WE GOT OUR WEEDS WHACKED TODAY & AN EMAIL FROM SOLAR MIKE AT THE SLABS

<<< SOME NICE COLORS IN THE DESERT THIS MORNING

My first order of business today was to get the 9 Road Gradered Yucca plants in the ground.   All 9 went into our front yard Cactus Garden.  It’s anybody’s guess if they will make it but at least now they all have a fighting chance. 

 

Winnie’s new spare tire is on the rim & securely bolted back in it’s spot in the rig’s storage bin.  We are officially ready for travel.  Just waiting to hear back from Solar Mike over in Slab City at the moment.

Rather than have me go on about the joys of boondocking again I will let Nina over at WHEELING IT tell you a little bit about our much preferred way to travel & RV.  She has a list of 5 essential boondocking tips for folks.  You will always find helpful information, great photos, & fine writing on Nina & Paul’s blog.

A very slow draining kitchen sink led me to do a little digging in our back yard, a little sawing, & a little unplugging.  Working fine now:))

Kelly says we have some kind of critter living in our attic above the dining room & her bedroom.  I think it is a small bird & Kelly thinks it is an Elephant.  Whatever it is I guess my next job will be crawling up through our dining rooms ceiling trap door to see what I can see.  Maybe take some peanuts with me.  I hear Elephants like peanuts.

PHEEBS DIDN’T HEAR A THING…..FOR OBVIOUS REASONS

Les the yard man showed up about 1:30 this afternoon & started straight away with his weed whacker whacking wascally weeds.  I started straight away with my leaf rake raking up those wascally whacked weeds into piles.  Took Les about 2 hours to knock em all down & it will take me a day or two to rake em all up.  Even if it doesn’t have that perfect green mown grass look our dirt yard still looks pretty spiffy now.  He sure did a great job & even went around afterwards with a leaf blower to clean things up around the outside of the house, porch, & cement patio.  How nice to have someone who knows what they are doing & how nice to have someone who takes care in how they are doing things:))

 

LES SURE HAD THE DUST A FLYIN TODAY

Next step in our weed control program Les will spread a granular pre-emergent which with winter’s gentle rains will sink into the ground a few inches & take care of the weed roots before they can begin growing in Spring.  This cuts down tremendously on the spraying of Round-Up on actively growing weeds. A bit more expensive with the pre-emergent treatment but easier on the environment.  Les monitors the winter weather & puts the pre-emergent down just before a rain is due.  He figures 4 bags of pre-emergent will do our place.

I START MY RAKING

  

ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN ACRE RAKED UP SO FAR & 2 MORE QUARTERS TO GO…SHOULD HAVE IT ALL WRAPPED UP THURSDAY

{Update} Email from Solar Mike today says he can fit us in a week from this coming Tuesday.  We’ll probably head out for Slab City on the Monday, spend the night sacked out in the desert & be on Mike’s doorstep Tuesday morning bright & early. 

A PIECE OF PLASTIC ON THE GROUND? DOWN THE STREET?  NOPE, A SHEDDED SNAKE SKIN

And whispering desert winds have told us Wandering Willy made it to Borrego Springs & may be there for a couple weeks.  After Slab City we’ll see if we can pick up Wandering Willy’s dusty desert trail somewhere in Anza-Borrego.  But, that sly Fox just may give us the slip.  It was about a year ago WW dropped in on us here at our Congress digs.

We sure are fortunate to lead the lives we do.  Don’t know how long it will last but we are trying to make the most of it while we are still able.  Driving south a week ago it was nice knowing we had a house to come to but also nice knowing we would not be spending our entire 6 months sitting in one spot.  I looked forward again this year to the yard work which I enjoy.  And already I’m looking forward to being back on the road again in a week & half going somewhere.  What a winning combination that is.  A few weeks in the house to spread out, relax, & enjoy my outside projects and a few weeks traveling around boondocking under southwestern skies is just about the perfect kind of medicine for this guy.  Not sitting in one place long enough to get bored is key for me whether it’s in a house or in an RV.  I have an attention span of about 2 weeks & then it’s time for a change.

I’M BEGINNING TO THINK IT’S A HOPELESS CASE TRYING TO GROW CACTUS WITH SO MANY RABBITS AROUND >>>

I’m afraid the moth balls & doggy poop idea has not worked out as hoped.  More of my Cactus were chewed in the night despite being ringed with MB’s & DP.  And despite that same combination plus cement blocks covering the hole in our foundation something has already dug it’s way under right through the moth balls & poop.

Don’t know how many of you folks make it outside at night but right now Planet Venus in the southwestern sky is shining about as bright as I have ever seen it.  And tonight was a special treat with the crescent Moon very close to Venus.  A great sight for stargazers.  Years ago it was Terence Dickinson’s book ‘NIGHTWATCH’ A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe that really perked my Astronomy interest.  I still have that book & tonight brought it in from the RV.  Need to have a look at the star charts & give myself a refresher course on all the constellations again.  Been quite awhile since I have taken myself for a tour around the night sky simply because I have forgotten where many of the points of interest are.  Got me some reading to do……..10-4:))

Talked to Aunt Jean today & she made it out to the golf course twice last week.  First time she went by herself & that didn’t turn out so swell.  Second time she went with friends & had a much better time.  She was so excited because she came within 2 inches of making a hole in one.  She’s looking forward to getting back out again shortly.  Jean has always credited the game of golf for maintaining her health & keeping her limber over the years.

SOUND ASLEEP ON A PILE OF COVERS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Driving to work, a gentleman had to swerve to avoid a box that fell out of a truck in front of him. Seconds later, a policeman pulled him over for reckless driving. Fortunately, another officer had seen the carton in the road. The policemen stopped traffic and recovered the box. It was found to contain large upholstery tacks. "I'm sorry sir," the first trooper told the driver, "but I am still going to have to write you a ticket."
Amazed, the driver asked for what.
The trooper replied, "Tacks evasion."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.