HAD OURSELVES A HEAVY DUTY HUMID DAY

 

OUR FRONT YARD ORANGE AZALEA BUSH IS IN BLOOM NOW  

With the temperature already over the 70F at 6 a.m. this morning & humidity building we knew it was going to be a hot one....& it was.  I think we topped out today around 85 somewhere with lots of heavy humidity!!

<<< A YOUNG ROBIN COMES IN FOR A DIP IN OUR BIRD BATH

Didn't take me long to get outside & saddle up the Motorcycle.  No long underwear, bulky sweaters, snowmobile gloves, fleece lined boots or jackets this morning.  Nope, just get on er & go, short sleeves & all.  Now, that's how I love to ride a motorcycle!!

HAD MYSELF A COFFEE ON THE BEACH IN GRAND BEND THIS MORNING 

Our annual front yard Spring bird explosion is pretty much over for another season.  Don't know where they all go but by June the ranks have thinned out.  The Rose Breasted Grosbeaks have gone as well as the Nuthatches & some of the Gold Finches.  For some reason we had very few Purple Finches  this year.   Maybe they are all too busy right now raising their families & don't have time to be flying back & forth in front of Al's cameras.  The Baltimore Orioles still put in an occasional appearance as well as a male Cardinal.  A few Blue Jays & Grackles left but very few Black Capped Chickadee's.  The Mourning Doves are always here.

 

BLUE JAYS PICKING UP SOME FALLEN BIRD SEED  

Headed myself on down to have a talk with Ron at FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE in Grand Bend regarding an ongoing shorting out problem with our Motorhome when we plug into shore power.  When it comes to Motorhomes, Ron is our 'go to' guy because he knows Motorhomes inside & out.  He showed me what he suspected the problem was & gave me a new 'dog bone adaptor' cord to try out.  We do have a dampness problem here in the Pine forest & he is suspecting that is what it is.  Ron's always a pleasure to talk with because he is one of those 'upbeat' guys & if your not feeling up when you get there, you will be feeling up when you leave.

RON KRAUTER FROM FOUR SEASON'S PERFORMANCE

Am totally enjoying my time whacking weeds with our new Black & Decker 18Volt battery powered weed whacker.  Has a lot more power than my old 'Yardworks' trimmer.  Them there weeds is sure taking a whacking here now!!

<<< MY NEW WHACKER OF WEEDS

Finally fired up the central A/C this afternoon & did it work?  Nope!!  But, after the usual foibles & fumbles we finally remembered to flick the A/C switch on in the fuse box & put the furnace cover back on the inside part of the unit.   We soon had it cold enough in here for a game of ice hockey in the hallway.

 

KELLY BROUGHT THIS RED TUBULAR BEGONIA HOME A FEW DAYS AGO & HUNG IT ON OUR FRONT PORCH

Had an email this morning from blog reader Jim K near Portal Arizona with an update on the Chiricahua Mountain fire.  Here's Jim's email....."Just in case you don't have this link already. It gives updates every few hours, also some good videos available in the sidebar. We had to evacuate from Portal the first night , could see the flames on the ridge line from behind the Portal store , since then lots of smoke and ash but NO casualties to people or structures.  It appears from information we have received that the fire personnel have turned the corner on this one and feel confident it is under control and expect to downsize the number of people actually fighting the fire. Your beloved valley on the other side looks to be safe from harm.  Our side of the mountains is safe also , if a bit scorched. The fire's reach was all the way from Rucker canyon to beyond Paradise . Talked to a fish and game fellow yesterday and he felt good about the wild game and bird life situation , but that remains to be seen until the migration returns.   Read your blog this morning , keep up the good work and stay dry, Jim."  FIRE MAP AREA..........  Thanks for the info Jim & from what I can tell by that fire map it looks like the fire did not destroy old Fort Rucker or the Mary Kidder Rak house & barn.

  

AUTHOR MARY KIDDER RAK'S HOUSE & BARN

   

A FEW HISTORIC BUILDINGS STILL STAND AT OLD FORT RUCKER.....WOULD HAVE BEEN A SHAME TO LOSE THESE  IN THE FIRE    

Looks like we have ourselves a couple new Followers this week.  Jim Melvin from JIMBO'S JOURNEY looks like he has himself a nice solar setup on top of his what I think is a Lazy Daze coach.  And 'Kenneth' wraps it up as our 284th Follower.  Welcome to both you guys & we thank you for your interest.

CHIPPY, ONE OF OUR RESIDENT CHIPMUNKS LIKES HANGING OUT  ON THE ROCKS AROUND OUR FROG POND 

GROANER'S CORNER:((   Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, live in a house together. One night the 96-year-old draws a bath. She
puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the
other sisters, 'Was I getting in or out of the
bath?' 
The 94-year-old yells back, 'I don't know.
I'll come up and see.' She starts up the stairs and pauses 'Was I going up the stairs or
down?

The 92-year-old is sitting at the kitchen
table having tea listening to her sisters; she shakes her head and says, 'I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood.' She then yells,'I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door.'

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

ARIZONA’S SULPHUR SPRINGS VALLEY KINDA GROWED ON US

SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS EAST OF THE LAZY W RANCH NEAR ELFRIDA ARIZONA

A short sharp & intense storm thundered in off the lake Sunday night bringing with it a Tornado watch for areas about about an hour south of us.  Storm passed & all was well but we sure got a lot of rain in a short period of time.  Our eyes were on the radar weather map first thing this morning to see if we could make a quick run to London Ontario about an hour or so away between storm fronts & pick up a section of carpet for our porch.  If & when it will ever dry up enough for me to stain our front deck adjoining the porch is anybody’s guess.

RUCKER CANYON ROAD IN THE CHIRICAHUAS

Ray from my TUMBLEWEED PHOTO GROUP in Arizona sent me the following update on the Chiricahua Mountain fires.  “  It’s still going strong, less than 25% under control (how do you control a wild fire???). So far the fire fighters have saved Portal and Paradise. Latest estimates put the burned acreage at close to 60,000 acres. Today is typical: hot, very dry and (using weather bug) highest gust so far 46 mph. We can see the fire from home, mainly very thick smoke but at night we see the glow as the fire has topped the mountains and is trying to head for the Sulphur Springs Valley.”  Of course Ray’s email got me to thinking about the Sulphur Springs Valley again.

 

HIKING IN THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS

MULE MOUNTAINS ON THE VALLEY’S SOUTHWEST SIDE

All Full Timers know that at some point they will have to make the decision to come in off the road & re-establish a home base again.  But, where to do that.  As Kelly & I have Snow Birded back & forth to the Southwest from Ontario I have often thought of where to settle down & establish a home base if we did not have one here in Bayfield Ontario.  The easy part of that thought is knowing what section of the country we would prefer & for us that is the Southwest.   But, where in the Southwest?

THE TURKEY CREEK AREA AT THE BASE OF THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS ON THE VALLEY’S NORTHEAST SIDE

We have traveled around these past few years to a fair few locations & seen many things.  The thought is always in the back of my mind as we travel through different areas about whether I would want to live there or not.    Both Arizona & New Mexico would be high on the priority list.  Sometimes you just drive through a place & keep on going & other times something reaches out & tugs at your feelings .  And, so it has been with southeastern Arizona & the Sulphur Springs Valley.  We have spent more time here in the last 3 years than anywhere else in our travels & the area has kind of grown on us.  The valley was not exactly love at first site though.  It is a very dry valley & has fallen on hard times over the years & it took us awhile to make the mental switch from green lush summer Ontario to this valley of yellowed winter grass & small bare trees.   The hard times of the valley is reflected by some of the dusty little towns & tired looking ranches, but that only added to our interest & growing fondness for the valley.  It took us awhile to see & appreciate the beauty between the mountain ranges.  Once I traded in my baseball hat for a cowboy hat the valley began to feel like home to me.  I should also add that it was the late 1800’s history of the Sulphur Springs Valley & surrounding areas that intrigued me as well.  And, I should throw something else in here.  We have only ever seen the valley in the dry winter months & never when it has had it’s best foot forward during the greens of Spring & Summer.

SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS ON THE VALLEY’S CENTRAL EAST SIDE

The valley is sparsely populated in comparison to many other areas & traffic on the roads is light, if any sometimes.  There is a lot of history in Cochise County & that is still reflected in the way of life there.  Some ranches still look much they way they did back at the turn of the Century.  You will not find any four lane highways here loaded with 18 wheelers or on & off ramps although Interstate 10 does cut through the Valley’s northern edge from East to West.  In fact, the only traffic lights in the whole valley are in one city/town which happens to be Douglas at the southern end of Cochise County.  Wait a minute, I think Wilcox & Benson might have a light or two but that is about it.  You will not find swanky suburbs with gated communities & streets lined with Palm trees.  Nor will you find manicured Malls & rows upon rows of big box stores & fancy restaurants.  Nope, the Sulphur Springs Valley still remains with one foot in the past & the other foot on a lonesome dusty back road somewhere.  And, that is just the kind of place & pace that appeals to us.  Just the kind of place we could easily hang our hats & set a spell:))

EAST OF ELFRIDA IN ARIZONA’S COCHISE COUNTY

I will always remember the Lazy W Ranch we boon docked at for a few weeks this past winter & how it had such a large impact & pull on me while we were there.  If there was no border between these 2 countries & the price of the Ranch could have been negotiated we might still be there.  Last time I checked about a week ago the secluded 40 acre Ranch was still for sale.  Not a fancy place by any means but it’s small one floor adobe brick ranch house with big front porch looking across to the Swiss Helm Mountains had everything we would have called home.  A starry night sky from mountain top to mountain top with fiery sunrises every morning & fiery sunsets at the end of every day.  And lots of sunny days in between:))  We knew the Sister of the man who came to the west from New York City years ago & built the house by hand.  Yep, it was our kinda digs alright.  Just the kind of place where a feller could get himself good & dusty enough each day to make himself feel real darn good about where he was……………..10-4:))

  

AND THIS IS THE DUSTY LITTLE RANCH WE FELL IN LOVE WITH……THE LAZY W

No rain soaked weather fronts came through Bayfield today & as a matter of fact it turned out to be hot, humid & sunny with temps hitting the 80F mark.  I was too cheap to turn on the A/C so blasted myself with a big fan beside my chair.  Did we get to London…..Nope.  Kelly ended up with a heavy work schedule at Deer Park Lodge today & never made it home until mid afternoon. 

WE FOUND POSSIBLE EVIDENCE OF AN OLD INDIAN VILLAGE AT THE BASE OF THOSE GRANITE ROCKS ON THE RIGHT

Little Cora & I did make to the TSC store in Goderich this morning to buy a battery operated Black & Decker grass trimmer they had on sale though.  Couldn’t get my noisy fume belching gas lawn mower fired up a month ago so decided at that time to reduce our grass area again & just use my hand push mower.  Besides, with my new age thinking that, ‘quieter is better,’ a hand pusher & battery operated trimmer was much more to my liking.  I especially liked the idea that the Black & Decker grass trimmer battery charger will fit all other B&D re-chargeable tools too.  Do I have any other Black & Decker re-chargeable tools?  Nope!!  Am I ever likely to get some?  Probably not, but I liked the concept:))

DRAGOON MOUNTAINS ON THE VALLEY’S NORTHWEST SIDE

If tonight’s blog looks a little different it’s because I’m using our Win 7 laptop with Live Writer’s latest version.  Usually I do the blog on Win XP with Live Writer’s older version while home for the summer.

SUNSET OVER THE MULE MOUNTAINS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  ‘Ode To Arizona’…..author unknown

The Devil wanted a place on earth.
Sort of a summer home:
A place to spend his vacation
Whenever he wanted to roam.
So he picked out Arizona.
A place both wretched and rough.
Here the climate was to his liking
And the cowboys were hardened and tough.

He dried up the streams in the canyons
and ordered no rain to fall:
He dried up the lakes in the valleys,
Then baked and scorched it all.
Then over his barren desert
He transplanted shrubs from Hell.
The cactus, thistle and prickly pear --
The climate suited them well.

Now, the home was much to his liking.
But animal life, he had none:
So he created crawling creatures
That all mankind would shun.
First he made the rattlesnake.
With its forked poisonous tongue:
Taught it to strike and rattle
And how to swallow its young.

Then he made Scorpions and Lizards
And the ugly old Horned Toad.
He placed spiders of every description
Under rocks by the side of the road.
Then he ordered the sun to shine hotter.
Hotter and hotter still.
Until even the cactus wilted
And the old Horned Toad looked ill.

Then he gazed on his earthly kingdom.
As any creator would:
He chuckled a little up his sleeve
And admitted that it was good.

'Twas summer now and Satan lay
By a prickly pear to rest.
The sweat rolled off his wearthy brow.
So he took off his coat and vest.
"By Golly," he finally panted
"I did my job too well.
I'm going back where I came from
Arizona is hotter than Hell!"

--------------------------------------------------------------EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
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TURNED OUT TO BE A SQUIRRELY KIND OF DAY

IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY THEY ARE CALLED 'RED SQUIRRELS' & THIS ONE IS A BABY:)) 

The promised deluge of rain didn’t happen today & for that, the human population & all the soggy earthworms in the area are very grateful.
OUR RHODODENDRONS WILL BE BLOOMING IN A FEW DAYS
It was Doug & JoAnn from LIVING OUR DREAM, along with Fillmore the Wonder Dog, who after following our blog for awhile, tracked us down in Yuma Arizona a few years ago. And, it was Doug & JoAnn who on our first meeting proposed an idea to us. It was they who put us in touch with ranch owners Jeannie & Ray over in Arizona’s Cochise County. Because of that meeting with Doug & JoAnne, the Bayfield Bunch now have a whole host of wonderful ranch sitting memories near the dusty little western towns of McNeal & Elfrida, Arizona. Cochise County has become like a second home to us. We will always be grateful to Doug & JoAnn for that connection. Doug is now fighting Stage Four cancer in Florida & their blog reflects the reality & positive attitude Doug & JoAnn have taken towards their changing future.

THIS MOTH WAS ON OUR INSIDE WINDOW & THE GREEN BACKGROUND IS THE OUT OF FOCUS MAPLE TREE LEAVES OUTSIDE 
I am seeing some lengthening time gaps in some fellow bloggers posts & figure it must be one of two things affecting people. Either the overall dreary weather has kept people away from their computers or the frustration over Google’s ongoing problem with Blogger is preventing many from updating their blogs. Either way, I hope both those scenarios turn a positive corner soon.
 

FORGOT THE NAME OF THIS BUSH BY OUR DECK BUT IT WILL BE IN FULL BLOOM SHORTLY
Noticed the GYPSY G-MAS have not posted since April 29th & was wondering if anyone has heard how they are doing. I like the rolling purple fields in PIDGE'S new header picture.

  

About 3 years ago I came across an old wooden & rather large discarded bird house in our Park’s recycle area. A few well placed nails put it back into shape & I fastened it onto one of our tall Pine trees nearby. Last summer I noticed a small Red Squirrel coming & going several times & about a week ago I noticed something else. Baby squirrels:)) I have a direct line of site now right from my recliner out the living room window to the Squirrel house about a hundred feet away. How nice it is to watch the Mom keeping an eye on her kids from the doorway as the 3 tiny energized furry Rascals scamper up & down the Pine tree like a bunch of exploding little fire crackers. I did notice last week the rotting floor beginning to fall out of the Squirrel house so quietly grabbed my stepladder & power drill to screw a couple metal straps under the floor to hold it in place. I have my 7x50 binoculars beside my chair & have been zooming in on the gang to see if I could do some lip reading & see what they were were all talking about out there......no luck yet.
 

I THINK THAT'S MOM ON THE BOTTOM & JUNIOR JUST CLIMBING OUT & UP ONTO THE ROOF

    
We have 3 types of Squirrels in our front yard plus Chipmunks. Pidge, the bigger black Squirrels are the bad guys who outsmart me on a daily basis & scramble onto the bird feeders sometimes dumping them on the ground. We also have Gray Squirrels who seem a tad smaller & never bother the feeders. Next in line are the small Red Squirrels who also never bother the feeders. Smaller yet are the Chipmunks & we rarely have a problem with them either. And, about a 40 minute drive away in Exeter, they have pure white Squirrels which are about the same size as our Black Squirrels. Had a pic of an Exeter White Squirrel in my May 25th post as well. I think all Squirrels are cute, as well as the Chipmunks & I enjoy watching them all frolic around our yards. It’s just the bigger Black Squirrels who frustrate me to no end by trashing the bird feeders all the time. And remember, I am a guy who has raised Hamsters & Guinea Pigs years ago so my love of small animals stretches far afield. Oh, & I have raised tropical fish as well but of course that is a different kind of love:))
 

IN TOTAL I COUNTED 4 SQUIRRELS WHICH I THINK ARE A MOTHER & 3 BABIES...AFTER I TOOK THIS PIC ANOTHER ONE CAME OUT & THE 3 BABIES SCAMPERED UP THE TREE WHILE MOTHER REMAINED IN THE DOORWAY KEEPING WATCH 

Donna in our Shout Box wondered about the Frog picture I had in my May 25th post. Took that picture in the big pond across the road from us. There are a lot of Frogs in that pond this time of year & I caught that fellow with my 200mm lens while standing on the bank. He was on the move & that’s why the water around him is choppy. A cloudy morning sky gave the water a white appearance:))
YOU CAN SEE THE METAL STRAPPING I PUT UNDER THE SAGGING FLOOR >>>
And, Don B in Oklahoma enquired via email today as to how our little Cora ‘aka’ Motormouse came to stay with us years ago. My post is getting a bit long today Don so I will answer that shortly in an upcoming post. Thanks for asking:))

CUTE LITTLE DICKENS EH:)) 
GROANER’S CORNER:((  "Prepare yourself for a rather long Squirrel Joke:))"

The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.

A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving.

The BBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
The British press inform people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty.
The Labor Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of GB demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The BBC, interrupting a cultural festival special from Notting Hill with breaking news, broadcasts a multi cultural choir singing "We Shall Overcome". Ken Livingstone rants in an interview with Trevor McDonald that the squirrel has gotten rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to enter inner London .

In response to pressure from the media, the Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work.

The grasshopper is provided with a council house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile. The squirrels food is seized and re distributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper.

Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilizes it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Britain as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival the tried to blow up the airport because of Britain's apparent love of dogs. The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempt bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to then return them to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats devise and start a scam to obtain money from peoples credit cards.

A Panorama special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though Spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. He is shown to be taking drugs.
Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshoppers drug illness'. The cats seek recompense in the British courts for their treatment since arrival in UK .

The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery. A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost GBP10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up.

Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The asylum seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Britain's multicultural diversity and dogs are criticized by the government for failing to befriend the cats. The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a minister.

The cats are paid a million pounds each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in the United Kingdom .

The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds......and there ya have it folks:))

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.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.

OUR LITTLE MOTORMOUSE IS DOING FINE:))

 

OUR IRIS FLOWERS ARE IN BLOOM  

First, let me assure everyone that our little Motormouse is doing just fine & thanks to those who have expressed their concern. In hindsight I probably should not have made that picture of her the lead photo in Fridays blog, especially under the title of Friday’s blog. It is difficult to know if she is missing the big guys. Her appetite, attitude & behavior are doing well. We could interpret her sitting staring blankly out the window as missing Max & Checkers or her sad little face looking longingly across the room as the same thing but in reality those are both normal behavioral patterns for her……and she does have a normally sad, but cute little face. Our human minds would like to think she misses her 2 best Pals but we just don’t know. We have been taking her with us in the car more often now than we used to & she is really liking that. She loves to sit by the living room window watching me outside in the driveway to see if I am going to crank up the Jeep & take her for a ride now.

SHE LOVES SUNNING HERSELF:)) 

NOT TOO OFTEN WE SEE KELLY WITH A NEEDLE & THREAD BUT HERE SHE IS SEWING UP A BED COMFORTER FROM DEER PARK LODGE 
Looks like all is still not well at the house of Google. People are still experiencing Blogger problems & now it seems to be the Followers Lists that are disappearing & reappearing on people’s blogs. That must be quite a set of growing pains Google is growing through for whatever reason. Last time I checked, we still had our Followers List.

MY VARIOUS GARDENING RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS CONTINUE  
I thought CROFT had a rather humorous post this past week on that Doomsday fiasco. Kelly has been reading this fellow for awhile & mentioned him to me this morning. I skimmed over some posts & found I liked the edge he has to his writing. Here’s a fellow not afraid to trot out some thoughts & opinions on controversial political subjects, spends his winter’s in Mexico & is a big sports fan.

KELLY WAS BUSY WITH SOME FLOWER POT PLANTING THIS AFTERNOON 
JIM, SANDIE, SCOOTER & SKITTLES have run into a problem out there in Moab Utah that is always a problem for us as well. Especially me. It has to do with people pollution!! And yes, I am a people too so the problem applies to me as well. I have blogged many times before about why we prefer to do things by ourselves such as hiking & camping. Like a few others, we also prefer to stay away from crowds of people & have actually missed some picturesque places due to the number of cars jammed into scenic area parking lotS.

WE HAVE A LOT OF THIS GROUND COVER WHICH IS CALLED 'SNOW ON THE MOUNTAIN'  
It is the peace & quiet of the land I so much seek to enjoy & understand. It is the feeling, sights & sounds of nature I seek when we are RVing & I must admit there is almost nothing that annoys me more than a whole gaggle of loud squawking people cackling their way along a beautifully serene & tranquil trail. I have heard the conversations as they rumble by, eyes on the ground & jaws just a flapping. And are they talking about the natural beauty surrounding them? Just as often as not their babblings are about the Government, taxes, hair appointments, who’s doing what to who, Obama, Lindsay Lohan, CSI, auto repairs, Arnold & Maria, the latest sale at Costco, Oprah, the Stanley Cup, golf scores, the ‘Grands', & just about anything else that doesn’t have anything to do with where they are. Well, maybe I’m being a little harsh here but you get my drift.
 

RE-POTTING A FEW PLANTS ON THE FRONT DECK TODAY 
And how is that many times when we pull into a deserted parking lot at a trail head another vehicle comes roaring in right behind us with about 45 foreign speaking camera toting tourists in it. So much for getting any photos of wildlife nearby because they are all running for the hills.  For some uncanny reason this seems to happen to us a lot!!

HE'S WAITING FOR ME TO PUT SOME MORE PEANUTS ON THE BIRD STATION 
I think the biggest annoyance for me is what Jim & Sandie may have experienced in Moab. Hordes of young people!!!! Wherever you have a gathering of young people, & especially young males, you have attitudes, alcohol, drugs & noise. Add to that dirt bikes, ATV’s, rock climbing Jeeps & & you have the perfect recipe for a totally ruined day…..and sometimes a totally ruined landscape to boot. So many times it has been our experience when looking for a quiet boon docking site, to find areas where young people have been, littered with broken glass from beer bottles being smashed in fire pits & garbage of all descriptions lying about. Ammunition, like shotgun shells & expended rifle & pistol shells are often scattered on the ground from target shooting. Deep ruts in the terrain from dirt bikes & ATV’s. Not unusual to see trees & branches broken down for the big party campfires too. Not a pretty sight!!

Now, I’m not saying this about all young people but being a part of this mindset many years ago I know very well about the attitude, the alcohol & the irresponsible young male behavior.   Well, maybe I am getting a bit off track here again but I do understand Jim & Sandie's thoughts & concerns about the throngs of people in Moab for the start of summer's 4 wheel rock climbing mayhem.  And, that my dear friends brings me to the end of rant # 439. Can you tell it has been another dreary weather day folks......................
 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( After hearing that one of the patients in a mental hospital had saved another from a suicide attempt by pulling him out of a bathtub, the director reviewed the rescuer’s file and called him into his office. “Mr. James, your records and your heroic behavior indicate that you’re ready to go home. I’m only sorry that the man you saved later killed himself with a rope around the neck.” “Oh, he didn’t kill himself,” Mr. James replied. “I hung him up to dry.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.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.