in the southwest corner of our property.  Fortunately none of that pooled water comes anywhere near the house & soon drains away. Would be a great temporary place for ducks to paddle around if we had some.  Our rains finally did wrap it up about noon & I was able to slip out in late afternoon & snap a few photos during a brief sun splash.  And as I write this tonight sky’s are showing some promising signs of at least partially clearing for Tuesday.

  

First time I ever heard of the JoJoba Hills SKP RV Resort was way back in 2008 when a friend we had met in the desert near Borrego Springs first talked about it.  ‘Butch’ a native Californian & long time winter boondocker said there was only one place he would ever consider settling down some day in his latter years & that was over on the other side of the nearby mountain ranges at one of the Escapee Club’s own RV Resorts.  He described how nice it was & how different it was from other Resorts.  Butch was/is not a resort type person by any means so we figured this resort must definitely be something special.  This morning I read a post by Marianne from frugal-rv-travel.com which explains very well why this resort is indeed so much different than many others.  Be sure to read her review of JoJoba Hills RV Resort.

SO NICE TO SEE SOME OF OUR FRONT YARD CACTUS PLANTS COMING ALONG SO WELL

Well here we are at March 2nd already & Snow Birds are beginning to take flight.  Wandering Willy is already home back in Canada tilted back in his big comfy recliner watching his big screen TV.  I think Ivan may be rolling north shortly if he already hasn’t begun his trek & I think Jean & Skip will be packing up & headed out very soon as well.  Due to a family emergency a month or so ago George & Suzy are already back in Ontario toughing out the brutally cold temperatures.  Our Bayfield friends Dianne & Harry owners & operators of Stormrunner RV Sales & Service had to return a week or two ago to get things geared up for another busy season in the RV recreational field.  Yes many Snow Birds are definitely beginning to flex their wings & scatter off north to far distant destinations called home.  It’s always a tad sad in a way because one never knows if all the Birds will make it back for another season or not.  Always lots of changes going on with this type of RVing lifestyle & surprises are not uncommon………..

 

And before I forget I would like to thank my book, my lap top computer, our Sirius satellite radio & our television for helping me through these past few rainy stuck inside days:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A mother takes her 5 year old son with her to the bank on a busy Friday. They get into line behind a rather obese lady wearing a business outfit complete with a pager. As the mother waits patiently her son looks at the women in front of him and observes loudly, "Hey, Mom, she's fat." At which the lady looks at the boy, makes eye contact with the mother and gives an understanding smile. The mother quietly reprimands her son. After a minute or two the boy spreads his hands as far as they will go and loudly says, "I bet her butt is *that* wide." At this the lady glares at the little boy and his mother and the embarrassed mother severely scolds her son. Again after a couple of minutes the boy states loudly, "Look how the fat hangs over her belt." The lady turns and tells the mother to control her rude child and the mother threatens him with his very life and existence. Things in the bank are quiet. The lady gets to the front of the line when her pager begins to emit its distinctive beeping tone at which the little boy yells in panic at the top of his voice, "Run for your life Mom, she's backing up!!!!"

3 YEARS AGO TODAY WE MET WITH A REAL ESTATE SALESMAN ABOUT A HOUSE FOR SALE ON GHOST TOWN ROAD……CONGRESS AZ.

ON FEBRUARY 23RD 2012 WE LOOKED AT THIS HOUSE FOR SALE & SAID ‘NAW, IT DOESN’T HAVE THE ‘WOW’ FACTOR………….OR DOES IT

Rain began Saturday night around 9 & pretty well has stayed with us through most of today on & off.  Those rains coupled with cool temps kept us housebound all day.  Luckily the bulk of this large rain front is west of us moving north.  Monday could be the same as today with sunny days & much warmer temps beginning Tuesday.  Upside will be a further greening of our Sonoran Desert with it’s many blooming wildflowers.  No matter what the weather here it sure is a lot better than the terrible record breaking prolonged freezing cold temperatures & deep snows back home in Bayfield.

A FEW FILE PHOTOS FROM PHEEBS COW SMOOCHING DAYS 3 YEARS AGO ABOUT NOW

 

I THINK THEY’RE WHISPERING SWEET NUTHINS IN PHEEBS EARS

 

ALL THESE COWS JUST LOVED THE PHEEBS

BEING WATCHED & FOLLOWED BY ALL HER ADORING FANS

<<< PHEEBS TOUCHED NOSES WITH ALL 3 OF THESE COWS

Kelly asked the question this morning, ‘where do you think we would be right now if we were still boondocking our way around the southwest like we did a few years ago’?  Didn’t have an answer for that question but did know that usually by March we were definitely turning our eyes homeward.  After living in our RV for 5 to 6 months each winter since late 06 we were always so glad to get home & stretch out in our spacious Bayfield digs.  Big TV, big recliners, big shower, big everything.  By the early Spring of 2012 we both found ourselves tiring a bit of traveling & boondocking around in the same places each winter .  We both felt we needed to somehow change things up a bit & that’s when we found a house in Congress for sale.  We weren’t actually seriously looking but the ‘good deal’ just fell into our laps & we just couldn’t turn it down.  It’s a decision for many reasons we have never regretted.

IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO TODAY WE MET A REAL ESTATE AGENT AT THE HOUSE TO HAVE A LOOK AT IT & ‘TALK THINGS OVER’…WE COULD TELL THIS REALTOR FROM PRESCOTT WAS VERY ANXIOUS TO SELL THIS PROPERTY & JUST GET IT OFF HIS BOOKS

   

THEN & NOW

  

It was at the very beginning of a slow homeward trek 3 years ago that we stopped here in the Congress area near the end of February.  Plan was to boondock a few days south of Congress before deciding on where to head for next.  As was our habit while traveling Kelly happened to check out the real estate listings in the area & saw a couple interesting places for sale with one being at a very exceptionally low price.  We figured it would be quite a wreck at that price but we drove over to look at it anyway.  Not as bad a wreck as we thought but a bit of a wreck nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

WE WERE SURPRISED TO FIND THE INTERIOR BETTER THAN WE HAD EXPECTED….IT HAD ISSUES BUT NOTHING WE COULDN’T LIVE WITH

A lot of folks would not have given this shabby looking house on an acre of weed infested property a second thought & others would have bought & flipped it for a profit when real estate prices headed back up again.  Kelly & I never really saw it either of those 2 ways.  This was a great opportunity for us to have a solid structure home base in the southwest, something we had previously discussed many times but never thought we would ever be able to afford it.  Well it’s true we couldn’t afford it but we could also not afford to pass up this deal.  The old house had everything our Bayfield house had & more. It just needed some major sprucing up & a whole lot TLC. (Tender Love & Care)  Kelly & I were used to that sprucing up stuff of course & didn’t hesitate taking on the challenge in front of us.  I of course saw what the property could look like with a bit of elbow grease & some enjoyable ground work on my part.  Living in a neighborhood certainly was not our first choice for a location but the deal was too good to pass up.  Aside from occasional normal neighbor noises we have been relatively fortunate so far.   

THE HOUSE BUILT IN THE 50’S SURE HAD SEEN BETTER DAYS & WE KNEW RIGHT OFF THE ONLY WAY TO IMPROVE THE EXTERIOR WAS TO COMPLETELY STUCCO IT

We were so anxious to start work on this house & property that unbeknownst to the real estate agent up in Prescott we moved our motorhome onto the property without permission before we had even bought it.  We knew we were taking a big chance & what we were doing was probably illegal but our intentions were good.  Kelly cleverly figured out a way to get into the house & we immediately set to work cleaning things up.  There was a lot of garbage in the back yard & I got onto that right away doing a major clean up & burning much of the junk & litter.  In case the real estate agent showed up or the deal didn’t go through we were prepared to say ‘hey at least we got this place cleaned up for you.’  As I said ‘we had good intentions’.  Luckily our instincts about the real estate agent were right & he never did return.  All further negotiations were done by email, fax, & phone.  To this day he doesn’t know we were practically living in the house well before the final papers were signed in his office in Prescott.  He smilingly gave us the keys for a house we were already in.  We had even managed to get the water turned on & arrangements made for stuccoing the house finalized.  It was a big chance we took but we both felt confident the deal was going to go in our favor & in the end it did.  What a huge sigh of relief that was for us but what an invigorating sense of adventure we had going in those weeks we were busily working on the house worrying every time we heard a car slowing down that it might be the real estate agent or somebody asking who we were & what we were doing there.  Sometimes it just pays to step outside the box & take a few chances. 

THIS WAS OUR FIRST DAY LOOKING AT OUR FUTURE HOUSE ON GHOST TOWN ROAD

I remember how excited we were with the house purchase & how relieved we were knowing we didn’t have to spend the whole winter living in our rig anymore if we didn’t have to.  After 6 winters in our Damon Motorhome we were so happy to have a new challenge & something totally different to do & look forward to.  And I was especially happy because I now had something constructive to occupy my time.  A creative challenge, a change of pace if you will.  An even more comfortable way to spend our winters.  We didn’t realize it at the time until a blog reader said ‘you guys got the best of both worlds’.  We still had our RV & we could still travel whenever we liked & now we had the advantage of a spacious home base to come back to after each short trip & that has worked out well for us.  I’m hoping next winter we can spend more time traveling to some new places like we did to the Mojave National Preserve last month & maybe extend our stays a bit longer.  Well them’s is the plans anyway………….:))

KELLY TOOK PHEEBS FOR A WALK THIS MORNING IN THE RAIN & I DON’T THINK THE PHEEBERS WAS ANY TO HAPPY ABOUT THAT

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A photographer for a national magazine was assigned to take pictures of a great forest fire. He was advised that a small plane would be waiting to fly him over the fire.  The photographer arrived at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Sure enough, a small Cessna airplane was waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, "Let's go!" The tense man sitting in the pilot's seat swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air, though flying erratically.  "Fly over the north side of the fire," said the photographer, "and make several low-level passes." "Why?" asked the nervous pilot. "Because I'm going to take pictures!" yelled the photographer. "I'm a photographer, and photographers take pictures."  After a long pause, the "pilot" replied: "You mean, you're not my instructor?"

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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.