TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:)): Will Ackerman

Sunday, January 24, 2010

TODAY WE NEARLY LOST ONE OF THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:((

MOTTY & PATTI CHECK OUT THE MOTORHOME

My bed isn't very wide but ranch dog Pearce managed to squeak himself up onto the bed sometime in the night & slept contentedly beside me at the bottom. Gleason stayed for the night as well & found himself a nice quiet spot in the hallway on the rug. Little Motormouse was curled up on her favorite chair with Max & Checkers on their respective doggy beds. A little crowded in the front of the motorhome but I don't mind. It's not every night I get to have a sleep-over with all my best pals.

When I saw the first rays of sunlight enter the coach's side window this morning I knew we were in for nice day. The storms of past days have long gone & soon we will be into warming temperatures. An email arrived from Motty & Patti saying they were headed for Belles to feed the animals so we sent an email back saying for them to come over to the ranch when they finished.

CHECKERS >>>>>>>>

Kelly loaded our present location into the new GPS system then stepped outside to do some weird arm & wrist movements to calibrate the PN-40. That worked & minuets later it actually pinpointed exactly where we were. A message flashed on the screen saying for the guy with the scruffy white beard to put a bag over his head. I can see me & PN are gonna get along real darn good!! Walked around in circles outside for awhile pressing buttons & trying things out. Finally got onto the moving GPS compass but haven't figured out how to activate the stationery electric compass yet. Altimeter told me I was at 4,069 feet. Ever since the late 60's I've always had a keen interest in how high I was everyday:)) I'll read some more of the instruction book in the morning & see if I can program it to make me a peanut butter sandwich on demand.

<<<<< LOOKING FOR KELLY WITH THE GPS

Motty & Patti, with their Boxer dog Moe rolled in about 11:30 & we all spent the day sitting in the warm Arizona sun chatting. It was while visiting that we nearly lost our precious little Motormouse. We had all walked over to a gate in the fence line to talk with the donkeys. We didn't see the little Motor squeak under the gate between us & venture out in front of the donkeys until it was too late. One of the donkeys immediately attacked her & stomped her with it's hooves. I immediately scrambled over the gate as I heard her squeal in pain. The donkey quickly bolted & I scooped up the little Motor & swiftly handed her over the gate to Kelly. And, she was still intact. No blood, no apparent twisted limbs, broken ribs, or crushed skull. She was shaking like a leaf & scared. Patti is a former dog trainer & quickly checked Cora (that's her real name) for any broken bones. No squeals of pain. Just a little mud on her nose & down her right shank where we think one of the hooves hit her a glancing blow. It was a miracle she wasn't killed or seriously injured. We held her for a long time & after awhile set her down & she seemed to walk ok. It is now about 7 hours later & she seems fine although Kelly thinks her right hip looks a bit swollen & she did have a little trouble jumping up onto my bed. She may be a bit stiff & sore in the morning but right now she's having a big snooze after eating a big supper. And of course she's really been soaking up all the extra attention she has been getting too. And, I should add, it was not the donkey’s fault for attacking a perceived threat moving across the ground at them. Could have been a rattlesnake, small coyote or something & the donkey was only protecting itself & it’s family. So, not to worry, I am still big buddies with the donkey gang:))

I THINK CHECKER’S LIKES MOTTY:))

Motty, Patti, & Moe left about 4 & we'll probably see them a few more times this week. Maybe over at Belle's or in Bisbee. Interesting & nice folks. They are awaiting a phone call from Camping World in El Paso Texas in regards to a part for one of their 5th wheel slide outs that won't work. They have to head back to El Paso to get that fixed.

HANGING OUT AT THE RANCH HOUSE

It's a cozy Sunday night here in the motorhome. We have our nice cactus cowboy boots lights on, Kelly's eating popcorn watching her favorite TV shows, I'm sitting at the computer with my 7 o'clock coffee & head phones on listening to my all time favorite acoustic guitar player of all time, WILL ACKERMAN. Max, Checkers, Motormouse, Gleason, & Pearce are all contentedly stretched out in their favorite doggy sleep modes & for a short time frame in the life & times of the Bayfield Bunch............all is well. And most best of all we still have our precious little Motormouse with us after today's near fatal & harrowing incident.