Friday, August 14, 2009

THE DAY I MOOSE SALUTED THE OLD NORTH WIND!!

A LITTLE FRIEND ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

It was RICK'S spaghetti sauce that saved the day for me this afternoon. Kelly had sent an email last night telling me to take a plastic container out of the freezer to-day around noon because that was going to be our supper to-night. It was around 2 P.M. that I sat down at the computer to catch up on a few blogs. As I was reading Rick's blog about fixing & mixing spaghetti sauce I had this uncomfortable feeling there was something I was supposed to remember that had to do with food. Oh no!! Kelly could be home any minute & that plastic container was still in the freezer!! I zipped out to the kitchen, filled the sink with super hot water & plopped the frozen container in there. Checked it about 20 minutes later & it was still frozen solid. Oh no, what to do!! Noticed the micro-wave had a defrost setting so I had to hurriedly get creative with a bunch of microwave numbers & about half an hour later I saw some good serious soggy signs in the container of veggies. Put the container back in the hot water & left it there until Kelly rolled in the driveway about an hour later. Quickly drained the water & set the container on the counter..........no problem & supper went off without a hitch:)) Thanks oh great spaghetti master!! HERE'S AN INTERESTING LITTLE FELLOW IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

Had a question about the black thing sticking up on top of my telescope lens. That large black lens I've been using with my camera is first & foremost an astronomy telescope. That device on the telescope contains a small battery which projects a small laser like red dot onto the center of that rectangular glass portion. When looking for objects in the dark night sky it can be difficult to find a specific area. By looking through that finder device you just align that red dot with whatever your looking for in the night sky & that automatically aligns your lens with the object making it easier to locate things. If it wasn't for all the tall pine trees surrounding us I would be making a lot more use of this telescope at night......but:(( I ADDED THE LITTLE RED DOT IN PAINT SHOP BUT THAT IS WHAT YOU BASICALLY SEE AT NIGHT

The American southwest is notorious for it's big winds & we have sure found that out first hand over these past few years. We were boondocking in the desert about 6 miles south of Quartzite, Arizona back in January of 2008 with continous winds sweeping in from the north each night. It was really reeking havoc on our sleeping & making me extra irritible.....if that's possible!! I blogged about that big wind & my coyote theory the following night & mentioned that in the morning I had gone outside & totally 'Moose Saluted' that old north wind just to let him know what I thought of his nightly antics. Wasn't long & I had some emails asking what a moose salute was so rather than trying to explain it I took a picture of myself demonstrating the moose salute & put it in next days blog. Here is that blog about the wind and...............the Moose Salute!!

From January 14th, 2008
The big wind gusts finally let up last night around 9:30 only to return around midnight with reinforcements. I don't know if that is what woke me up or if it was our border collie Checkers growling like crazy. Next thing I heard were the coyotes & it sounded like there was a herd of them right outside the door somewhere having some kind of a convention. Yips, hoots, yelps, whines, cries, & barks.......they had it all. I think there is probably an old Indian legend around somewhere that says it is the panting breaths of many howling coyotes that cause the mighty winds to come sweeping across the sleeping desert floor in the dead of night.
When I first went outside this morning I noticed the wind had finally abated so without further ado I proceeded to put our awning down & clipped on the camouflage netting. Then, just to be a smart ass I poked my head around the end of the coach, stuck my thumbs in my ears & gave that big old north wind a good old fashioned Canadian Moose salute. Well, you know what happened!! Within half an hour I was scrambling like nuts to get the awning retracted & ended up chasing our Canadian flag across the desert floor after having it being blown right off the flag pole. That wily old wind had returned my Moose Salute with a vengence & he's been chasing my butt all over the southwest ever since........!!

GOOD OLD CANADIAN MOOSE SALUTE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( It's not how you win or lose, it's how you place the blame!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Al, Thanks for coming by... I loved your story of the wind vs. the moose salute. What kind of camera is that? Looks great!

    Have Fun & Travel Safe
    Donna

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  2. Al, I'm so glad you explained "Moose Salute!" When we read your topic heading for the day, we had all kinds of strange imaginings. You have put our troublesome imaginations to rest.

    Loved the picture! You didn't look too terribly cursmudgeonly in it!

    We agree about the desert winds. They must travel all the way from Quartzite to Benson, 'cause we have 'em too.

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