I THOUGHT THE OLD JUNK PILE WAS ALREADY DEAD BUT SOMEBODY CAME BACK AND KILLED IT SOME MORE

Morning skies dawned cloudy so my incentive for the day to get myself outside was delayed resulting in my comfy recliner holding sway over me for awhile.  It was the lure of a peanut butter and honey sandwich later that finally drew me forth from my lazy repose.

MOST EVERY MORNING WE HAVE US A FIERY SUNRISE

BY NOON SKIES WERE SLOWLY BEGINNING TO CLEAR

MANY OF TONIGHTS SUNNY BLUE SKY AND  BIRD PHOTOS WERE TAKEN FRIDAY MORNING

NICE NATURE WALK AROUND THE VISITOR'S CENTER WITH SWEEPING VIEWS OUT OVER THE REFUGE

KELLY HAS SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE LADY INSIDE THE VISITOR CENTER

With both Kelly and I being sunshine people we never really got our morning off the ground.  Turned out to be a 51F inside day with only a few forages out the door to walk around in circles for half a minute then re-enter the coach and wait a couple hours for the next brief outside circle tour.

GREEN ALF-ALFA FIELDS IN THE REFUGE ARE HARVESTED BY A LOCAL FARMER

EXTENSIVE IRRIGATION IN THE REFUGE KEEPS THINGS GREEN AND GROWING

SAND HILL CRANES

Here in the confines of the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge lies the sleepy little dusty community of Cibola founded in 1898.  Kind of a rag-taggle little place mainly made up of old trailers and rustic pieces of building materials hauled together to construct a comfortable dwelling.  A tiny general store and part time eatery seems to be the hub of this community.  It is very typical of so many little western desert towns and it's one of the many things we have always liked about the southwest where time hasn't changed much over the years from the old West to now.  A local 'Historical Marker' states,  'Gold and silver strikes in the 1860's created growth in the area. It is said Wyatt Earp served as sheriff of Cibola for one year in the 1890's. The town of Cibola formed in 1898 and construction began on a 16 mile canal to bring water from the river to the town. A post office operated here from 1903 to 1933, serving the farms, but the irrigation project failed. Floods were a yearly event until dams were built on the Colorado River. All the remnants of Cibola are now located on nearby private property'.   

WHILE KELLY WAS IN BUYING SOME DATES FROM THESE VERY TREES THESE TWO LITTLE KIDS CAME UP THE WINDOW WANTING TO SEE PHEEBE

It took awhile to get ourselves moving but at last Pheebs and headed out for an afternoon walk weaving our way through numerous Creosote shrubs until we stumbled upon a dump.  A lot of old rusted, bent and twisted things like bed springs, auto parts and frames, household appliances, etc.  Most everything was full of bullet holes of course.  Nearby stood an abandoned house which Kelly had already scouted out earlier this morning on a walk with Pheebs while I was in the shower.  Spotted a couple very old rusted trucks behind the house.  Lots of interesting stuff for anyone with a camera.  I'll have pics of the second bullet riddled truck possibly in Sunday's post.

PILES OF JUNK LIKE THIS IN THE DESERT ARE NOT UNCOMMON

ANY TAKERS ON WHAT THIS OLD DASH MIGHT BE OUT OF??

OF COURSE THIS OLD VEHICLE DOOR IS RIDDLED WITH BULLET HOLES AS WELL AS THE WATER HEATER BELOW

LOOKS LIKE THIS OLD FRIDGE DOOR TOOK QUITE A 'SHOOTIN UP' TOO

OH GEEEEZZZZ AND SOMEBODY EVEN SHOT THE POT

ALSO FOUND AN ABANDONED JEEP WITH NOBODY AROUND

With skies clearing we were back to the rig before 2 and by 2:15 a bright band of sunlight came racing across the desert floor and tumbled into our Motorhome windows bathing us in it's warmth.  Nice to see those big blue skies overhead again and the rest of the afternoon was spent soaking up a few rays here and there.  In other words we had ourselves a rather relaxing day...………...

THIS WAS AN OLD TOW TRUCK

THAT'S ONE MIGHTY BIG HORN THIS TRUCK'S GOT ON ITSELF

AND OF COURSE HERE IS THE MANDATORY BULLET HOLE IN THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW

Late this afternoon we could hear gunfire somewhere behind us not too far away.  Hearing guns going off out here in the Southwest is nothing unusual but I was curious to see just what was being shot it.  Stepping out of the coach I determined right away the gunfire was coming from the area where I had come across the above photos.  I walked out to the road and could see a couple figures where the junk pile was.  They were busy plugging the junk pile with more lead.  With the amount of bullet holes in all that junk this morning I figured it was all plenty well dead already.  But apparently not.  These two guys were busy killing it even more.  I don't know what the obsession is for males and their guns to keep shooting holes in stuff all the time.

SAND HILL CRANES COMING HOME TO ROOST

I KNEW THEY WERE SAND HILL CRANES BY THE 'WEEBLING' SOUND THEY WERE MAKING

 Caught a lucky break tonight when I stepped outside with Pheebs shortly before eight.  When I looked up I immediately recognized something I hadn't seen for quite awhile.  A bright star like object moving across the night sky at a steady pace.  No pulsing lights like an airplane.  No, it was a solid light as bright as the Planet Venus and I knew from seeing this object many times before when we lived at the old Weenie Roast Ranch near Fullerton Ontario that it was none other than the International Space Station.  Yes indeed it was a lucky break to see that again.  Kind of like an old long lost friend................

TONIGHT'S QUARTER MOON

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A guy was on trial for murder and if convicted, would get the electric chair. His brother found out that a redneck was on the jury and figured he would be the one to bribe. He told the redneck that he would be paid $10,000 if he could convince the rest of the jury to reduce the charge to manslaughter.The jury was out an entire week and returned with a verdict of manslaughter.After the trial, the brother went to the redneck's home, told him what a great job he had done and paid him the $10,000.The redneck replied that it wasn't easy to convince the rest of the jury to change the charge to manslaughter. They all wanted to let him go.
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How many telemarketers does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but they have to do it while you're eating dinner.

And a simple typing error sure got this fella into trouble.  A husband, while on a business trip sent an email to his wife saying,  "I wish you were here." The message received by the wife was, "I wish you were her." 

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ottawa!
Ottawa who?
Ottawa know you're telling the truth?

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After church on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided I'm going to be a minister when I grow up.""That's okay with us," the mother said, "But what made you decide to be a minister?"  "Well," the boy replied, "I'll have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell than to sit still and listen."