A SUNNY MORNING DESERT JEEP RUN

 

GREAT MORNING FOR A JEEP RUN & WALK IN THE DESERT

Beautiful full moon Thursday night with long lanky clouds skudding across the day’s end sky.  Cool, so I stood inside at my bedroom window for awhile with binoculars in hand enjoying the magical Disneyesque sight in front of me.  Pheebs lay stretched out on my bed basking in a bright swatch of moonlight beaming through my large bedroom window.  I love being in the desert on a moonlit night.  It is a scene like no other.

AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE BACK HOME JUST A FEW MILES SOUTH OF BAYFIELD IN GRAND BEND ONTARIO CANADA

When I saw we were in for a sunny day this morning it sure didn’t take us long to get our buns into the Jeep & head out into the desert.  Now, whenever I mention desert, keep in mind, this is not Lawrence of Arabia stuff.  This is the Sonoran Desert, often thought of as the ‘green’ desert.  And green it was this morning as we happily jounced along it’s roads & ATV trails, dodging deftly around the Creosote shrubs & Hedgehog Cactus .

PICKED OURSELVES UP SOME MORE ‘DESERT PIN STRIPING’ THIS MORNING

First stop was the large watering hole we had came across a few days ago when out for a walk.

DURING THE SUMMER MONSOONS, THIS MUST GROW FROM A SMALL POND TO A LARGE LAKE

Lots of large bones around.  Some along the water’s edge & more in the surrounding Mesquite thickets.  Ribs, shoulder blades, large leg & pelvic bones, spines, but no skulls.  Obviously cattle & the skulls are likely hanging on someone’s fence post somewhere.  Some cattle may have drown in the Monsoon rains while others may have fallen prey to Coyotes or Mountain Lions near the watering hole.

 

A MORNING’S LIGHT FROST CAN BE SEEN ON ONE OF THE OLD BONES

From the watering hole we ambled along through the Mesquite & Palo Verde trees, dodging tall Yucca & Prickly Pear Cactus.  Picked ourselves up some more mighty fine desert pin striping too.  Stopped at a rock outcropping not far from ‘House Rock’ & took ourselves for a nice desert walk. 

 

STOP ANYWHERE IN THE DESERT, WALK IN ANY DIRECTION, & IT’S AN ADVENTURE

Pheebs just loves racing around the desert & as I said before, she has learned where to step & where not to step.  Not one sticker this morning as she darted about the thorns & barbs like an old pro.

Can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful this desert region is & I never tire of it.  Walking on the desert’s hard packed surface is easy & the scenery changes with every step.  Ringed on 3 sides by towering mountains & surrounded on all sides by a green landscape of many plants.  Rocky outcroppings provide easy rock scrambles.  Even for people like myself with leg problems.

 

ALTHOUGH LOOKING ROUGH, THE DESERT IS EASILY WALKABLE

 

ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO KEEP THE JEEP IN SIGHT WHILE OUT WANDERING AROUND

Only critters we saw this morning were cattle carefully keeping their distance.  Occasionally a black body could be seen or a little white face peering through the Mesquite a fair distance away.  Pheebs was busy with her nose to the ground trying to find them.  She loves cows, as many will remember from our days boondocking south of Congress last February.

 

 

SOME STRANGE CRITTERS OUT HERE IN THE DESERT

Again, we were home before noon.  Short rest & then it was right into my bedroom paint project again & managed to get all the brush edging done on the brick chimney.  Have to get myself a deeper pile roller.  Bricks & mortar are porous so I’ll need something to into those little cracks & crannies.  Couple good suggestions in our comment section but by the time I read them I had already began with the ‘Colorado Trail’ stucco paint.  I figure I am about one third done with the bedroom.  Next….my bathroom.

 

FACING THE MORNING SUN, PHEEBS LOOKS BACK TOWARDS CONGRESS 

For anyone interested in running on solar power, you will find AMERICAN TRAVELER'S post interesting today.  We have had our solar set-up 5 years now & it’s a great economical way to free yourself of costly RV Parks:))

AN OLD LONG AGO CATTLE ENCLOSURE

Molly is fitting in well over at the BIRDING RV'ERS.  Gaining some weight, playing with toys, has a boyfriend, & is busy meeting new people.  Her new Mom & Dad just celebrated 5 years as full time RVers.

AN INDIAN MORTERO (GRAIN GRINDING HOLE) IS VISIBLE IN LOWER FOREGROUND

Special thanks to the folks who have taken the time to send in their thoughts & suggestions about my leg & hip problems.  I have tried some of things recommended & am considering others.  I have not gone back on the Crestor & right now have stopped taking my Arthrotec (arthritis medication) to see what happens.  We were surprised to find out we cannot buy Tylenol here in the States.   

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW OUR STRANGE COLORED LATE AFTERNOON SKY LOOKED ABOUT 5:30

 

HALF AN HOUR LATER WITH A FULL MOON CLIMBING INTO THE SKY, EVERYTHING LOOKED NORMAL AGAIN

GROANER’S CORNER:((  And a reader sent in a follow up to Thursday night’s Groaner…The poor guy's twin brother showed up at the church and wanted to be the new bell ringer. Sadly, he too had no arms but the church president hired him after he demonstrated a technique similar to his brother's. Things went fine until one day when he ran face-first at the bell and fell to his death. A crowd gathered and someone asked the man's name. The church president responded, "I don't know his name but he was a dead ringer for his brother."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS -https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

SWITCHED FROM INSIDE MODE TO OUTSIDE MODE TO INSIDE MODE………….

NICE BEING ABLE TO HAVE THE MOTORHOME PARKED CLOSE TO THE HOUSE

Disappointed to see the continuing cloud cover again this morning but checking the computer & seeing Bayfield’s temperature sitting at 27F put a little smile on my face & I got on with my day.

CURVED BILL THRASHER…I CALL HIM, ‘CURVY BILL’:))

As so often happens in these parts, by 9 this morning our heavier clouds were mere wisps of their former selves.  With sunlight beginning to cast faint shadows I quickly changed from inside mode to outside mode.  No painting today (I thought) & instead headed out the door to look for some easy to do projects. 

PUTTING SOMETHING TOGETHER HERE BUT NOT SURE WHAT YET…

We decided to make the driveway leading up to the house wider.   That meant I had a corner fence post & two rails to move.  Relocated a few newly planted Agave’s, moved a few rocks, dug out a Desert Broom shrub, pulled out one fence post, moved two rails, dug a new post hole, reassembled the rails & post & ‘Walla’ that little project was done.

MOVED 2 RAILS & ONE POST FROM LEFT SIDE OF PICTURE TO RIGHT SIDE

Our new chain link fence gates didn’t match in height simply because they were not done right so I was able to do a little digging, a little pulling & bending, a little wedging of rocks into place & ‘Walla’ our gates are more evenly matched now.  Checked the rig’s batteries, fired up the generator for 20 minutes & let the coach’s engine run up to temperature for a bit.

MOVED POST & RAILS FROM CENTER FOREGROUND & WILL EXTEND THE CRUSHED STONE OVER TO THE CACTUS…NOTICE THE LITTLE ROCKET DOG GALLOPING THROUGH THE PICTURE

Looking at the weather map for the east coast today I was once again reminded of why we have been coming to this particular area of the southwest for the past 6 years.  No tornados, no hurricanes, no tide surges, no snowstorms, no torrential rains (in winter season), no continuous cloudy days, no unpredictable sudden weather extremes, no dripping humidity, & no gol darn Allimagators.

A LATE DECEMBER MOON CASTS A SOFT SHADOW AS THE NIGHT LIGHTS OF WICKENBURG CAST A WARM GLOW ON A LOW HANGING CLOUD COVER

About 2 o’clock this afternoon the cloud cover moved back in & I retreated indoors where it was warmer.  Filled my paint tray, grabbed a new roller & had a go at filling a couple walls with paint.  Rolling paint onto a wall is sure a lot faster & easier than the time consuming edging which pretty well has to be done with a brush.  If it’s cloudy & cool again tomorrow I just may tackle the job of painting the chimney bricks.  Always nice to have a few low stress projects on the go:))  

THE COLOR MAY LOOK A LITTLE OVERPOWERING BUT ONE HAS TO IMAGINE SOME NICE SPANISH/MEXICAN DÉCOR ON THOSE WALLS

Had ourselves another game of musical recliners a few days ago & I am back in my Mission chair & Pheebs is back in her favorite recliner.  She likes that one best because it has soft arms for her to lay her head on. 

PHEEBS IS MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE BACK IN HER OLD RECLINER

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The local church was desperately looking to hire someone to ring the church bell. After over a week of no leads, a fellow shows up asking for the job. The president of the church walks out of his office to interview the job candidate when he notices the man has no arms. “Excuse me sir”, said the president, “but how do you expect to ring the bill without arms?” “Just watch”, said the man confidently, and with that, the man charged toward the bell and banged his face onto it emitting a wonderful loud clang. “Wow” said the president “that was wonderful!” “Agreed” said the secretary coming in “that was simply beautiful.” “Can I see you do it again?” asked the secretary, who missed the first performance. “Sure” said the man, who again charged toward the bell. Unfortunately he tripped on the way and died. “Do we even know his name?” asked the baffled secretary. “I don’t know” answered the president, “but his face sure rang a bell!”

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS -https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

CHRISTMAS DAY 2012…HANGING OFF THE END OF A PAINT BRUSH……..

HAD ME A COUPLE BACK TO BACK ‘PAINT PROJECT  DAYS’ – PHOTO BY KELLY & NICE COMPOSITION:))

Cloudy skies are always a bit of concern to me & looking out my bedroom window Monday morning, I thought…"Oh Oh”.  At this time of year, cloudy also means a cool or cold day here in these parts of Arizona.  Time for Al to switch into panic mode.

A CLOUDY COLD CHRISTMAS MORNING

Short morning walk & we weren’t long piling into the Jeep & heading for the paint store in Wickenburg.  If I was going to be stuck inside all day, I needed a project.  I would sooner be painting a wall than climbing a wall!!  ‘What’s this’…sign on the paint store door said, ‘Gone Out Of Business’.  This is the store where we picked up all our paint for the kitchen cupboards last March.  Off to Ace Hardware we went.

 

PHEEBS MEETS ANOTHER NEW BEST PAL:)) 

In 2008 we painted the living room/kitchen of our Motorhome.  Chose a clay pot color & had the paint mixed at a Wal-Mart in Casa Grande, Arizona.  I have been carrying that paint can lid with a paint swatch on top ever since.  Had that lid with us Monday.  Also had a paint chart with the ‘Colorado Trail’ color we had our stuccoed house painted with last March.  One gallon of ‘Clay Pot’ & one gallon of ‘Colorado Trail’ please:))  Didn’t take the young knowledgeable Ace Hardware fellow long to mix up the paint & we were on our way home.

 

MY LITTLE ‘PAINT THE SHED’ PROJECT IS UNDERWAY

Despite the dark clouds overhead we had a few sun splashes & that spurred me on to open the Colorado Trail first & tackle our aluminum garden shed.  Before a light rain started, I did get one side of the shed painted.  The color matches our house.

With brush in hand, paint can open, & raindrops falling all around, I slipped inside & started on my bedroom.  We have a huge brick chimney there & somebody painted the whole room, including the chimney, a light blue.  I am going to try & paint that large chimney a stucco color.  Rest of bedroom will be a clay pot color.  The gallon of bedroom paint will at least get me started.  The room is 15’ wide by 28 feet long with the highest ceiling point about 10’ along one side.  Gonna soak up a lot of paint & time, but time is free & I have lots of that:))

STARTED PAINTING AROUND BASE OF CHIMNEY BUT THOSE POROUS BRICKS ARE GONNA TAKE SOME TIME >>>

Our Christmas Day morning again dawned cloudy & cold.  Had hoped to get ourselves out for some bouncy Jeeping but it just was not to be.  Luckily for me, we had bought paint the day before so I spent all of Christmas morning hanging off the end of a paint brush.  Nice relaxing tunes on the Satellite radio so all was well.  Oh how I love a well played piano.

 

I’VE GONE WITH A DARKER COLOR TO BRING THE SIZE OF THE ROOM DOWN A BIT…MY ‘PASTEL COLORS’ ERA ENDED A LONG TIME AGO 

You may notice in the photos I don’t have a drop sheet down & haven’t used masking tape to keep lines & corners straight.  I’m kind of a reckless free spirited painter once I get going & besides, I don’t have a lot of patience to fiddle with all that masking tape stuff.  I’m not exactly the guy you would want to come over & paint your favorite living room you know.  But, I get the job done, doesn’t have to be stressfully perfect, & if you don’t look too close everything comes out just fine at the end of the day.  Well, sort of……………….sometimes.  

 

NOW, HOW’S THIS FOR A SNOOZY LITTLE FACE

I’ve never been sure how ‘Sitemeter’s’ page views work.  Don’t know if it means the actual number of blog pages read or people clicking on a page.  Noticed awhile back that we have passed the one million mark in Sitemeter’s ‘page views’…..whatever page view means.

 

2012…CHRISTMAS MORNING AT OUR HOUSE:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Now, here’s a very political type answer…A Senator in the USA was once asked about his attitude toward whisky.  'If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I'm against it. But if you mean the elixir of a New Year toast, the shield against winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers to comfort little crippled children, then I'm for it. This is my position, and I will not compromise.'  Yep, that’s a Politician alright.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS -https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com