THOUSANDS & THOUSANDS OF SAND HILL CRANES

ONE OF MANY SAND HILL CRANE FLOCKS OVER THE RANCH EVERY DAY

Jeanie & Ray's ranch sits right next door to a recreation area called the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area here in southeastern Arizona.
http://www.wildlifeviewingareas.com/wv-app/ParkDetail.aspx?ParkID=162
http://www.azgfd.gov/outdoor_recreation/wildlife_area_whitewater.shtml
Thousands upon thousands of sand hill cranes & snow geese fly right over their ranch every day. The birds spend the night south of the ranch & lift off in the early morning flying north to feed in fields about 50 miles away. About mid day they begin returning to their water habitat in large groups & we can hear their calls high overhead practically all day long. Huge formations, one right after the other winging their way across the skies.

MASSIVE FLOCKS OF CRANES

Our morning chores are shorter than the afternoon ones. First thing is to feed the 9 chickens & one noisy rooster. That rooster starts crowing about 4 in the morning & just keeps going, & going, & going. I call him the Energizer Rooster!! The two outside cats & 2 dogs are fed next & that's about it for the morning's chores. Pretty easy so far huh. Oh by the way, the two horses names are Banshi & Sporty & they are owned by a lady living in Tombstone. Both mares are expecting foles in March so the owner will be picking them up before that occurs. (I hope)SNOW GEESE ON THE WATER

We saw the huge flocks of Sand Hill cranes going over heading north this morning so later on we took a drive down the road to the shallow lake where they would be returning to later. Bird watching people were already there with spotting scopes & cameras waiting for the massive flocks. We walked around on top of the berms & saw a lot of various ducks & small birds. My small telephoto lens only goes up to 200mm so I'm limited as to what I can photograph well. Birds are small objects & unless they are sitting at a birdfeeder in your backyard it's pretty hard to get close enough to them to take any kind of quality shots. However, I did manage to shoot well over 150 photos of which only a small amount will make it to the photo album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
We did get a tip about a Great Horned Owl in one of the Wildlife's buildings so I did manage a picture of that fellow as well.

VERMILLION FLYCATCHER ON THE WING

We were back to the ranch around noon & spent the early part of the afternoon relaxing. Ray had earlier roto-tilled up some ground close to the porch & I had raked it so this afternoon Ray helped Kelly plant some onions, radish, & spinach. I then helped Ray cut down some large reed grass to use the stems for making poles in another fencing project around a second border vegetable garden. By then it was nearly 4:30 & time for the afternoon chores which were the same as this morning but with the added duties of feeding the donkeys & horses. It's a good thing Jeanie printed out all the instructions or we would be feeding the hay to the dogs, the chicken scratch to the cats, & the dog food to the turkeys. Turkeys???A GREAT HORNED OWL KEEPS A WARY EYE ON ME

Sat on the wrap around house porch before supper talking with Jeanie & Ray. Truly nice people. They almost have their 5th wheel ready to head out for some holidays soon. Well, as soon as they can teach us two knuckleheads how to give the right food to the right animals that is. And no, Toto, horses do not have feathers.................................... THE RANCH

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH ARRIVES AT THE ARIZONA RANCH

THE RANCH

I generally like to get things squared away the afternoon before the next mornings departure. Sometimes in the mornings the roof of the RV is very wet from the night's dew so unless I want to end up with wet pants, I'd better get those panels down before nightfall. Also, some mornings can be windy or cold so I'd rather secure the panels on a previous sunny warm afternoon. In my impatient world it just wards off getting myself into a big snit first thing in the morning & wrecking up the day for myself. The more I'm able to do the day before, the less I have to do in the morning because......once I'm ready to go.......I'M READY TO GO!!

As usual, I was sad about leaving a memorable spot but excited by the unknown adventures ahead. Did a final walk-around of the rig, said good-bye to our site in the Tombstone Hills, climbed into the rig & headed out. It wasn't far to the ranch so we didn't hitch up the car. Kelly & the Motormouse drove up to the gate by the road & opened it. Max, Checkers, & I rolled through the gate & headed northeast for Tombstone with Kelly & the mouse bringing up the rear. The car was needing some gas so after a quick stop for fuel we were southbound out of Tombstone on our way to the Ranch. We knew we were plenty early so we took our time heading southeast on Davis road & just enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way. Large prairie like grasslands surrounded by distant mountains on all sides. Another big Arizona morning.

We rolled into Jeanie & Ray's ranch around 10:30 which was about half an hour ahead of schedule. I'm one of those guys who always gets to where he's going to.....early!! I am almost paranoid if I'm ever late for anything. Years ago, my best friend Jim & I used to meet at a local coffee shop back in Stratford Ontario a couple times a week. We did this for about 5 years. Our meeting time was always the same...7 p.m. My arrival time was always the same as well...6:55 p.m. Jim's arrival time never changed either & he always showed up at precisely 7:05. Nothing was ever said in all those years about being early or late. We used to talk about every imaginable thing under the sun except, why was I always early & why was he always late. Sometimes, there are just some things grown men don't talk about!!

Jeanie & Ray really have a nice ranch here & they pretty well have built it from scratch all by themselves over the years. Ray helped guide the rig as I backed it into a pre-determined spot. For the first time in over 50 days we are actually going to have electricity, a water hook-up, & asewer connection. Gonna take us awhile to get used to all that 10-4. I had to even think for a minute which bin door to open for the electrical cord. It's amazing how these aging brains forget things if it's not repetitive. OUR NEW DIGS AT THE RANCH

There are 3 donkeys, 2 horses, about a dozen chickens complete with a rooster, 2 outside cats, 1 inside cat, 2 resident dogs, & one part time dog. With our 3 dogs we knew it could be quite a circus once we got here but Jeanie said not to worry about it. Jeanie is a dog whisperer & knew how to introduce all the critters to each other. Everything went off without a hitch except when little Cora thought she could just waltz right into the donkey corral & straighten those guys right out. Well, it was a close call for the little Motormouse when the donkey's turned the tables on her & chased her around the pen. Jeanie had to swiftly intervene & quell the troubled waters by quickly hoisting the shaking little motordog over the fence to me. We won't have to worry about her bothering the donkeys again!!

I'm not very good at remembering names but here goes....The donkeys are Poncho, Sarah, & Nellie. The 2 resident dogs are Gleeson & Pearce. Indoor cat is Mattie while the 2 outdoor cats are Charlie & Bob. Corky is a neighbor's dog that comes for the day a couple times a week. I have forgotten the 2 horses names & don't even ask me about the chickens names. Cluck, Cackle, & Peck, comes to mind for 3 of them though. I'll ask the 2 horses to write their names down for me to-morrow. Can probably do that after we get the chickens milked & the donkey eggs picked up.

Once Jeanie & Ray leave for some well deserved holidays in their RV next week it will be our job to feed all the critters every day & attend to some watering issues. Because of the cold temps at night here the outside irrigation & barn water has to be turned off at night & back on in the morning so we will be responsible for doing that as well. Our presence here will also be security. The entire property is fenced in with a locked gate at night. The Mexican border is 20 miles to the south.

I didn't take many pictures to-day because our time was spent with Jeanie & Ray learning the ranch chores but as we go along in the next little while I'm sure I'll get some nice portraits of Cluck, Cackle, & Peck. Also looking forward to the thousands of sand hill cranes who make this area their winter home. Lots of wintering birds on the property too. It's a beautiful part of the country down here in southeastern Arizona so we're looking forward to getting out & seeing as much of it as we can over the next number of weeks or so. I'm sure the camera's will be working overtime again so stay tuned as The Bayfield Bunch turns another page in their endless book of everyday adventures..............................

OUR FIRST LOOK AT SOME SAND HILL CRANES

No photos for the web album to-day.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

OUR LAST DAY IN THE TOMBSTONE HILLS

CAN YOU IMAGINE DRIVING THIS ROAD THROUGH THE DESERT TWICE A DAY, EVERY DAY...... GWEN & JACK DO!!

Spent some time this morning with my binoculars watching military planes practice touch & go landings way over at Fort Huachuca's northwest end. There is a large airfield there which I heard is on the list for a possible alternative landing site if there is ever a problem with the space shuttle. I watched a couple of A-10 Warthogs coming in low over the field plus an F-16 Jet fighter. (I think) A large 4 engine jet tanker plane made 3 or 4 wheels down approaches, each time lifting back up into the sky again. It's many miles to the airfield & I couldn't actually see the runway but I did see one 2 engine plane land & taxi to a stop so I knew where the runway was. ENJOYING THE ARIZONA SUN

Rest of the morning was spent getting organized for to-morrow's move to the ranch over near Douglas. Did all the vehicle oil checks, etc. Nice breeze this morning & I think the temps might head up into the high 70's but looks like we have some unsettled weather rolling in by the week-end. PUTTING DOWN THE SOLAR PANELS FOR TRAVELING TO-MORROW

Saw Gwen & Jack's truck (the couple who lease this land to graze their cattle) way down by the lower corral late this afternoon & followed them with the binoculars as they bounced & jolted up the old desert road leading towards us & their 2nd of three cattle watering stops. We hiked down that road this morning on our walk & I took some pictures of the road these folks drive everyday, twice a day, 365 days a year. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ And this was only one small section of rocky desert road in the many miles they travel up & over the hills & dales each day.
After they topped up the water trough they headed over our way & stopped for a visit. Apparently a couple of the mining guys who have staked claims nearby are feuding over the property lines of their claims & Gwen & Jack were telling us about it. Guess nothings changed since the 1800's. Maybe we'll hear some gunfire to-night!! We told Gwen & Jack we're leaving in the morning & they said for us to come back here anytime we like. I think they were kind of sad to see us go & I felt sad saying good-bye to them. It's funny how some people just seem to affect you more than others. I had meant to take a picture of them but by the time I thought of it they were nearly back to their truck so I only managed to get one long telephoto shot. If we ever make it back to this spot some day we will definitely be watching for that blue truck to be making it's way through desert once again.

JACK & GWEN HEADING FOR THEIR TRUCK AFTER WE SAID OUR GOOD-BYES

Hope the wind doesn't kick up to-night. Last night it got so bad I had to get up & put the larger living room slide in because of the racket & risk of having the slide awning damaged. Was not a good night's sleep!!......................................

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/