GAZING INTO OUR BLUE GAZING BALL
I was happy to see that it had rained all night because I knew that would be beneficial for my newly planted trees. Right on Q this morning the sun’s rays came filtering through the Pines. Warm sunny days at this time of year are pure feeling good Spring Tonic days. 
SPRING IS IN THE AIR FOR THIS PAIR OF MOURNING DOVES:))
But, it was not to last. By 9 a.m. the cloud cover had moved in again & chased the sun out of town for the rest of the day. Fired up my paint brush & repainted the utility trailer tailgate. Why I had put that black paint on it last summer I have no idea. Must have been one of those notorious teen age moments that some of us older folks are sometimes susceptible too. 
Ground was too wet from the all night rain so I didn’t dig up any more trees today. I’ll see how dry things are in the morning. So nice to see everything turning green & watching the various flowers & shrubs coming into bloom finally.
WATCHING THE BIRDS & CATCHING A FEW RAYS
In the past few years we have spent a fair bit of our winter months in Cochise County's Sulphur Springs Valley down in the southeast corner of Arizona. Many readers will be familiar with my many posts about our hikes & drives in the Chiricahua Mountains bordering New Mexico. I have written & photographed the beautiful areas we have traveled through in & around Portal, The Chiricahua Monument, Old Fort Rucker, etc. Another one of our favorite areas to be. Well, that area is ON FIRE right now & has been for the past 12 days. To date, over 33,000 acres have burned. It is now the largest recorded fire in Chiricahua history. You can see my blogs about our great times in the Chiricahua Mountains over the past few years here....
UP & OVER THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS
RELAXING DRIVE TO PORTAL & CAVE CREEK
SEARCHING FOR FORT RUCKER IN THE CHIRICAHUAS
A RETURN TO OLD FORT RUCKER IN THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS
ANOTHER FINE DAY IN THE CHIRICAHUA'S RUCKER CANYON
THROUGH THE CHIRICAHUAS ON LESLIE, RUCKER & TEX CANYON ROADS
JEEPING WITH JEANIE & RAY IN THE CHIRICAHUAS
Friends Rosanna & Carol from THE PAWS & HOOVES RANCH just west of the Chiricahua Mountains near Sunizona said in Facebook they could see the fires cresting the mountain ridges a couple days ago.
LOOKING TOWARDS PORTAL ARIZONA FROM ATOP THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS
IT IS EASY TO SEE HOW DIFFICULT IT WOULD BE TO FIGHT A FOREST FIRE IN THIS AREA & I AM SO GLAD WE MADE THIS PARTICULAR SCENIC DRIVE WHEN WE DID A COUPLE YEARS AGO. WHAT A TRAGIC LOSS TO THIS WHOLE AREA A FIRE OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL BE..........................
And a big welcome to Lynne who comes in as our 276th blog Follower. Glad to have you along Lynne & I'm really not as cranky as I look.....sometimes:))
GROANER'S CORNER:)) Only In America!!
1. Only in America......can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
2. Only in America......are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.
3. Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
4. Only in America......do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
5. Only in America......do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
6. Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
7. Only in America......do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.
8. Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
9. Only in America.....do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.
10. Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
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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.
I had no idea of the fire in the Chiricahuas. We love the beauty of that area. We are finally back in the land of the internet so hopefully I can find out what is happening in the world. I told Jim the world could have vaporized and we wouldn't have a clue. Come to think about it - that may be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHow distressing to have our Fort Rucker area threatened by fires! Will be watching the news to see how far it is spreading.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the pic of the Motormouse in nap time mode!
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
Aren't any of these dumb things ever done by the Canadians? I bet they put junk in the garage in Europe as well!
ReplyDeleteOnly people ....
that is so tragic about the 'fire'!!..33,000 acres that is a big one!
ReplyDeletelove the shot of Motormouse catching some rays..she has the right idea!!
I hate to hear of the forest fires...but sometimes it seems to be nature's way of "re-forestation"...If only it wouldn't get into homes and landmarks...
ReplyDeleteLove Motormouse on her back...Total trust, is what that says....
Motormouse there really knows how to take full advantage of a sunny morning! :)
ReplyDeleteSad about the fire hopefully they get it under control soon. The trailer is looking good with the new paint job.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day!
So sad about the fires. You are a great photographer -- always beautiful pics. Motormouse has the right idea -- soak up the rays while you can! I have often wondered about several of the "Only America" you mentioned, but is it truly "Only Americans?"
ReplyDeleteAl, we had heard about the Chiricahua fire, but being on the road, now in Carson City, NV, had not heard how huge it was. Guess we'll have to wait until we return in the fall to see the final result. Sure is going to ruin a lot of beautiful country for a lot of years, and for a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteThat is so distressing to hear of the fire. Good that you were able to take so many great photos of your trips there. We've not had the opportunity to be there yet, so hoping sometime soon to be able to do that. Thanks again for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to hear about the Chiricahuas Mountains...
ReplyDeleteHave fun & Travel safe
Donna
That is too bad about the fire, it is such a beautiful area. If you can believe the naturalists, in the long run it will come back even better than it was.
ReplyDeleteI guess you just have to take the long view. We were in Yellowstone this summer and you could still see the evidence of the great fire in late 80's. But the spin is that it was actually good for the park.