BETWEEN ME AND MY WORLD OF CONFUSEMENT

ARIZONA’S MULE MOUNTAINS BLEND INTO THE RANCH HOUSE ROOF LINE WHILE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS TWINKLE ALONG THE DRIVEWAY
Sure nice not to have stiff water lines first thing in the morning from overnight cold temperatures.  We moved a couple wooden bird feeders from the far side of the Ranch house to the apple trees right beside us so it’s also nice seeing all the birds right outside our window first thing in the morning.  Purple Finches, Cactus Wrens, Red Wing Blackbirds, Curved Bill Thrashers to mention a few I recognize.



   
We actually ate breakfast outside this morning under our awning.  First outside breakfast I can remember since we were at PANCHO VILLA STATE PARK in Columbus, New Mexico back in December of 06.

 
OUR FIRST OUTSIDE BREAKFAST WITH MOTORMOUSE, MAX, AND CHECKERS DECEMBER 24TH 2006 AT PANCHO VILLA STATE PARK IN COLUMBUS, NEW MEXICO
THIS WAS BACK IN THE DAYS OF THE ORIGINAL BAYFIELD BUNCH WHEN WE HAD OUR 5TH WHEEL
I sure would be in a big world of confusement if it wasn’t for Kelly.  Ever since this kidney stone thing she has taken the bull by the horns handling all the phone calls between our insurance company and the University of Arizona Hospital.  She sorted out all the confusing fax numbers for having records sent back and forth.  She talked to forgetful Department Heads ensuring things were staying on track.  The Nurse Practitioner even gave Kelly her own personal cell phone number.  Kelly has spent hours on the internet researching kidney stone info and other things found in my Cat Scan. 

She is relentless in her pursuit of information to arm herself with when talking to medical or insurance people.  She is totally efficient in her approach to this medical problem and deals with each missed phone message or incorrect phone fax number with ease.  Nothing ever phases her or gets her down and she knows what to say and when & how to say it.  Kelly handles any other kind of situation as well and that is precisely why her managerial and fine people skills are so much appreciated at Deer Park Lodge back home where Kelly is the Lodge’s invaluable manager.  Like I have said in the past, I honestly don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for my wonderful wife.  And, I think most other men, if the truth be known, are in the very same boat as I am when it comes to competent and capable caring Spouses.
Thanks to Kelly’s patience and perseverance I have an appointment scheduled at the University of Arizona hospital for next Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.  I will be undergoing a Renal Ultra Sound and was happy to find out it will not require any poking, puncturing, prodding, or drinking vast volumes of foul tasting liquids.  In other words, it’s a fist clenching, face gritting, and scream free procedure.  I think I can handle that.  Had it been the injecting of radioactive isotope stuff I may have had to put out a plea in my blog here for a stand in volunteer.  By the way, our insurance company is MANULIFE FINANCIAL of Canada and this morning they agreed to pay for my upcoming thousand dollar Reno Ultra Sound.  Thanks Folks:)) 

OVERHEAD SAND HILL CRANES TODAY
I have been asked a few times why I don’t respond to reader’s comments.  Short answer…volume of comments.  If I wrote a post maybe once or twice a week or maybe every other week or so I could see personally responding to each and every comment.  Because my comments and response to comments comes from the heart it generally takes me awhile to think and put a comment together.  To do that each day with every comment received is just too much for me to do.  I think many other daily Bloggers will understand that.  I have been making a better effort to respond to questions in my posts though.  Just thought of one from MERIKAY a few days ago.  The $800 travel insurance we pay for me is for 182 days.  Kelly’s travel insurance is $700 and is separate from mine but covers the same length of time.

THIS FEISTY LITTLE DEMON ROOSTER ATTACKED ME JUST SECONDS BEFORE THIS PHOTO >>>
I was also recently asked if I read all my comments.  My answer to that is a resounding, ‘YES’.  Since the very beginning of my blogging days years ago I have never missed reading a single comment.  Each and every comment comes into our Hotmail account in the form of an email & I have thousands upon thousands of comments saved and filed away for each one of my blogging years.  Why do I save all the comments?  I dunno, I just do.  Things like that are important to me.

Sometimes the doggy snoring wakes me up.  With 4 dogs just a few feet from my bed last night they all seemed to be snoring in marvelous harmony.  Similar to the lyrics of a Johnny Cash song…..Gleeson snored Base, Motor snored Tenor, with Pheebs and Pearce joining right in there:))

FINDING A LITTLE SHADE ON A WARM SUNNY DAY
The Last Paragraph:  We all have our little quirks and foibles. Here are a few of mine. - Don't like using a metal spoon to stir my coffee because of the clanking sound the spoon makes. I always stir my coffee with a plastic spoon. - No matter what, I never do the sleeve buttons up on a long sleeve shirt. Can't stand that tight feeling around my wrists & same for the top button on a shirt - When I make my shake in the morning I never pour it in a glass. The blender is my glass. - It is extremely rare for me to answer a ringing telephone, or for that matter, pick up the phone and make a call. - I never tell a joke but have forwarded countless thousands of them over the years on the computer to my 'jokes gang.' - I'm the only person I have ever met who daily enjoys mixing milk with lettuce and other exciting vegetables...check out SOUNDS YUKKY - TASTES YUMMY. Spending hours keeping a vehicle all shiny and sparkly doesn't interest me anymore. Nor does swimming. - I have carried a notebook and pen with me every day for the past 28 years. Why would I need all this iPlop stuff. - Wherever I go somewhere I make it a point to arrive early and never be late.  Just a little something called respect - I will take the extra time and drive the extra miles just to avoid the traffic chaos of a large city. - Rare for me to wear shorts and I never wear sandals. - Can't read or watch any movies or television with animals because inevitably the animals end up getting hurt or mistreated somehow. - I avoid groups or crowds of people because I feel very uncomfortable in those situations. - I am in a definite minority when I say I do not play cards or table games. - BBQing, cooking and sports hold zero interest for me. – Rap music should be called what it really is….offensive and aggravating noise.  Say, did I ever tell you about ME AND QUEEN ELIZABETH:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 
- How does the pope buy things on eBay?
He uses his papal account!
- Did you hear about the American who got in big trouble after he dismembered a grizzly?
He misunderstood the 2nd amendment when it said he was entitled to bear arms.
- Is it proper to eat a hamburger with your fingers?
No, you should eat your fingers separately!
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

WE NEARLY HIT 70F TODAY….NOW, HOW NICE IS THAT:))

I think this morning takes the record for the latest we have ever shoved our noses out the door and headed outside.  It was after 10 o’clock before we stepped into the welcoming morning air.  Normally by this time of day we would have already been back from our morning walk.  I actually had to check my own pulse to see if I had died in the night.  Is it the colder outside air lately, are we letting our age take advantage of us, have we been lulled into a lazy laptop start to our days??  Methinks it is a combination of all three.  I’m figuring our ‘too relaxing’ lifestyle is in need of a good swift kick up the old tail pipe.

I DECLARE THIS JEEP……MINE!!

Slipped into Douglas for groceries this afternoon and there were convertibles and motorcycles on the road so you know how warm it was here today.  We were close to 70F.  Wow, won’t be long and I will be complaining about the heat eh:))

 

STOPPED AT ELFRIDA’S ‘HIGH LONESOME’ STORE TUESDAY AND SPOTTED THESE YOUNG FELLERS PRACTICING THEIR ROPE WORK

We had thousands upon thousands of Sand Hill Cranes directly overhead this morning heading back to the Whitewater Draw.  Finally decided to haul my tripod and 700mm telescope lens out to try for some nice close-ups of the birds in flight.  Kelly remarked that by doing that it would probably stop the overhead flights.  It did!!  Never even got the big lens on the tripod when I noticed the flights had abruptly ceased.  Why is that anyway!!!!

A week from this Thursday we will be having a special visitor flying in to the Tucson Airport and coming down to spend a week with us here at the Ranch.  Stay tuned as our Senior traveler and adventurist at heart makes her way from the warmer humid temperatures of central Florida to the colder dryer air of Arizona’s Cochise County in the Sulphur Springs Valley:))

Plucked this slogan off the Internet.  I’m not real big on cutesy slogan stuff but this one rang my bell.  I have had a bad habit of coming back and apologizing for my blog opinions sometimes.  Thought this slogan sums up my feelings quite well. 

  

OH DAD, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU MADE ME PUT THAT HAT ON

An Anonymous commenter hit the nail on the head when, in part, saying, “Al, I don't think you'd like to winter over in Florida...there are comparably fewer sights to see for "roaming around" and sightseeing....most folks seem to get to their winter base place and stay-put for the duration of the winter...seems to me you'd be duplicating your summer stay in Bayfield...and you do seem to be real restless then.” -- My very thoughts exactly and it is my number one chief concern about our Florida option if we have to go that route.

 

GLEESON, PHEEBS AND PEARCE

 

PHEEBS IS HAVING A REAL BLAST HERE AT THE RANCH AND LOVES PLAYING ROUGHHOUSE WITH GLEESON…THE SHOWING OF TEETH IS NOT SERIOUS

Received several emails from folks with helpful medical insurance and hospital info advice.  Thanks guys, everything is appreciated.  Also this site from SHARON AND RON BUCHNER which may be of interest in future plans. 

 

COUPLE OF ABSTRACTS OF THE MOON AND PLANET VENUS I TOOK A COUPLE NIGHTS AGO

The Last Paragraph: Yep, been giving some thought to revving up my ‘Last Paragraph’ segment again.  Kind of got away from it last summer for whatever reason.  Maybe it’s getting about time to share a few thoughts and opinions again………10-4:))

GLEESON AND PHEEBS ALWAYS FINISH UP THEIR PLAY TIME WITH A COUPLE HUGS >>

GROANER’S CORNER:))  After the Great Britain Beer Festival, in London, all the brewery presidents decided to go out for a beer. The guy from Corona sits down and says, "Hey Senor, I would like the world's best beer, a Corona." The bartender dusts off a bottle from the shelf and gives it to him.
The guy from Budweiser says, "I'd like the best beer in the world, give me 'The King Of Beers', a Budweiser." The bartender gives him one.
The guy from Coors says, "I'd like the only beer made with Rocky Mountain spring water, give me a Coors." He gets it.
The guy from Guinness sits down and says, "Give me a Coke." The bartender is a little taken aback, but gives him what he ordered. The other brewery presidents look over at him and ask "Why aren't you drinking a Guinness?" and the Guinness president replies,
"Well, I figured if you guys aren't drinking beer, neither would I."

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

 

IN SEARCH OF THE CHIRICAHUA SNOW

WE CROSS A STREAM OF MELTING SNOW WATER

Well, let’s get off the future Florida options and get ourselves back to the here & now in good old Arizona.  Since arriving at the Ranch a couple weeks ago we basically haven’t done much and have hardly left the property.  Today, we went in search of ‘snow’.

From the first day we rolled into the Sulphur Springs Valley I noticed a fair bit of snow in the distant Chiricahua Mountains.  Had a nice sunny day going for us so we loaded up the Pheebs and headed for the snowy peaks.  Wanted to get Pheebs out playing in the snow plus I was curious about the damage caused by the devastating forest fires early last summer.

 

PHEEBS CHECKS OUT A HERD OF CATTLE ALONGSIDE THE ROAD  

North of Elfrida we turned right on Rucker Canyon road and headed east for the Chiricahua Mountains.  Could see a fair bit of snow had already melted but we didn’t let that deter us.  This is familiar territory for me, having made about half a dozen trips into Rucker Canyon over the past 4 years.  One of my favorite places.  Anyone typing ‘Mary Kidder Rak’  or ‘Fort Rucker’ into our blogs search bar can read of our trips to old Camp Rucker and Mary Kidder Rak’s homestead.  Mary Kidder Rak wrote the book, ‘A Cowman’s Wife’ and after reading the book a few years ago, her and Charlie’s old homestead took on a nice bit of meaning for me.

 

CROSSED A FEW MOUNTAIN STREAMS TODAY

We made our way along the winding and scenic gravel road up into Rucker Canyon.  Didn’t stop at the Fort or Homestead today but rolled on by into Tex Canyon.  We saw evidence of fire damage along the road from near Fort Rucker all the way into Tex Canyon.  Not severe damage and you had to look hard to see the burn marks at the base of some trees.  Overall, everything looked fine with no change to the great scenery.

  

 

THIS HILLS WERE ONCE FORESTED WITH 'PINE TREES, AGAVE, PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS, MESQUITE TREES, ETC.

About 10 miles past the Fort we did begin to notice whole hillsides off to the east that had been burnt.  In some places right up to the road we were driving on.  Must have been quite a fire line they had along this road because the fire was beaten back and never jumped across the roadway.  We also noticed there was not a speck of snow to be seen anywhere.

IN THIS AREA THE FIRES SWEPT DOWN THOSE HILLSIDES AND WAS STOPPED AT THE ROAD IN THE FOREGROUND

Made a U-turn and headed back to the Fort Rucker area & made a right turn heading up to a camp ground we knew to be at the end of a dead end road.  Still no snow and we began to realize we were not going to find any either.  The snow was on the higher peaks to the North. 

 

A CURIOUSLY GREEN TIPPED SET OF ROCKS ALONG A ROCKY RIDGE

Last time I had been up this road was last winter when I led a couple car loads of Bisbee hikers into the area to scout out some new trails for their Mule Team Hiking Club.  You can read my post about that day here at….MULE TEAM.

 

ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL SCENERY IN ANY MOUNTAIN RANGE

This Rucker campground is really secluded and we have never seen anyone here.  A mountain stream runs right through it and it is completely forested with tall Pine trees.  It is also at the extreme end of the road.  Picnic tables, BBQ grills, steel containers for food and garbage.  Keeps the Bears away.  Wouldn’t recommend bringing a big Motorhome up the road but truck campers, Class B campers, and small Class C’s would be just fine.  I think smaller 5th wheels would be fine too.

 

 

A LAST LOOK AROUND……. AND THEN WE WERE GONE 

Time was getting on so we slipped quietly back down Rucker Canyon road and out of the Chiricahua Mountains into the long ranging & rolling grass fields of Leslie Canyon.  Just another super great scenic drive.  By 3:30 we were back at the Ranch and an hour later I had the chores done for another day.

Ranch dog Gleeson stayed for a sleep over last night and Pheebs thought that was pretty special.  I thought it was pretty special too:))  And, who knows what Motor is thinking half the time.  Pheebs really gets along well with Charlie the Cat over in the Ranch house too.  But then again, Pheebs just gets along with everything……..:))

Couple things regarding Monday night’s post.  I mistakenly put in our own link for Deb’s FIND AN OUTLET.  I have since corrected that.  Thanks Pat:))  Question about where we buy our travel insurance….Canada.  Wild Blue Yonder left a very informative comment on Monday’s post about medical insurance and dealing with hospitals, etc.  Thank you….couldn’t seem to locate your blog site.  Another question about family members.  When I referred to two family members left I meant my Aunt and Uncle.  Yes, I have one Son and 3 Grand Children.    But, that’s a whole blog or two in itself which I may write about at some point in the future.

TRYING TO GET PHEEBS TO POSE FOR A PICTURE

Three new Blog Followers to welcome today. Kathleen, AVERY'S WANDERINGS, and Mary Sprow. Welcome aboard and thanks for reading our blog.  It’s you folks who give me the inspiration at the end of each day to keep the blog current on a daily basis:))

ROLLING HOME THROUGH SCENIC LESLIE CANYON

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Five-year-old Becky answered the door when the census taker came by. She told the census taker that her daddy was a doctor and wasn't home because he was performing an appendectomy.
"My," said the census taker, "that sure is a big word for such a little girl. Do you know what it means?"
"Sure do! Fifteen-hundred bucks, and that doesn't even include the anesthesiologist!"

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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.