TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Saturday, September 11, 2010

DO WE HAVE ANY 'RANCH SITTERS' OUT HERE IN RV BLOG LAND:))

FULL MOON RISING OVER THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS AT THE RANCH IN DEC. 09 (700mm telescope lens)

Anyone following our blog knows that we have spent the last 4 winters traveling around the American Southwest. You will also know that we have spent some time 'ranch sitting' the past couple years as well. When we leave Bayfield in late October we will once again head straight for the ranch which is located in Arizona's southeast corner near McNeal, Douglas & Bisbee. Unlike last winter, we have decided to spend less time at the ranch this year & more time traveling. We will be there from the beginning of November until mid December.

STORM CLOUDS OVER THE RANCH HOUSE

The owners of the ranch, J & R are also RV folks & again this year would like to spend the winter months doing some traveling of their own . Another RV couple is going to take over the ranch sitting job from us from mid December to mid January. A third RV couple & friends of ours will take over sometime in January & will stay for awhile but not sure how long yet. That will leave part of February & all of March available.

OUR FULL HOOK-UP SITE AT THE RANCH

Workampers will probably not be interested in this because it is not a paying job. You do have full hook-ups & the security of a locked gate & a very large area with coyote proof fencing so it's a great safety factor if you have pets. The ranch is an excellent home base for day trips in this historical southeast corner of Arizona. Thousands of Sand Hill Cranes fly directly over the ranch every single day. Their roosting area is only one mile south of the ranch at the, WHITEWATER DRAW WILDLIFE AREA

SUNSET ON THE PORCH

It is imperative that you understand, care for & love animals. The ranch has about a dozen frisky chickens, 3 clever donkeys, 2 new cows, two lovable dogs (Pearce & Gleason) & Charlie the cat to look after. The gang has to be fed twice a day & the 3 or 4 chicken eggs have to be gathered daily. And, you will be required to milk the chickens every Saturday morning before breakfast:))

DRAGOON MOUNTAINS NORTHWEST OF THE RANCH

Douglas & Bisbee are only about a 20-25 minute drive away. Tombstone is about a 40 minute drive & Sierra Vista is just another 15 minutes on the other side of Tombstone. The ranch is located in the Sulphur Springs Valley & surrounded by the Dragoon, Chiricahua, Swiss Helm & Mule mountains. And, if you haven't been to Bisbee Arizona yet, you are in for an alpine treat in an old mountain mining town. For many photos of the ranch & surrounding area attractions just check our archives for Feb-March 2009 & again from November 09 to just about the end of January 2010. Or, check our PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS for those same dates.

3 OF THE RANCH'S DESPERADOS'....SARAH, NELLIE & PONCHO

So, if anyone is interested in 'ranch sitting' for a spell in February & March, just let us know & we'll forward your interest to the folks at the ranch. Preference will probably be given to anyone on our blog list that we know or have been in email contact with for awhile. Just a little something for you Buckaroo RV'ers to think about:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED...................
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

It is not the concept of God I have a problem with.....it's his fan club that causes me grievous concern:((

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Friday, September 10, 2010

UNCLE HARRY GETS A NEW SET OF WHEELS:))

SPOTTED A GROUP OF WHITE EGRETS THIS MORNING (Officially called 'Great Egrets)

Picture perfect morning with blue sky's & big puffy white clouds. Thoroughly enjoying these cooler temps & 60F first thing this morning made for a great start to the day.

HULLET MARSH WITH A BIRD VIEWING STATION IN THE BACKGROUND

VIEW FROM THE BIRD LOOK-OUT

The Ritz Villa where my Uncle Harry lives phoned a few days ago saying his old 1950's style lamp plug was not up to code & the lamp should be replaced so that was my mission for this morning. Rounded up a newer lamp we had here at home & headed for Mitchell.

THE HULLET MARSH IS MADE UP OF MANY CONNECTING PONDS & CREEKS

Because of the picturesque morning I took some extra back roads & made a few stops along the way at a large tract of land that had been set aside years ago as a wildlife nature area. The HULLET MARSH covers hundreds of acres & before we moved to this area we would often drive here on a Sunday & hike all areas of this large Marsh.

I COULD SEE SOME WHITE OBJECTS ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MARSH & WITH MY 300MM LENS I WAS ABLE TO GET THE FOLLOWING EGRET PHOTOS

(click on photos to enlarge)

Harry's room was a bee hive of activity when I arrived about 11:30 this morning. Awhile back Harry had been measured up & fitted for a custom wheelchair & this morning it arrived about the same time I did. Lynette, the Occupational Therapist lady from VHA REHAB SOLUTIONS who had done the original measuring was back along with two fellows from the company that built Harry's wheelchair. CUSTOM MOBILITY is a fairly new company based in Southwestern Ontario specializing in custom built wheelchairs designed for the maximum comfort of it's occupants. Instead of people having to wait months for a measuring & then have to drive long distances to Parkwood Hospital in London for fittings, Custom Mobility comes right to a Seniors place of residence & does everything in the comfort of one's own surroundings.

LYNETTE CHECKS A MEASUREMENT

I was extremely impressed how Fred Geiger, the company's director of operations & his assistant Kevin, along with therapist Lynette took the time, care, consideration & concern to help Harry adjust to his new chair. Kevin is the fellow who actually built the chair. Their warmth & friendliness was obvious as they had Harry take the chair for a test drive in the hall. A few adjustments here & there & soon Harry was all smiles with his spiffy new set of wheels. And, in his day, Harry always took great pride in is big, shiny & spiffy Detroit wheels:))

LYNETTE & FRED LOOK ON WHILE KEVIN MAKES SOME ADJUSTMENTS

In my line of part time work I see & handle a fair few wheelchairs & I can honestly say Harry's chair was the best built chair I have ever seen. He will get a lot of pleasurable miles out it & I'll bet there isn't another chair within 40 miles that could outrun his sporty new set of wheels in the quarter mile:))

HARRY CHECKS OUT SOME TOOLS THE BOYS BROUGHT

IT WAS PLAIN TO SEE THE WARMTH & CARE THESE GOOD PEOPLE HAD FOR UNCLE HARRY

The LONDON TRAILER HITCH CENTER phoned today confirming they can indeed get the parts shipped in to turn our little Jeep into a towable Jeep toad:)) We'll set a date for that shortly then take the Santa Fe & Jeep to London & have them switch some of the towing gear from the Santa Fe to the Jeep. Things are coming together:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( And remember, don't let aging get you down because it's just too darned hard to get up again!!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

It is not the concept of God I have a problem with.....it's his fan club that causes me grievous concern:((

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

TIM HORTONS.....THE DUMBING DOWN OF CANADIAN COFFEE DRINKERS!!

MORNING POND

Eight weeks ago we had ordered a tire cover & front bra for the Jeep from a Jeep site in the States. This morning Kelly finally called the company to see what the hold up was & of course the voice at the other end, "oh, it's just being shipped out today." Ya right!! Also phoned London Trailer Hitch this morning to make arrangements to have our toad towing package transferred from the Santa Fe to the Jeep. Our Sterling Roadmaster tow bar part is transferrable but the base plate is not, so a new plate has to be ordered from Burnaby, British Columbia. Hope we are not going to run into problems there!!

GOING TO HAVE TO DO A LITTLE PAINT TOUCH UP ON A WALL HERE

Tuesday got off to another slow start but the highlight of my day was meeting an old friend for coffee in the afternoon. I don't do much of that sort of thing anymore so it was great to just sit down with my old buddy Jim & catch up with each other's lives again. I have blogged about my good friend & our marathon coffee blow-outs several times before & our nearly 4 hour chin wag Wednesday was just like the old days when we hung out a lot together. Distance & lifestyle changes have caused us to drift apart over the past 20 years but every time we get together we pick right up like a couple of mad magpies right from where our last conversation left off a year or so before. We have always had that best buddy chemistry between us & I always like touching base with Jim every year.

Several weeks ago my Nurse Practitioner suggested reducing my coffee intake from 4 cups a day to two in order to help with my sleeping problem. Figured that was a good suggestion so picked me up a can of decaffeinated coffee & slowly weaned myself off the regular stuff over the course of a week. Reached a point where I was not bothered with headaches or scratchy eyes from the lack of caffeine so for the last 3 days have totally skipped my mid morning & evening coffee's with no side affects. I'm at a point now where I could totally give up drinking coffee if I wished. Hmmmm, interesting thought but I am wondering if it has had something to do with my low energy levels this week.

DON'T BUG ME DAD, I'M RESTING

And speaking of coffee, I have a big beef with Tim Hortons!! My friend Jim had given up coffee quite a few years ago so doesn't frequent coffee shops anymore. When he came into Tim Horton's coffee shop yesterday & saw the size of my coffee cup sitting on the table he couldn't believe how small the coffee cups have become. I have been aware of Tim Hortons's sneaky way of slowly downsizing their cups over the last bunch of years & I have blogged about that sneakiness before. Jim's comment yesterday reminded me once again of the dumbing down of Canada's Tim Horton coffee drinkers. Their price for a cup of coffee slowly creeps up while the size of their coffee cups systematically become smaller. So, I have a warning for you America!!

CANADA GOOSE SQUADRON TAKING OFF

Tim Hortons has been expanding their operations into your country for the last few years & here is where the rub comes in. When Kelly was in Spencerport last week she went to the new Tim Hortons coffee shop there & was surprised at how big their coffee cups were compared to Canada. Tim Hortons has gradually dumbed down the Canadian population over the years but they knew they could not successfully branch into the States by setting down tiny sized cups of coffee in front of American people, charging the prices they do & get away with it. They would have been out of business in a matter of weeks because you people would not have put up with that crap. But America, I would bet dollars to doughnuts that they will work the same sneaky downsizing plan on you folks over the coming years that they have so successfully used on us Canadians. I happen to think Tim Horton's coffee is the best but I have never liked their sneaky business ethics. Tim Hortons is only one of many, many, deceptive companies out there now in this day & age but for today, it's Tim Hortons that's sticking in my craw. So beware my friends south of the border.....your Tim Horton's coffee cups are destined to be sneakily & systematically downsized over the next few years....mark my words!! Like I always say.......MINIMUM AMOUNT OF PRODUCT FOR MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF MONEY. It has become the great (and accepted) North American way!!!!

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The following was developed as a mental age assessment by the School of Psychiatry at Harvard University. Take your time and see if you can read
each line aloud without a mistake.

The average person over 50 years of age cannot do it!
1. This is this cat.
2. This is is cat.
3. This is how cat.
4. This is to cat.
5. This is keep cat.
6. This is an cat.
7. This is old cat.
8. This is Geezer cat.
9. This is busy cat.
10. This is for cat.
11. This is forty cat..
12. This is seconds cat.
Now go back and read the third word in each line from the top down:))