PLAYING IN THE ARIZONA DESERT DUST

AT JEANIE & RAY’S McNEAL RANCH

Some folks are happy with power tools while others are gifted aircraft pilots, crack racing car mechanics, computer wizards, ace salesmen, long haul truck drivers, gifted quilters, talented singers, or crafty lawyers.  Some folks are just happy being retired & watching television.  Give me a shovel & rake, point me towards a pile of dirt & I'm a happy guy too.

                        

I WORKED ON THE DRIVEWAY CLEAN-UP & SHOVELED ME UP A TASTY WHEELBARROW LOAD OF HORSE BUNS……..WELL TASTY FOR THE DOGS THAT IS…..click to enlarge photos

And so, that is what this happy guy did to-day.  Loaded a couple shovels & rakes from the ranch here into the car, ker-plunked my cowboy hat on, brewed up a thermos of coffee, & headed over to Belle's Silverado ranch 20 minutes west of here.  Cindy & Dave had fed all the critters this morning & Dave was busy burning some garbage.  Cindy was up to her elbows & working hard on cleaning one of the bird pens.  I'm sure I saw some smiles on those little bird faces & a few grimaces on Cindy's.

CINDY AT WORK TODAY IN THE BIRD PEN

Popped in & chatted with Belle for awhile & she was as warm & chipper as ever.  Had a stack of papers sitting on her printer & was hard at work on the keyboard typing up articles for her blog.  She will soon begin posting stories of her colorful life & was obviously enjoying the old memories flowing from her mind to the computer screen.   A chuckle here, a snicker there.  And always the sparkling eyes.

CINDY’S PHOTO OF AL & DAVE……DON’T KNOW WHO THE 2 GUYS ARE

Told Belle if I sit too long I would seize up so headed out the door, grabbed my shovel & rake & dug in.  Spent 4 enjoyable hours under the warm Arizona sun with a bit of raking here, a bit of sweeping there, & a bit of mucking along the horse pens.  Mucking??  Cleaning up horse manure.  They don't always keep things in the pens you know.  Dave hopped on his big bright yellow Honda motorcycle & slipped down to Douglas for some materials while Cindy brought me over 2 delicious brownie muffins that her baking husband had made.  Geeezzzzz, how come every RV guy we meet is a talented cook!!  Only thing I've ever been good at making is a mess:((  Well, I am kinda good with a shovel & rake &.......well, you already know about the dirt part.

                                           

THE ‘CLAW’ IS IN PLACE & JUST HAVE TO POUND IN THE LONG SPIKES

(click to enlarge photos)

There is a lot of work ahead of us or anyone else who would like to drop in to the Silverado Ranch with a desire to help out.  We can promise lots of fresh air, sunshine, & good old Arizona dust.  Not much in the way of grass in these here parts though.  Coming from lush & green Ontario the southwest can be a bit of a shock to some people.  We always have to work on adjusting our heads before arriving here.  It is like traveling from one planet to another with not a lot of similarities between them.  On our trip down it is always such a welcome site to first see the dim outline of distant mountains ahead on the horizon.  On the return trip it is the beautiful green trees & soft green grass we long to see.  We try not to bring our critical eyes here when we see the old tumble down buildings & we try not to take our critical eyes home with us when we see the busier highways & gobbles of people.  Many southwesters never see the north & east while many of those nor easters never see the southwest & it is invariably hard sometimes for each group to understand the land & the ways of others.  For those of us who are snowbirders or fulltimers we rattle back & forth between the two lifestyles, the two cultures, & the two ways of thinking.  And yes, they are definitely different lifestyles.  And, where am I going with all this........don't know, it was just something bubbling around inside me to-day.

GOTTA LOVE THESE BIG ARIZONA SKYS

We are lucky here at the McNeal ranch in that the Propane truck from Wilcox will come & fill our tank without us having to move the rig & travel to Douglas for propane.  Nice perk I'd say.  With the icy cold nights below freezing I've had to jump the ATV battery each time I use it.  Neighbor Doug came over this morning to haul out the battery & see what he could do with it.  I'll know in the morning if he was successful.  Eight chickens in the pen & the girls have not laid one single solitary egg for 6 days now.  Wonder if we should give them some Drano in case they are plugged up.  If that doesn't work they may all end up in the soup pot this summer.

SATURDAY CAMPFIRE

Weatherman says we're in for another sunny warm day so I'll be back at Belle's in the morning with my little shovel & rake happily playing in the Arizona desert dust.  And ya know what, I'm gonna take my ghetto blaster along to-morrow & serenade them there horses & donkeys with the Sons of The Pioneers:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A new wine for seniors........California vintners in the Napa Valley area, which primarily produces Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic.  It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night.   The new wine will be marketed as Pino More.

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