‘AWWWW NUTS!!!!’ WE’RE STILL IN CONGRESS……WITH A PROBLEM:((

By golly I heard Crickets chirping Sunday night when I took Pheebs out about 8 o’clock.  Now how special is that under a clear starry night sky on our last night in Congress.  Except……it wasn’t our last night in Congress.  We are still here!!!!  Thought we had the problem with our Dometic fridge resolved but obviously not.  Turned it on (gas) Sunday & when we checked Monday morning the fridge part was not working at all but the freezer was cold as ice.  We were not happy campers!!!!!!!!!

MAYBE WE SHOULD BE LOADING THESE HORSESHOES ONBOARD FOR GOOD LUCK >>>

When Renee from North Ranch was here a few days ago she in passing mentioned there was an RV techy guy she knew living at North Ranch who was available to help folks with various RV problems & projects.  Kelly emailed Renee for the fellow’s phone number & we gave him call.  Vern said he was familiar with Dometic refrigerators & came over to our place first thing Monday morning.  Checked this, checked that, checked the other thing but could not really find anything wrong anywhere.  Repositioned the cold sensing device & we thought it seemed to start cooling.  But as it turns out we only seemed to think that.  Vern told us to check the fridge in a couple hours which we did……fridge was still warm:((  I moved the rig back to it’s normal parking spot with the fridge side in the shade & plugged into electricity to see if at least that still worked.  Nope that didn’t cool the fridge down either.  Needless to say we were again hugely disappointed.  On our trip down it was the inverter problem & now we could be looking at what could be a major fridge repair.  And the fridge is less than 2 years old.

 

THIS IS QUITE A JEEP VERN TRAVELS IN

  

VERN CHECKS OUT OUR DOMETIC PROBLEM

 

GOT A LOT OF TOOLS IN THAT THERE JEEP

AND GUESS WHAT THAT 1990 JEEP HAS UNDER THE HOOD

 

THAT’S A CORVETTE ENGINE WITH LESS THAN 20,000 MILES ON IT

Warm enough Sunday night that I slept with my window open & my overhead fan going.  We were both up shortly after 5 & actually had our morning coffee on the front porch.  Brought my computer out & how nice to sit there in the darkness watching a slow ever lightning sunrise.   Roosters crowing, early birds chirping, nice Moon, & Crickets.  What a nice way to start a day.  If only our day could have stayed that way.

AL CHECKS SOME TIRE PRESSURES

Most of our time on this weather perfect Monday was spent sitting quietly on our front porch reading, stressing out over the fridge problem, & considering our options.  We knew there was an RV repair place south of Wickenburg but after reading reviews about the place we decided it was definitely not one of our options.   

LES CAME BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON TO SPRAY OUR WEEDS

Double checked our fridge on electric later in the afternoon & the fridge was still warm.  Time to call in the big guys.  After checking & finding favorable reviews for Camping World between Williams & Flagstaff Arizona Kelly phoned & we have an appointment there for Wednesday morning.  It’s on our proposed route anyway so it just made good sense to go there.  We will put our fridge stuff in coolers & hope Camping World can fix us up.  Sooooooooo looks like we will leave here sometime Tuesday & probably head for the KOA Campground right on I-40 at Williams whereupon we’ll spend the night.  We’ve been there before.  From there it’s just a short drive in the morning to Camping World.

And ‘Oh Oh’ here’s another ‘Oh Oh’!!  Checking the weather forecast it looks like rain is moving into the whole area in a couple days.  Saw some overnight lows around the freezing mark at higher elevations like Flagstaff & the Grand Canyon.  If it’s cold & wet we will skip the Grand Canyon area & head for Valley Of The Gods Utah in search of warm sunny days.  It’s the nice part of traveling without reservations.  Go where you want when you want.  Can’t imagine doing it any other way………….

In a comment on my Friday post the Furry Gnome from Seasons In The Valley asked, ‘But isn't there a lot to do to leave the house safely for six months?  The simple answer to this question is ‘yes’ but we do have some positives on our side.  We are fortunate in Bayfield to live in a relative crime free area.  We have watch-full neighbors & we have a fellow who comes in to check on things regularly.  If our house was located in the country it would definitely be a big worry & concern for us.  As much as we would prefer to live in the countryside somewhere there are definite advantages to living in a community & security is one of the biggest factors.   Before leaving in the Fall we have to turn off the outside water.  We set our furnace to 45F & & leave the heat vents open to the bathroom & kitchen where water pipes & faucets are located.  We also learned through experience to replace the batteries in our thermostat as well.   We put our cable TV & Internet service on hold until we return & our neighbor  picks up our mail at the mailroom.  If he thinks there is something in the mail we should know about he emails us.  Anyway that is sort of how we do it……sort of:))

Routine for leaving our Congress house is much the same except for a few differences.  We notify the water company we are leaving & they come & shut our water off after we leave.  Notify post office to forward any mail to Canada.  We turn off the main electricity breaker.  A set of keys over to our neighbors & they check our house for us when we’re away.  Also put our Canadian Shaw Direct TV on hold until we return.  We close & lock all windows then pull the curtains & that’s kind of just about it until we return sometime in the Fall. 

CHATTING IT UP WITH LES WHILE HE SPRAYS THE WEEDS

Okay, hopefully tomorrow night at this time my post will be coming to you from somewhere other than here where I am at right now…………………….:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Comparison of Philosophical Theories in the Late 20th Century:::
Capitalism - He who dies with the most toys, wins.
Hari Krishna - He who plays with the most toys, wins.
Catholicism - He who denies himself the most toys, wins.
Anglican - They were our toys first.
Greek Orthodox - No, they were OURS first.
Atheism - There is no toy maker.
Polytheism - There are many toy makers.
Evolutionism - The toys made themselves.
Church of Christ Scientist - We are the toys.
Communism - Everyone gets the same number of toys, and you are in big trouble if we catch you selling yours.
B'Hai - All toys are just fine with us.
Amish - Toys with batteries are surely a sin.
Taoism - The doll is as important as the dumptruck.
Mormonism - Every boy can have as many toys as he wants.
Voodoo - Let me borrow that doll for a second.
Hinduism - He who plays with bags of plastic farm animals, loses.
7th Day Adventist - He who plays with his toys on Saturday, loses.
Southern Baptist - If your toy is a Disney product, you have a one-way ticket to Hell.
Jehovah's Witnesses - He who sells the most toys door-to-door, wins.
Pentecostalism - He whose toys can talk, wins.
Existentialism - Toys are a figment of your imagination.
Confucianism - Once a toy is dipped in the water, it is no longer dry.
Non-denominationalism - We don't care where the toys came from, let's just play with them.
Agnosticism - It is not possible to know whether toys make a bit of difference.
Unitarian Universalism - We still haven't decided if the toys exist.

JUST ABOUT READY TO GET THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING

OUR MESQUITE TREES ARE ADORNED IN THEIR SPRING COLORS

Lets just say it was a very busy morning with all the last minute check-list things to attend to before one heads off on any long distance journey.  I went all around the property in this morning’s cool air giving all our cactus plants a big drink.  It may be quite awhile before it rains.   More things loaded into the rig while Kelly busied herself cleaning inside.  To be fair I clean my own bedroom & bathroom & do assist with a few other ‘spic n span’ chores.  Stowed all our outside ornaments away including garden tools etc.  Couple loads of laundry plus a couple million other little things.  By noon we both had pretty well exhausted our energies for the day but just kind of kept intermittently plugging away at stuff anyway.  More to do Monday morning & then it’s very possible we may just take off.  If you do not see a post tomorrow night it may just be that wherever it is we are we may not have an internet signal.

MOTHER NATURE SURE IS A MASTER LANDSCAPER

Did a really dumb thing ‘again’ Saturday.  Checked the rig’s gas gauge & saw we had less than a quarter tank of gas so figured we’d better put in $50 to get us up to the Chino Valley north of Prescott before filling up.  Sure didn’t want to lug a full tank of gas all the way up the Yarnell Hill.  After picking up some propane we stopped at the gas station & put in $50.  Jumping back in the rig I checked the fuel gauge to make sure that $50 was sufficient & sure enough we now had a full tank of gas.  ‘WHAT’!!!!!!  Yep, I had gone & done it again.  For the third or fourth time since buying our rig back in May I read the gas gauge wrong!!  The rig’s gauge reads the opposite way our Jeep gas gauge reads & without thinking that is how I read the Big EEE’s gauge.  We now get to climb the long winding 2000’ Yarnell Hill with the extra weight of a full gas tank anyway.  Oh Joy.  Decided we will drive the Jeep up separately so Kelly will follow & I will hook the Jeep on in Yarnell.  Is it any wonder I frequently get sooooooo upset with myself.  And these Senior years are not making things any easier for me either because I don’t take too kindly to me doing dumb stuff:((

GOING TO MISS OUR VENTURES INTO THE DESERT BEHIND OUR HOUSE

It has been an odd feeling all day.  By this point I am generally geared up & ready to rumble but all day I just seemed to be in some kind of fog.  I’m sure once we get rolling my mood will clear & we’ll have our teeth into another rousing RVing adventure.

I did end up moving a bunch of bricks again this afternoon.  We have 5 larger Burbank cactus pods in pots & I knew from experience if I put them in the ground they would be chewed on by rabbits so I made another little enclosure out of the bricks under a Mesquite tree beside our patio & set the 5 cactus plants inside.  The black plastic heat absorbing pots are out of the blazing sun so roots should remain cooler over the summer.  I’m already anxious to see how everything turns out when we return in the Fall.

 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( The hunched-back man decides very reluctantly, that he should go see a doctor after a few too many people have started to comment on his back.
DOCTOR: I need for you to get undressed, sir.
(Hunchback removes jacket and then stops)
HUNCHBACK: I really don't like getting undressed, doctor.
DOCTOR: If you want me to examine your back you'll have to get undressed.
(Hunchback removes his shirt but leaves his t-shirt on)
HUNCHBACK: I don't like showing people my back. They always laugh at me.
DOCTOR: Do you want me to examine your back or not?
(Very reluctantly, the hunchback removes his t-shirt)
DOCTOR: Ah...just how long is it since you were in school?
HUNCHBACK: Gosh, over 20 years, doctor. Why?
DOCTOR: Did you ever wonder all those years what ever happened to your backpack?

-------------------------------------------------------

- 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.

HAD MYSELF WORN OUT BY NOON

NATURE’S WONDERS IN THE DESERT

We had a big pile of sand leftover from when the fellas stuccoed our house 3 years ago this month.  Last year I decided to use that sand on the paths of our front yard cactus garden.  Quite a few wheelbarrow loads but I got it done.  Problem was I’ve never been happy with that silicone type sand on the pathways.  Now 2 wrongs don’t make a right but a few weeks ago I decided on a second wrong thing & wheel barrowed a bunch of finely crushed red stone over to the paths & dumped it on the sand thinking that would solve my problem.  Didn’t take me long to realize I did not like what I had done.  This morning I spent 2 hours under the hot sun with my shovel & wheelbarrow shoveling all that sand & crushed stone back up again.  I’m back to plain dirt paths & to me it just looks better & I don’t have that slippery crunchy feeling underfoot anymore.  I’ll pour some more thought into those pathways when we return later in the year.  Needless to say by noon I was totally ker-pooped.

HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE YELLOW BRITTLEBUSH

North Ranch had their 2nd semi-annual garage sale today so Kelly was off to that about 8 a.m.  So what did she come home with?  More cactus plants of course so I was again busy doing some more planting.  A reader in our Shout box confirmed my apprehension about leaving things in pots all summer so I also busied myself planting all our potted small Agave’s together in a flowerbed near the birdfeeder.  It’s anybody’s guess whether they will make it through the long hot dry summer.  But they’re native desert plants & if the rabbits don’t chew them off they may have a chance. 

WITH THE PRESENCE OF RATTLESNAKES NOW WE HAVE NOT BEEN OUT TO THE DESERT MUCH

Fellow RV’ers Glenda & Jeff have been camped out with their Casita in the BLM lands at the end of Ghost Town Road for the past 5 weeks & this morning dropped in to say good-bye on their way down into the Phoenix area.  Their travels this summer will include Branson Missouri, Oregon, & California. 

GILA WOODPECKER ON OUR OCOTILLO >>>

I am going to take a liberty here & share something I do not have permission to share & I’m hoping the writer of this email we received will not mind me sharing their thoughts.  Reason for posting this is simply because it is in reference to all we blog writing folks, our blog followers & all our loyal readers.  Email says:  “Hey Al and Kelly, I have stalked you and your followers for at least the last year and 3 to 4 months while I have gone through therapy for breast cancer.  You all have been a blessing and an outlet that just makes my day.  You all have put a smile on my face and joy in my heart.  Have a safe journey home to Canada!  I'll be lurking in the background”…………………

I thought that was pretty special:))

Way to late of course but today we did finally make it over to Mike & Pat McFalls for Happy Hour at 4.  I so wish we had made the time to get over to see Mike & Pat earlier in the season.  Also there today were Jim & Ellie Meachum, Mike & Janna, Jim & Bev, as well as Jerry & Carol who live up the other end of Ghost Town Road from us.  In one fell swoop we managed to say good-bye to all the people left on our list.  I hope next winter we can do better & get around to see all these individual couples two on two whether it be here in Congress or in Bev & Jim’s case up in the State of Idaho sometime.

BACKYARD SUNSET

GROANER’S CORNER:(( My sister has the courage, but not always the skills, to tackle any home repair project.  For example, in her garage are pieces of a lawn mower she once tried to fix. So I wasn't surprised the day I found her attacking the vacuum cleaner with a screwdriver.  "I can't get this thing to cooperate," she explained when she saw me.  I suggested, "Why don't you drag it out to the garage and show it the lawn mower?"

---

Because I had forgotten the dates for a number of my friend's and relative's birthdays and anniversaries, I decided to compile a list on the computer and have the dates highlighted on screen when the machine was turned on. I went to a number of computer stores to find a software program that would do the job but had no luck at the first few. I finally found one where the clerk seemed experienced. "Can you recommend something that will remind me of birthdays and anniversaries?" I asked.
His reply: "Have you tried a wife?"

I ALWAYS SEEM TO DEVELOP AN ATTACHMENT TO THINGS & PLACES

Knew we were in for a windy day when I heard the eaves outside my bedroom window rattling in the pre-dawn hours.  Brisk gusting northeast winds made flying difficult for even our backyard birds this morning.  Our birdfeeder was swinging to & fro like an old boogie woogie metronome.  I was glad I had taken our long poled wind sock down a few days ago.  Kelly took down her set of ‘peace flags’ on the front porch as well.  Couldn’t help but think it was a good thing we were not headed anywhere with the Motorhome earlier today.  Winds diminished as the day lengthened & we ended with nary an evening  breeze.

Needing a few groceries for the road we slipped on down to Safeway in Wickenburg.  Another stop at TSC for doggy food & a last stop at the Bank Of America to make sure our $3 was still safely in our savings account.  Affirming it was we were soon back to Congress.  Stopped into Sarge’s (John & Jackie) to say good-bye until we’re back & see them again in the Fall.  They have been a big help to us since moving to Congress a couple years ago.  John is just one of those big positive thinking Jolly Green Giant guys always standing by to lend anyone a hand who needs it.  Still a few more people to see before we leave.

Took the Motorhome in & topped up the propane tank.  Added some gas as well & it was right back home again.  Parked the rig in front of the house for shorter loading trips to carry out food etc.  Since making the decision to leave this past Tuesday morning I’m anxious now to just get the show on the road & get rolling.

GOING TO MISS SITTING ON OUR FRONT PORCH READING & LISTENING TO THE BIRDS IN THE SAGUAROS

A SHELTERED SPOT FOR SOME OF OUR SMALL CACTUS PLANTS OVER THE SUMMER

It’s kind of like leaving an old friend behind.  That is how I have felt these last 9 years leaving America’s southwest each Spring & heading back to Canada.  And especially these last 3 years leaving our little place in Congress Az.  It’s not a depression or gloomy feeling, just a wee bit of simple sadness.  Most people miss their friends & families but for me it has always been the material things.  The mountains, the deserts, our favorite places, taking photos of our backyard birds, quietly reading on our front porch, the sunrises & sunsets.  I’ll miss my clear night skies & Pheebs will miss her big fenced in yard.  We were just talking today on our way back from Wickenburg how much we like our Congress place & this whole area in general. I’m always a little sad when we leave our house in Bayfield all alone by itself for the winter & I feel even sadder when we leave our little old ranch style house here in Congress for the summer.  I always seem to develop an attachment to things & places.  Strange I know in the grand scheme of things yet I’ve been that way since ever I was just a little feller.  Friends seem to come & go but things & places for me have a trusting foreverness to them which can last just as long as I choose to remember them.  I am most comfortable with my things & places…….

GOING TO MISS THE BIG FULL MOON’S EVERY MONTH TOO

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult:

I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8-year old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four-star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple.

I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So, here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.

And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause "Tag! You're it!"

MORNING & AFTERNOON VISITORS TODAY

GOING TO MISS ALL THE MELODIC BIRD SOUNDS IN OUR BACK YARD WHEN WE LEAVE

We’ve been traveling to the southwest United States each winter for 9 years now & I have never seen a Rattlesnake or a Gila Monster.  Doug from Miss Adventure Travels in only his 2nd winter here just in the last few days has seen 2 Gila Monsters & 1 Rattlesnake.  And he has photos to boot.  Luckily he had Yuma on a leash when he encountered the Rattlesnake & 2nd Gila Monster.  The fact snakes are out now is another contributing factor for us to move on to cooler climates.  Even though Pheebs has had her anti-rattlesnake vaccine shots it is still a big worry for us.

MALE HOUSE FINCH

Occasionally in my posts I have mentioned Stanton Arizona.  This old gold mining ghost town is less than a half hour’s drive from our place in Congress.  We have been in & through Stanton a half dozen times & I have touched on the history of Stanton a few times but thought this couple explained it much better than I.  Thom & Dar are adventurous desert travelers & in this post from Thom & Dar's Sabbatical Journal for 2015 they not only talk about Stanton’s history but write about their 2 trips to the ghost town with the second one being along rough Jeep back roads.

  

2 OF OUR 3 FRONT YARD SAGUAROS

 

Renee from North Ranch dropped over to say hello & goodbye this morning.  You may remember it was from Renee & Dave’s place we hauled home all those big bricks awhile back.  Renee & Dave just bought & moved with their big 5th wheel onto a nice spot in North Ranch last year.  They also spend time at their property near Datil New Mexico during the hotter months of summer.  Nice folks for sure & I missed getting a picture of Renee this morning.  Some days I am much less impressed with my memory than other days.

NO MATTER WHERE ONE IS IT’S ALWAYS SO NICE TO SEE THE VIBRANT GREENS OF SPRING

 

Cloudy day but we had the nicest warm breeze in the morning.  Sky looked dark & grumbly at times this afternoon but we never did get any rain out of it.  Computer’s weather map showed other areas around us did.

Gaelyn from Geogypsy Traveler came down off the mountain this afternoon to say hello & goodbye before we rolled out in a few days.  Gaelyn’s home base for the winter months is in Yarnell atop the Weaver Mountains about a 10 minute drive from our place.  In the summer months Gaelyn works as a Ranger at the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.

WE’LL MISS ALL THE BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS ON OUR PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS AGAIN THIS YEAR

We have been monitoring the weather around the Grand Canyon area plus all the way up to Moab & so far weather is looking great for the next 10 days.  Yes we may have to put on an extra pair of socks at the Grand Canyon’s south rim but that’s fine & we are well aware it could be cooler there.  And with a bit of luck maybe those cooler temperatures will mean less people.  I did check the Canyon’s website & it stated a good time to visit the Grand Canyon was from March to May.  Less people:))))))

I’M MISSING OUR PLACE ALREADY & WE HAVEN’T EVEN LEFT YET

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An American couple was fond of England and of all things richly historic and aged. They decided to retire to London, where they hoped to buy a castle. Though that proved out of their price range, they did find a wonderful house, quite ancient, with a long and noble history.  They found this house during their July vacation. They sold their house in Chicago and in November they crossed 'the pond' to retire.
To their horror, they found that their new home was abysmally cold.  They immediately set about trying to get a central heating system installed. Sadly, they were told by contractor after contractor that, in a house that old, it simply wasn't feasible.  "I was afraid it would come down to this," the husband finally said.  "What, honey?" the wife asked. "We can't have archaic and heat it, too."

HOPE TO HAVE THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING MONDAY OR TUESDAY

CURVE BILL THRASHER WITH THE PRETTIEST OF SONGS IN A SAGUARO CACTUS RIGHT OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM WINDOW THIS AFTERNOON

When l can sleep at night with my window open I know hot days are upon us.  Not hot by summer standards or what the locals may consider hot here in Arizona but hot enough for both Kelly & I.  This much warmer weather was a contributing factor in our decision to head for cooler climates on our slow trek back to Ontario Canada.  We concluded that neither one of us felt much like sitting around for the next 3 weeks doing basically nothing then making a mad dash for home.  Might as well get out there & see some more of this beautiful country while we still can. 

In a blog comment Sharon from The Odd Essay in part says, ‘I don't know if you're like me, but once we have a plan I'm ready to hit the road...now.  Yes Sharon I am exactly like you that way.  Being the sometimes impatient person I am once I decide to do something it generally is right away on the spot I want to do it.  Like you I am that way with travel.  Let’s not just talk about….let’s just do it & let’s just do it right now!!  Of course after we decided on our new travel plans Tuesday morning I had my little knapsack packed & was ready for the road Wednesday morning.  Always fortunate for me that Kelly is here to take the wind out of my sails & keep us on a realistic & logical steady course.  Lots of loose ‘home owner’ ends to be tied up before we go & it’s best the loose ends are tied up properly.  We still want to get around & see some of our friends before we leave Monday or Tuesday morning as well.  And yes despite our rather reclusive ways we do actually still have some friends:))

We were happy a high thin cloud cover held our temperatures down for most of the day but the clouds did thin out a bit in the afternoon & when the sun shone through it was like someone had turned on a heat lamp. 

FOREGROUND CHAIR IS WHERE I TIP WAY BACK & LEISURELY TAKE MY BIRD PHOTOS

 

A few more things in the rig, did some vacuuming, watered a few plants, did a bit of reading & took a few bird photos.  Imagine next week at this time we may be somewhere around the south rim of the Grand Canyon if all goes according to plan.  It will be our third time there.

Several months ago near Borrego Springs California we had the great pleasure of meeting Lynda & Howard from stillhowlyntravels.  Lynda & Howard were just returning from one of their long runs in the desert when we drove up to their camp at the Clark Dry Lake Bed.  We were saddened this morning to read Lynda has suffered an unexpected medical setback.  Lynda & Howard have been on the road for 20 years living in their RV criss-crossing the country.  They have seen & done so many things in their travels that many of us can only dream about.  In her latest post Lynda writes about the difficulties confronting her.  We are wishing them all the best & hoping Lynda’s health will soon be on the mend. 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( After a rigorous drilling program, a group of ROTC cadets was about to board the trucks back to the barracks. Just for fun, the cadets fell into formation with their caps on backward.  The lieutenant in charge was indignant at this breach of military decorum and dressed down the cadet leader, "Cadet! I want to see those caps facing front Immediately!!!!!"  The young cadet captain was unshaken. He called his group to attention, then commanded crisply, "About face!"

---

Used to being the center of attention, young Robbie was a little more than jealous of his new baby sister. The parents sat him down and said now that she was getting older, the house was too small and they'd have to move.  "It's no use." Robbie said, "She's crawling good now and she'd probably just follow us."

NEW TRAVEL PLANS AFOOT:))

NEIGHBOR’S FLOWER GARDEN

These are difficult days for a blog writer like myself.  With not a lot going on it is difficult & quite a challenge to come with something creatively different let alone interesting each day & that includes photos.  I know ‘I don’t have to write a post every day’ but my problem is that ‘I want to write a post every day’.  It’s an outlet for me, it’s my entertainment if you will & it’s my way of communicating with folks.  And above all it’s my favorite hobby:))

GAMBLE’S QUAIL IN ONE OF OUR MESQUITE TREES

Couldn’t believe how warm it was already when I stepped out the door about 8 a.m.  Knew right away we were going to have ourselves a hot day.  With no A/C in the Jeep we knew we wouldn’t be going too far:((

CURVE BILL THRASHER

Mike brought our Jeep’s back seat back today.   Janna & Mike had borrowed it when they had company last week.  Today they are headed over to Salome for a weeks ATV’ing with a group of friends.

I’M HOPING OUR FLOWER GARDENS WILL SOMEDAY LOOK AS NICE AS OUR NEIGHBORS

Sitting on our front porch this morning talking about this & that I’ll be darned if we didn’t just up & hatch ourselves a whole new set of travel plans.  Looks like northern Arizona & eastern Utah with a stop at the Grand Canyon are back up on the drawing board again.  And we may be rolling out shortly:))))))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Johnny was at his first day of school. The teacher advised the class that each school day starts with the Pledge of Allegiance and instructed them to put their right hand over their heart and repeat after him.  As he starts the recitation he looks around the room, "I pledge allegiance... to the flag..." When his eyes fell on Johnny he found he had his hand over the right cheek of his buttocks.  "Johnny, I will not continue till you put you hand over your heart."  Johnny replied, "It is over my heart."  After several attempts to get Johnny to put his hand over his heart the teacher asked, "Why do you think that is your heart?"  "Because every time my Grandma comes to visit she pats me there and says, 'Bless your little heart,' and my Grandma wouldn't lie."