Monday, February 11, 2019

A MORNING JEEP DRIVE TO BLYTHE CALIFORNIA

NICE TO HAVE A CHAEUFFER SOME DAYS
In the Jeep without a cloud in the sky we made our way north along Cibola Road across the Colorado River.  It was a paved back way out of the Cibola Refuge and a twenty five minute drive to Blythe California.  Needing a few groceries our first stop was Albertsons in Blythe's east end.  Expensive!!  Quick stop at McDonalds for coffee, gas at a Shell Station next door and we were south bound back to the Wildlife Refuge within and hour.  Beautiful sunny morning with 55F morning temperatures to match.  
CROSSED THE COLORADO RIVER FROM ARIZONA INTO CALIFORNIA THIS MORNNG

BETWEEN ARIZONA'S CIBOLA WILDLIFE REFUGE AND BLYTHE CALIFORNIA THERE EXISTS QUITE A STRETCH OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

I'M GUESSING ONE OF THE TWO MAIN CROPS IS ALF ALFA


A THICKLY PACKED DATE PALM ORCHARD

NO IDEA WHAT IT IS THEY PLANT IN THESE LONG RAISED BEDS


COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS PLANTED THERE

RE-CROSSING THE COLORADO RIVER BACK INTO ARIZONA

THE OTHER BIG AREA CROP IS COTTON AND HERE WE SEE IT IN LARGE ROUND WRAPPED BALES

THESE LARGE COTTON BALES WERE BEING LOADED ONTO 18 WHEELER FLAT BED TRUCKS.....THAT'S A LOT OF Q-TIPS RIGHT THERE
We have wild Burrows nearby and can hear them but never see them.  Always seem to be in one area so Pheebs and I on an afternoon walk set out across stony terrain through the scrub brush to find them but to no avail.  They are wily critters and know well of our coming long before get to where they are at.  
WE DIDN'T EVEN FIND ANY BURROW TRACKS IN THE SOFT GROUND




WE KNOW THE WILD BURROWS ARE OUT HERE SOMEWHERE    PROBABLY HIDING UP IN THE TREES


A LEAF CARRYING ANT

I ALWAYS ENJOY MEANDERING THROUGH THE SCRUBBY DESERT

OUTDOOR DESERT FACILITIES



CAN YOU SEE THE PROFILE OF A LARGE REPOSING GORILLA??


Over the years I have noticed how much better my legs have felt each winter here in the Southwest's dryer climate.  The arthritic pain or whatever it is I have has always lessened.  But not so this year.  The aches, pains, soreness, and stiffness have increased and I guess I have to finally give in and admit it probably has to do with my aging body.  Yes I know there are people my age running hundred mile marathons but there are a whole lot of people on the other side of that thought as well.  It is what it is however and it's all a perfectly normal part of the aging process for each and every one of us.  As younger people we all knew these aging days would eventually be upon us but I guess it was always something I never paid too much attention to until it finally creeped up, tapped me on the shoulder one day and said, "I'm here now and I'm here to stay so it's time for you to pay attention to me and accept my reality."


DEFINITELY AN OLD SIX CYLINDER ENGINE


MAYBE A BATTERY BOX ON THE RUNNING BOARD AND A WELL WEATHERED DECK ON THE TANKER TRUCK


WOODEN FLOORBOARDS


DIFFERENT CALIBER BULLET HOLES IN THE TANK



FIVE BULLETS IN

FIVE BULLETS OUT



 
 
NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS

                     BULLETS IN AND BULLETS OUT


FOUND THE BULLET RIDDLED BODY OF ANOTHER OLD REFRIGERATOR
We still haven't snapped on a television since leaving home but with our unlimited Verizon plan this year we have both spent more time on our computers watching some of the things we watch on TV at home.  Kelly gets to stream some of her night time shows and I still find myself dropping into a couple cable news channels occasionally through the day on the hour to see what the headlines are.  Thoroughly spoiled by our big crystal clear LG 55' TV at home I have no interest in watching any of my nature shows on a small computer screen.  So I don't.   
I had meant to include this link with Sunday's post to show exactly where we were 4 years ago to the day.  Title of my blog that February 10th, 2015 was A Problem With Our Fridge and as it turns out we were in the same place then we are now.
WE DIDN'T SEE ANY BURROWING OWLS BUT WE DID SEE A LOT OF 'MAN-MADE' BURROWING OWL DWELLINGS





MANY BURROWING OLD DWELLINGS ON THE REFUGE
GROANER'S CORNER:(( There were two evil brothers. They were rich and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church and looked to be perfect Christians. Then, their pastor retired and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fundraising campaign was started to build a new assembly. All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building. "I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word and deposited the check. The next day at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with, "But, compared to his brother, he was a saint."
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Q: How many blind people does it take to change a light bulb?
A: It depends whether the switch is on or off. 

How many FOX news producers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Three, one to drill a hole in the light bulb so it blows up when he turns it on, one to film it, and one to insist on the truth of the report despite the manipulation.
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A man and his wife were sitting in the living room discussing a "Living Will". "Just so you know," said the man, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." His wife got up, unplugged the TV and threw out all the beer. 
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14 comments:

  1. Burrowing owls around here live in prairie dog holes (and eat prairie dogs). Any prairie dog signs there?

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    1. Nope, no mention or evidence of Prairie Dogs here.

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  2. Could that contraption be a seed planter? The offset disks make two seed rows and the curved blade covers them up after the bucket is slowly emptied of seed via that set of gears-somehow??? As good a guess as i can come up with....

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    1. I think that is a good guess and I will go along with that.

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  3. Two things. Was that a leaf carrying ant or an ant carrying a leaf? The second thing is, I did see that gorilla in the mountain but I also saw a monkey on its head.

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  4. I think that ant was a leaf carrier and was that ant eating a banana??

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  5. Meant to say, was that Monkey on the Gorilla's head eating a banana??

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  6. I get relief from arthritis in my hands from a product called "Australian Dream". Comes in a 2 oz jar under $20 at Walmart, can last a couple months if your attacks are infrequent. There are larger sizes as well. I always regarded external topical creams as snake oil but this stuff changed my mind. Nasty pain can take several applications, but for me, relief can last several days. Maybe that involves reducing inflammation?

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  7. I've found the higher elevations bother my arthritis, not drastically but enough to be noticeable, especially when the mornings are cold.
    I always enjoy your outings, you see some amazing things when you venture away from the Big E.
    Enjoy!!

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  8. Miss Pheebs makes an excellent chauffeur!

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  9. Here in Florida, raised beds like you pictured are used to grow strawberries.

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  10. A dear friend of ours (and a fellow reader of yours) suggested CoQ10 supplement to me for my stiff legs. Mine were brought on from statins. It cured me in four days, just like it did for her. I asked my doc about it and she said “that is the one supplement we highly recommend”. Might want to give it a go, Al.

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  11. Nice to get out and about enjoying the area, I have found in Blythe Smart and Final is much more reasonable than Albertsons.

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  12. No burros, eh? We had a burrowing owl near my old school. I used to leave extra early to go get photos of him up on one of the watering towers. Also, the ranch owner used to buy her alfalfa from a farmer down there in Blythe. A load (1 full trailer) was $8,000!!!!! One time I got to watch the little tractor unload it. She doesn't have as many horses now and two of mine get pellets, so she doesn't order a truck load any longer and buys it locally.

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