FRIDAY…..SAME AS THURSDAY:((

 

To-day was kind of a repeat performance of yesterday so it's going to be a challenge to come up with something to blog about to-night.  Just finished emptying the cameras into Picasa so I've got a pile of photos to go through again.  I really need someone to come out here & take these camera's away from me.  I have totally swamped myself again to-day with sunsets & old farm machinery.  But, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining..........it's a very, very, enjoyable hobby:))

 

Not sure how many people out there are familiar with the, 'NEW TRIBES MISSION' but they have a very active community here in McNeal, Arizona.  This is the aviation division of New Tribes & the community is complete with aircraft, hangers, & an airfield.  They fly missionaries into remote & inaccessible locations.  Kelly's exercise instructor is part of the New Tribes family & her husband is the chief flying instructor here.  She told Kelly her husband would be delighted to give us a tour of the facility & it's different kinds of aircraft so we plan to head the short 2 miles over there one day next week for a look see.

Noticed a few days ago that Ivan is on the move again with ROADTRIP 09.  Some of you may remember his trip up the Alaska highway a few months ago about the same time WANDERING WILLY was up in that neck of the woods too.  Looks like Ivan swung through BC & Vancouver Island on his way south from Alberta this time & right now is somewhere around Barstow, California.  Not sure where he's headed but I'm guessing he's in search of warmer weather somewhere.  Aren't we all this year:((

Last night I blogged about my confusion with the Picasa photo editing program & it's upgrades.  When I opened the program to-day I somehow had the new version again.  I hope it stays this time!!!!

Google offers something called, 'Google Alerts' & we downloaded that awhile back to try & get a handle on who visits our Bayfield Bunch blogsite & how did they find it.  For the most part I don't really understand how this program works but to-day we found out we somehow landed on this FEEDJIT Double Adobe blog site.  Also landed on another site called TECHNORATI.  Nice to be picked up by other sites I guess but it's a little scary in a way too because we bloggers have little or no control where our blogs go & who picks them up for whatever reasons or uses.

Would like to thank everyone again for all the nice comments & emails that have been coming in.  Very much appreciated by the whole gang here at the Bayfield Bunch:))

Fired up the rig's generator to-day as well as the rig itself.  Occurred to me last night that we hadn't started up the motorhome since arriving at the ranch over a month ago & with these below freezing night time temps I was a little concerned about the battery.  But, no problem as it started right up, & unlike last summer I remembered to turn it off again before it ran for over 5 hours like last time!!!!  Hmmmmm, wonder if I remembered to turn off my motorcycle before heading south in October.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Why is psychoanalysis quicker for a man than than a woman?  When it's time to go back to childhood, he's already there.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

PUTTERING IN THE GARDEN

 

SOME SERIOUS DONKEY TALK GOING ON HERE

When I read posts from our fellow northern bloggers I am reminded how fortunate we folks in the southern parts of the States really are.  Our weather isn't the best down here in a lot of places but it is sure one heck of a lot better than what I am seeing up north.  I had better stop my grumping about the cold nights.  We hit 77F this afternoon:))

Kelly was off to exercise classes at 9 so I started pulling a lot of the dead summer flower stocks out of the flower beds & worked on another little adobe brick step down from the wrap around porch deck.  Sun was hot & I was actually down to short sleeves for a few hours.  Kelly's Yoga class is in Bisbee to-morrow morning so I'll hang out here & continue with my little projects.  Figured out how to start the ATV so that makes things a bit easier for hauling around dirt & bricks now.

CLEANING OUT SOME FLOWER GARDENS

The Facebook controversy continues over privacy issues & BITS FROM BILL has another post out to-day dealing with even more shady ways of big business.  Always something huh!!

<<< Y’KNOW PONCHO, I THINK THAT DOG’S CRAZY

Picasa has just released their newer Picasa 3.6 photo editing program yesterday so I upgraded last night but I don't see anything different from Picasa 3.  I actually went from Picasa 3 to Picasa 3.5 a couple of months ago & noticed some positive differences right away but then just a week or so ago my 3.5 mysteriously reverted back to Picasa 3.  So now I went to 3.6 & it looks the same as Picasa 3.  Confusing??  You bet it is & I don't know what's up with the Picasa folks but I sure hope they stop messing around with their photo editing program before they totally screw it up because there is not another photo editing program out there to compare with the ease & simplicity of Picasa.  All my photos are done using Picasa.

Mentioning Picasa reminded me about one of the most asked questions that come across my desktop...... what kind of a camera do you use?? I have blogged about this 3 or 4 times before so I will keep it short.  I have a Nikon D50 with an 18-55mm lens, & a Nikon D40 with a 55-200mm lens.  I also carry with me at all times a Canon Powershot A720IS & I have an 80mm Stellarve Refractor Nighhawk telescope that I can adapt to either one of my Nikons giving me a telephoto lens equivalent of 700mm.  I also carry a 2X tele-converter that doubles the power of any lens it is matched to.  All my cameras do a great job for me & as an advanced amateur they are all I need for our simple travel blog.  I've had my Nikon D50 for about 4 years, my D40 for 2 years & my Canon A720 for about a year & a half.  All cameras were purchased at HENRY'S camera shops except the Canon which I picked up at Wal-Mart.

Live Writer threw an error message at me last night about 2 minutes into the publishing process but it was a different one than I usually get so I waited a couple of minutes & tried again.  Success, but it sure had me doing some jumping up & down for a few minutes!!       10 A.M.  MORNING MOON >>>

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Men are like fine wine: They all start out as grapes, and it is your job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd want to have with dinner.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

MY SMUG MUG (I am finally working on updating this site)

http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

TO-DAY WE MET BELLE STARR:))

 

BELLE & HER FRIEND HOGAN

I heard Belle's welcome before I even saw her.  "Come in, come in" came  the voice from behind the old wooden door as we made our way to the white stucco & Spanish arched Silverado ranch house.  "Hello" she said as she pushed her wheelchair back from the doorway.  I knew from the instant I saw her that this was a very special lady.  Her eyes sparkled & her faced beamed a smile that made you feel welcome regardless of who you were or how you felt.  Belle is a vibrant 83 year old young cowgirl with a mighty big positive attitude.  She was dressed in a bright yellow outfit with a touch of western wildness to it.  Had her cowboy boots on too.  She made us right at home & had us sit down there by the door.  Within minutes of talking to her I could tell she was truly one of the those wild west characters we have all read so much about many years ago.  I could see the mischievous fire in her eyes & hear that young cowgirl passion for life in her voice.  It's all still in her despite having fallen & broken a hip this past August.  She is in a wheelchair now but her mind is still alert, alive, & still out there riding the open range.

We needed a few groceries to-day so had decided to slide over to Douglas Az for a few things plus pick up some extra apples & carrots for a stop at Belle Starr's Silverado Ranch on our way home.  We had read a bit about Belle & received a couple emails from other RV'ers who had stopped there.  One person said to take some food treats for the animals & that is what we did.

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We visited with Belle for a bit & met Hogan, a fellow from over near Naco who helps Belle & keeps an eye out for her safety.  More about Hogan later.  Told Belle we'd slip out & feed the gang our apples & carrots & then drop back in before we left.  We then headed out to feed the many donkeys & horses.  The majority of donkeys & burros are little fellers & it wasn't long before Kelly & her bag of apples & carrots were swamped along the fence line with a multitude of hungry little donkey faces pushing & nudging each other for the coming snacks.  Many horses including miniature breeds  right up to a big Clydesdale were busily munching a good feed of afternoon baled hay.  A colorful plumaged Peacock strutted about keeping an eye on us while many pigeons fanned the air from overhead.  A white Peacock & Golden Pheasant shared a pen with chickens & doves.  A pair of Geese honked their protests behind us much of the time.

 

GOLDEN PHEASANT

A replica of the original Belle Starr's cabin is on the property along with other weathered western artifacts.   This is not a commercial looking fancy pants tourist type place.  This is a down to earth realistic & rustic western ranch with prickly cactus, stones underfoot, a good deal of Arizona dust, & probably a sprinkling of rattlesnakes in the summertime.  Belle is unable to get out & tend her 'kids' now & has to rely on friends & volunteers to help out at the ranch.  Boondocking RV'ers are very welcome here.  No full hook-ups but water & a dump station are available & Belle does have Wifi.  There are boondocking spots close to the ranch house plus farther back on the ranch property.  If any of you boondockers out there are looking for a unique experience then Belle Starr’s Silverado Ranch is the place to head for.  Come on out & give Belle a hand around the ranch for a few days or weeks.  This is a very special lady & any help she can get would be very much appreciated.  We will be dropping by to see her again & are seriously thinking of stopping in there for a week when we leave the ranch here in January.  I don't know how to ride a horse, can't hammer a nail into a board straight & changing a light bulb is still a big challenge for me but I'm sure there is something we could do there to help Belle out for a week or so.  I'm pretty darn handy with a shovel I have got myself mighty darn good at milking chickens......so there!!

Belle has lived a full life with a colorful past to boot so I will put some links in here for anyone interested in reading about a feisty young gal from Kentucky who made Arizona her home after challenging worldly travels.  And it only took her 45 minutes to buy the ranch after she saw the 'For Sale' sign on it while driving by many years ago.  And, this gal not only rode horses, but rode motorcycles to boot!!

Belle Starr....... what a lady!!

BELLE STARR.....A REAL WESTERN RANCH

BELLE STARR'S SILVERADO

BELLE STAR & HER RANCH

BELLE STARR....TRAVELER REVIEW

 

Hogan is a friend of Belles & lives over near the Mexican border at Naco.  I'd say he's about my age & has himself a business of selling old classic cars.  They're not exactly in great or even good condition but he's got a pile of them with parts to spare.  Check out HOGAN'S CLASSIC CARS.  He may just have a little something for everybody over there.  And Sarge, if your reading this, I noticed on his site he's got himself 3 1953 Hudson Hornets in there amongst other things.....even a 55 Studebaker truck & a 51 Ford Coupe.

HOGAN & BELLE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You have to stay in shape. My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and now we don't know where the hell she is.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

MY SMUG MUG SITE  (I am finally working on updating this site)

MEMORIES OF DAY’S GONE BY

 

WINDY SKIES OVER THE VALLEY

No doubt about it!!  This is the longest & worst wind storm we have ever had to endure.  Although the satellite dish is still standing we have no television signal which tells me the dish has shifted in the high winds.  All 3 legs are spiked into the ground plus a heavy water jug is suspended underneath the tri-pod to add extra weight.  Despite that I expect the tri-pod to be flattened at any time.  I was jolted awake at 2 a.m. by a series of particularly heavy wind gusts that shuddered the whole coach.  It's 3 a.m. right now & the motorhome is rocking back & forth like a small boat upon a storm tossed sea.  Can seasickness be far away!!!! 

Never did go back to bed so worked away at organizing my Picasa Web Albums until sunrise.   Gonna be a loooooong tired day now:((

I was really surprised at not having an error message come up while publishing Live Writer Monday night.  I'm slightly optimistic the problem may be fixed.  The key words there are.....'slightly optimistic.'  Don't want to get my hopes up & have them dashed by an 'Error-400' message again!!  Kelly informed me it wasn't the internet she used to 'fix' the problem but the solution was right in our own computer all the time.  Something to do with program files.  I’ll have to get her to explain it to me.  (as if it would do any good)

And a big welcome to new followers Rod & Connie from ROUND THE CAMPFIRE.  Nice to have you onboard & hope the ride doesn't get too boring for you.

 It's the end of the day now & because of my lack of sleep it turned out to be a very draggy day.  Rained most of the morning so I stayed in & continued to work on my Picasa Web Album stuff.  Kelly was off to Yoga.  The winds finally diminished around noon & we put the slides out again.  It has been pretty crowded in here with 12 paws, 3 wagging tails, & 4 humanoid feet stumbling around.  Our Star Choice satellite somehow survived the winds assault intact but with all the twisting & bending we had no television this morning.  Took a bit of wiggling & re-aligning this afternoon but we snagged the satellite & all is well in Televisionville once more.

PLEASE MAKE THOSE BIG BAD WINDS GO AWAY MOM:((

Enjoyed reading some more of 'me 'n Henry' to-day & came across a paragraph that I really connected with.  Walter Swan the author is talking about his graduation from the eighth grade. (Quote)"This was the last year I ever went to school & the teachers really tried to teach me something, but I tried not to learn just as hard."(Un-quote)  That line sure brought back memories for me & I understood exactly how Walter Swan felt about that.  He goes on to say, (Quote)"We were kind of poor & things were really bad about now & this really bothered my Mother.  My shoes were all worn out & my clothes were not much better.  My shirt had been washed so many times that it was more white looking than it was blue.  My pants had so many patches on them that they looked like a quilt made into a pair of britches.  But they were going to have to do.  There just wasn't any money to buy new ones." (Un-quote) 

After reading that paragraph I kind of slipped into a quiet reflective mood for the rest of the day remembering my early childhood which was similar to Walter's but not as harsh.  Our parents did the best they could back in those days with what they knew & what they had.  When he talks about the Outhouse I remember that well.  Heating water on a coal/wood stove for washing, once a week baths, bringing in water from a pump outside, coal oil lamps for when the electricity went off, no television, wind up clocks, buckled galoshes on cold winter feet , a hand crank phone on the wall, bedpans, wooden sided refrigerator where you put a big block of ice in the top part, no such thing as a supermarket & fish was pedaled on Fridays from a man pushing a wagon around my little home town of Tavistock Ontario, Canada.  Knives could be sharpened the same way & milk was delivered by a horse drawn wagon.  A big old wooden floor model radio was the main source of entertainment in our house & my Mother, my Grandfather, my Uncle Fred, & me, would gather around it Sunday night's for 'Our Miss Brooks, The Great Gildersleeve, Amos & Andy, & many other great old time radio shows.  Arthur Godfrey in the mornings, Gunsmoke & Gangbusters on Saturday nights.  We had a crank up Victrola with old 78 RPM records which I would constantly listen to.  My Mother could play piano by ear & it was always a great treat to listen to her.  I would sit on the piano bench beside her and she would play my favorite, Greensleeves.  Our house always had music in it & I'm very grateful for that to-day.  Whether it was the radio, the Victrola, or an old record player years later, there was always music in the house.  To this very day I still surround myself with music. 

And, as I sit here to-night typing this, listening to my music, I feel very sad after reading & reflecting on Walter Swan's memories of his life because in many ways it connects with my own.  I know this is Tuesday but it just feels like a Sunday night to me & I'd like nothing better right now than to just go back & turn on that big old floor model radio, tune in Fibber M'Gee & Molly, gather round in the living room with my Mother, my Grandfather, & my Uncle Fred to listen & laugh once again to a simple humor that is all but gone now.   A way of life, a way of family, a way of remembering.  Some day's there are just too many old memories to think about.............................

GROANER'S CORNER:((  How many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb ?
Two. One to change it, and another one to change it back again.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

BIG ARIZONA WINDS TO-DAY

 

NEIGHBOR’S OLD BUILDINGS WITH THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS IN THE SUNRISE

By the time I got out of bed this morning Kelly was already on the computer doing battle with Microsoft's Live Writer.  She had read my post last night about being unable to find out where to un-install LW so she had her bulldog teeth into the problem.  Didn't take her long to dig up the un-install info on the internet but it also came with another option.  The site she found also came with a Microsoft Live download repair so we have decided to try that first before trying the un-install.  The repair wizard found 5 repair fixes to MS Live applications.  I'm hopeful this will work but I am not optimistic about it.  Been in these spots before & fixes do not have a good reputation for working.

I am going to keep the blog short (ya, I know....I always say that) & try to load a photo album plus pics & see if that works.  If you see a photo album in this blog you will know it did.

Last night we got a wake up call about 11 as to what to expect to-day in the way of weather.  One of those 44 car speeding express trains came roaring out of the mountains last night & slammed in to us broadside waking us both up.  The motorhome shook, shrieked , rattled, & rumbled, for about 5 minutes & then just as quickly as it had come......the big wind was gone & it was quiet for the rest of the night.

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Wind warnings on the news this morning told us what we were in for & sure enough it didn't take long for the winds to pick up & start blowing real darn good by late morning.  We pulled our slides in before I went to my photo group because the winds were trying their best to rip the slide awnings off.  While at the photo group we watched many big tumbleweeds tumbling across the parking lot outside as the wind kept increasing.

By the time I got back shortly after 3 the air was just a howling & the rig was just a rocking.  We decided to eat in the ranch house so had another big feed of turkey with all the dressing.  Beaks & feet.  Inside the ranch house you would never know there was a big 44 car freight train wind a goin on through.  Had to take some blankets out for the chickens because the wind had nearly clean blew all their feathers off.  The donkeys were hangin on to the fence posts & the two ranch dogs were in the house watching television.  Charlie the cat was reported eastbound at an altitude of about 300 feet somewhere over El Paso.

Ok, I'm going to load this blog full up with photos right now & an album to see what happens.  Want to try it early in case I have to transfer everything over to blogger again......which I fully expect I will have to do.  All photos are of this morning's sunrise which I took outside in my pajamas.  No Jerry, they are not red:))  And a note to Fred & Wilma.......To-day at the photo group I talked to another person who is having the same Live Writer problem you are.  It scatters her photos asunder as well.  Looks good when she composes the blog but when it's published her photos & text are not where she had placed them!!!! 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Doctor! I have a serious problem, I can never remember what I just said.
When did you first notice this problem?   What problem?

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

MAX IS BACK IN ACTION:))

 

Max is 100% back to his good old doggy self to-day.  He was the first one out the door on our walk this morning & he's been out & about all day long with the rest of the gang.  And he's really enjoying his newly trimmed paws all way round.  The big black Corky dog came for the day & Max was right over there showing the Cork boy his newly trimmed nails.  Pretty proud fellow & he had a swagger in his walk for the whole day.

CORKY’S MOM HANDING OUT DOGGY TREATS TO A FOUR LEGGED GANG OF RUFFIANS

Big sunny skies are back bringing the temps up but the gusting winds made it jacket weather just the same.  Don't think we got down below freezing last night either because of some cloud cover.  Geeeezzzz, how can you tell I'm Canadian eh!!  Always going on about the weather, that's how:))

Finally got to bed after 11 last night after having to re-copy the blog from Live Writer to Blogger for the umpteenth time in the last couple of months.  I was pretty upset again to say the least & if I didn't like blogging so much I'd pack it in find something else to occupy my time.  But, I enjoy writing & photography which goes hand in hand with RVing so it would be pretty hard for me to just walk away from it at this stage.  Easiest thing would be to use Blogger again like I always used to but once you have used Live Writer it's simply a more funner way to do things & I'm hooked on it.  I have no idea whatsoever what is causing our Live Writer errors & I don't have the patience or interest to track the problem down either.  Kelly already has spent a few hours on it as well as some fellow bloggers.  I actually started out first thing this morning to un-install it & then re-install it.  I couldn't even get to first base on figuring out how to un-install it because I think it's imbedded into Windows Live which in itself has become increasingly confusing to me with all it's fancy schmancy new e-phone kneephone email programs, texting schmexting, live monsoon messenger, my space cry space, & who all knows whatever other kid's techno pop crap they've crammed in there.......etc. etc.  Well, at least it's not as bad as that silly symphony gooey gamed Facebook yet!!!!!  Ya, ya, I know........

<<< Kelly got this Turkey on sale over in Bisbee for only 8 dollars.  Had it to-day & now we have enough left over for Turkey a-la-king, Turkey souffle’ Turkey muffins, Turkey Torte, Turkey pudding with butterscotch sauce & a nice Turkey Flambe’  Oh ya, & some cold turkey sandwiches to boot:))

Read me another big hunk of 'me 'n Henry this afternoon & am really enjoying the book.  A very realistic view of a poor farm family's struggle to survive with a large family back in the 20's, 30's & 40's.  I grew up somewhere in between that depression era & this pathetic mess we are presently in & it angers me to no end when I see how far the attitudes of youth & morals of society have declined.  This book has reminded me of that over & over again!!

SOMETIMES……THINGS ARE NOT QUITE WHAT THEY SEEM:))

I was reading some RV blogs this morning & a link in MIKE & PAT'S TRAVELS caught my eye.  An RV couple came very close to losing their lives in an armed hold-up of their rig recently.  Just goes to show that the slime ball low life are always out their lurking somewhere.  It happened at an RV campground at an RV repair facility in Elkhart, Indiana.  We were there two winters ago when we had a new screen door installed so it hit a little closer to home for us when I read it.  Also in Mike's blog he talks about an RV fire in their park in which a Class A was gutted.  Looks like it may have started in the furnace when the folks were away.

CHECKERS IS TEMPORARILY ON A LEASH THIS MORNING BECAUSE SHE KEEPS WANTING TO WANDER OFF & SEE THE NEIGHBOR’S DOG

And a little note to our usual 'jokes' friends.  While we're traveling we don't send or receive jokes because they totally eat up our limited 5 Gig Verizon limit.  I do save them but we can't look at them.  And yes, despite recent changes in our internet habits we are still going to be waaaaaay over our 5 Gig limit again this month.  I think they must have a program running whereupon for every megabyte we use they assess us 10!!

Going to keep the blog shorter to-night & see how I make out with Live Writer or whatever the heck the problem is.  Besides, I'm feeling a little ranty again & that is not always a good thing for a travel blog......if ya know what I mean.........10-4!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  What do you call a sheep with no legs?  A cloud:))

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

SOME FELLOW CANADIANS DROPPED IN TO-DAY

To-night's photos I will entitle....'Ice Castles.'

As soon as I saw the cloud cover this morning I knew we were in for a cold day because the air's been nippy & it has only been the sun's rays keeping things warm this past while. I turn the ranch's water off each night & disconnect our rig's water hose. There is an extensive irrigation system here so it's important not to have above ground water pipes freeze.

Thelma & Don (Skip) rolled into the ranch about 10:30 in their Honda CRV. As mentioned in last night's blog they are Canadian snowbirds from Ottawa who like us, enjoy traveling the American southwest. They enjoy staying at State Parks & traveling without a heavy duty itinerary. Like us, they kind of go with which ever way the wind is blowing. They have been following our blog for a couple years & it was nice to meet them to-day. They had been hoping to see a sky full of Sandhill cranes but as luck would have it there were only a couple of distant flocks about a mile or so to the west making their way back to the Whitewater Draw. Too cold to sit outside so we had ourselves a visit in the rig. Thelma & Don wanted to stop into the town of Bisbee on their way back to their rig at Kartchner Caverns so headed out about 12:30. Nice folks & it was nice to meet them. Safe travels folks & may our trails cross again:))

At 10 o'clock last night Max was still unable to stand up despite looking better in the afternoon. His appetite was back but he hadn't gone to the washroom since early morning so we were a bit concerned. About 3 a.m. I was awakened by a whimper & he was on his feet by the door. He was able to go down the steps ok & outside for a little walk around & a whiz. Sure was cold out there in my pajamas!! He didn't want to go for a walk this morning & has spent most of the day snoozing. His mobility is back but he's just a very tired boy. Hopefully he will be spunkier to-morrow. And thanks to Gypsy for your email to-day:))

(click photos to enlarge)

Because of the drab day we opted to just stay in for the afternoon & relax. Several weeks ago one of our fellow bloggers had commented on one of our visits to Bisbee & mentioned a book & bookstore. We did look for that old bookstore but it was long gone. We did remember the book mentioned in the blog & a few days ago Kelly picked it up at the Elfrida library. I started reading "me 'n Henry about 1 p.m. & by the time I put the book down a few hours later I was on page 137. I had read about half the book. That's the way I used to read many books, many years ago, & it was nice to get into a book again that captured & held my attention right from the first page. Not a book you would find on any best seller's list & not a book any of the modern generation would be interested in. This is a book about real people & real times told in a simple manner by a fellow who grew up in the hard mining times of the very area we are in right now. 'me 'n Henry" is a book about two boys as they grew up in Cochise County on the old family homestead when Arizona was a brand new state. Each of author Walter Swans stories are short, exciting, humorous, & sad all at the same time. It's an easy to understand read & for those of us out here in the Senior years we can identify with many of the happenings, understand how & why things were the way they were, & live right along with Walter through his growing up years near the mining town of Bisbee, Arizona.

BITS FROM BILL has an interesting post to-day about Facebook & some of it's affiliates security issues. Both Kelly & I have Facebook accounts but we treat them differently than many folks we see on there. Neither of us have any interest whatsoever in all that game stuff & we totally avoid joining any of the countless applications.  We keep getting invitations to this & that & I can't hit my ignore button fast enough regardless of who is sending them.  Nothing personal against the folks who like these kinds of things but they just are not our cup of tea.  I don't like the television game shows either.  We're not Casino people so I think there is something there that goes hand in hand with that games mentality. Anyway, it is these many so called 'fun' things that are compromising peoples security. Gee, who could have seen that one coming huh!!  I do suggest you slip on over to Bill's site & have a look at what he has to say. I do have a Tweet account too but for the life of me I cannot figure out what is so darn popular about it. I think it's probably tied in with the cell phone & texting craze. Don't even get me started on what I think about......texting!!!!  I don't call myself a Cursmudgeon for nothing you know!!

A year ago to-day we were near Silver City, New Mexico visiting historic HISTORIC FORT BAYARD & two years ago we had just left Dead Horse Park in Cottonwood, Arizona heading for HICKIWAN TRAILS near Why, Az. We ended up putting a little website to-gether for Hickiwan while there & included a bunch of our photos on the site that I taken around there in the past few years. We will always remember our early morning desert walks at Hickiwan.

I saw snow on Mexico's Naco Peak south of us this afternoon & can still see snow northeast of us in the Chiricahua mountains so we may have to wait until things warm up a bit before returning once again to the Chiricahua National Monument's hiking trails. Hope to get down to Belle Star's ranch this coming week sometime too. Also want to do a night trip to Bisbee & photograph the lights. I would like to have a look at Tombstone by night as well. And another run over to Sierra Vista is in the works too. Gotta keep Al busy you know:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Don't spend 2 dollars to have a shirt dry cleaned. Donate it to the Salvation Army. They'll clean it and put it on a hangar. Next morning you can buy it back for 75 cents.

Live Writer, or our connection, or this laptop computer failed to publish the blog again to-night so I've just spent an additional hour wrestling the whole thing over to Blogger yet again!!!!  It's times like this that I just feel like throwing in the towel on this whole blogging thing..............................
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THIS IS WHERE I FOUND THE ICE CASTLES THIS MORNING

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

MY SMUG MUG (I am finally working on updating this site)

http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/