Wednesday, February 26, 2014

‘WABBITS’!!!! IT’S WASCALLY WABBITS WHAT WE GOT UNDER OUR HOUSE…….!!!!!

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HAD US A NICE RELAXING DRIVE THIS MORNING
Nice to see & feel the warmth of that big Arizona sun this morning.  We piled into the Jeep & with miles of open desert just a block away we headed off on some rough & tumble roads with no particular destination in mind.
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THIS ATV TRAIL GOT A LITTLE NARROW IN SPOTS
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We picked ourselves up a narrow ATV trail & that of course resulted in some new & rather dazzling desert pin striping for little Jeepers.  Sure glad we do not have a sparkly new Jeep because if we did I would be afraid to take it out & get it all scratched up.  Stopped a few places for a couple short walks & one small rock scramble.  Managed to see some new scenery & of course marveled at the green Sonoran desert surrounding us at all times.  How great it is to have all this beauty right at our door step.
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KELLY CHECKS OUT THE TRAIL AHEAD AS I TRY TO GET THE JEEP UNTANGLED FROM A MESQUITE TREE
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THIS WHOLE DESERT AREA IS GREAT HORSE RIDING COUNTRY
It was still early enough & the rocks cool enough that I was not too concerned about Rattlesnakes.  Later in the hot day, yes.  We had a Gopher (Bull) snake in our yard a couple weeks ago so we know the Rattlers can be out as well during the hotter part of the day.  Sandy & Simon saw a Scorpion a couple days ago while trying their hand at a little Gold prospecting out near Stanton. CHINLE wondered if we have seen any Tarantula spiders & the answer is yes, but not here.  One time at the Clark Dry Lake Bed just outside of Borrego Springs California & the other time while Ranch sitting near McNeal Arizona.  Both times I was able to get some close-up photos as I sat on the ground beside the big Tarantula’s as they passed harmlessly by our lawn chairs.  Tarantulas have an undeserved bad name & are not to be feared or mishandled.  Snakes I’m a bit sqeezy about but spiders don’t bother me.
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THIS BORREGO SPRINGS TARANTULA WAS ABOUT 3’ FROM KELLY’S FOOT WHEN I SPOTTED IT
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There was no mistaking the 38 pics from our Critter Cam this morning.  It is non-other that wascally wabbits we have under the house.  In other words….Rabbits!!  Kelly also saw 3 of them hopping around near the hole early this morning.  No point in trying to cover up holes because the varmints just dig new holes right beside the old holes.  We’ve heard Fox urine is a deterrent plus some kind of non-killing pellets.  At this point it looks like they are our only options.  Rabbits rapidly beget more rabbits & we could be easily overwhelmed here because of the bunnies being safe from Coyotes inside our fenced yard.  My winter planted Cacti will not stand a chance this summer against families of Wascally Wabbits.
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ENTERING THE HOLE UNDER OUR FOUNDATION
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With a new Artu cement drill bit, a fully charged De-Walt drill, & a stack of mustered-up patience I went at the task of bolting our porch posts into the concrete floor of our deck again.  Screws turned out to be too long for the drill bit but I managed to finiggle the bit in the chuck & gain an extra eighth of an inch or whatever to make the steel cement screws flush with the bracket.  Didn’t even have to use any cuss words or throw my hat on the ground even once.  Glad to have that project finally finished.  Nice of Les to lend me his tools.
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WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE SERENITY OF THE SOUTH-WEST’ DESERTS
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Buoyed by the success of my porch post anchor project I quickly drew up a set of intricate plans & began immediate construction on a 9 man Interstellar Triple-Millennium Falcon Time Warped Star Ship with an Intergalactic Universal Fusitron System.  I’ve calculated this time shifting space traveler will reach the inner most depths of the Andromeda Galaxy in 7.6 nano seconds from it’s launch at 0:600 hours on April 1rst of this year from our back yard……………..10-4:))
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In the meantime just to keep myself sharp I finished painting our utility shed doors this morning. That took a whole half of one hour & nice to have that checked off my ‘to do’ list.  As far as the rest of the day went we just spent it lazing around soaking up all this super great Arizona weather…………….:))
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I THINK WE GOTTA GO THAT-A-WAY…..OR WAS IT THAT-A-WAY
We sure had ourselves noisy skies overhead all day.  Had it not been for a mostly sunny day one would have thought we were in the midst of a heavy duty thunder storm.  The American Air Force was hard at work over Congress.  Those daring young men in their flying machines were really putting their F-16 fighter jets through their paces.  Half a dozen times I rushed out of the house to see I could catch a glimpse of the fast moving jets but no luck.  The roars came in fast, turned tightly, & were gone over a nearby mountain ridges before I could get a telephoto lens on them.   I was wanting get the pilot’s name tags…………………:)) 
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AMAZING HOW SOME ROCKS END UP IN THEIR FINAL RESTING PLACES
Hey it was Chica’s Birthday over JIMBO'S JOURNEYS.  They met a year ago & have been best & closest Pals ever since covering lots of territory in their travels together.  Chica got some new toys & a one year Birthday cake complete with a candle.  Groovy:))
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WE SURE DO LOVE OUR PEACEFULLY QUIET & WIDE OPEN DESERT SURROUNDINGS
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A middle eastern King was down on his money and began to sell off his valuables. The last of these was the Star of the Euphrates, at that time the most valuable diamond in existence. He went to a pawnbroker who offered him $100,000 for it. "Are you crazy?", said the King. "I paid one million dollars for this gem! Don't you know who I am?"
The pawnbroker replied, "When you wish to pawn a star, makes no difference who you are."

17 comments:

  1. I strongly suspect the Air Force has heard about your plans for a 9 man Interstellar Triple-Millennium Falcon Time Warped Star Ship with an Intergalactic Universal Fusitron System and were hunting for it. You might want to obtain a gyroscopic megaspazzer shield to hide it before they come take the Star Ship away.

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  2. Well, Al, I like snakes (as long as they don't try to bite me) but not so much the spiders, though they're OK as long as they stay outside. I stop and herd bullsnakes across the road near Moab when they come out to sun themselves.

    SW Colorado has tarantulas, though smaller than the AZ ones. I once drove alng a highway (near Naturita) and came upon a migration. It was pretty weird, lots of spiders crossing the road. I'd never heard of such a thing, but one of the locals told me it was normal.

    Anyway, I'm used to scorpions, though can't say I appreciate them much. Lots of fun to get a black light and go scorpion hunting after a rain, as that's when they come out. They're a beautiful azure color in a blacklight and fun to photograph.

    The bunnies sure are cute.

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  3. And don't forget to install the laser cannons just in case you encounter hostiles on your journey through space and time.

    Glad the critter cam worked so well, now you won't have to sleep out there on the porch after all. HAHAHA

    Looks like you might have to come up with some wabbit jokes for your groaners now for awhile. Maybe you could put a tape recorder out there and get some live interview.

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  4. Come on bunny rabbits ....you are way to early for Easter !!!! And just think, a huge convention could be going on before to long if they get real happy and settle in down under .... Gotta move'em on out ....hope the remedy works ..... That is a popular spot under your casa there, Al !!!

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  5. Wonder if there is any way to bury some chicken wire (or something similar) around the foundation to keep them from digging under? Might be too much work and expense for something that may or may not work. I know some folks do that under fences to keep their dogs from digging out.

    Enjoyed the pictures of your wide open spaces and big rocks. Beautiful country for sure.

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  6. I wonder if moth balls would keep those wabbits away.

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  7. I think I'd almost rather deal with spiders (tarantulas, scorpions, etc.) than I would an infestation of rabbits.

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  8. Do you like Rabbit stew? How about rabbit ka bobs? If there is food and safety, you will have a whole heard of them soon.

    After you finish the big project, could you build me a time machine?

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  9. Al, I think you have more to worry about then those wabbits....Kelly is looking pretty comfy behind the wheel of the jeep... :-)

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  10. Load those wabbits in that space ship and they soon be gone.

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  11. Wascally little guys! At least it's not skunks! I wonder if you could somehow attract owls to your property--no more wabbits. Great photos of a beautiful landscape!

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  12. We have been really impressed with the paint job on our Jeep. We have had in some very tricky tight places with lots of major tree scraps. But every time we come out without a scratch. Real tough top coat.

    Thanks for the trip! We sure are looking forward to returning west to these adventures.

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  13. North Ranch seems to also have a rabbit problem! When Emmi and I walked last evening I counted over a dozen rabbits running around in various yards!!

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  14. By the looks of it your rabbits are actually desert hares. Hares have longer ears (and legs) than rabbits and are actually a totally different species. We have a real big one right here who lives in our neighborhood.

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  15. Be careful, if you don't get rid of them, they will breed like.... well..... rabbits!
    (okay someone had to say it!)

    :)

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  16. Perter + Beatrix comment is partially correct. The 'rabbits' that Al has pictures of are 'hares' as defined for biological classification. But they are NOT Desert Hares, they are either antelope jackrabbits (Lepus alleni)
    or black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus).

    The Desert Hare (Lepus tibetanus) is a species of hare found in Northwestern China and countries adjacent to it.

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  17. When I saw the photos of the rabbits it made me think of my squirrels and birds. I love to throw out seed for them and then I'm endlessly entertained by their antics. But the seed sometimes brings mice who like to live in The Palms or it's engine compartment. And then I have to kill the little critters. So, most of the time I don't throw out seed any more. Sad.

    Same thing with your rabbits. It would be so much fun to have rabbits hopping around, just for the fun of watching them, but they'll soon take over and you'd be sorry. So you have to put out deterrents. No other choice, but hopefully you won't have to poison them.

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