Get your butts home….

 

the chairs aren’t the only ones missing them.  Love you, both.  Hurry home.

 

PS:  Bill and Tracy should be heading home today from vacation.  I’m glad they had a good time, but now we want them back. :)

Found Art….

 

While taking another “creative” route with Annie the other day in Goodyear, we came across this statue.  It’s a beautiful piece and sits tucked back in an out-of-the-way parking lot.  I think it needs to be somewhere much more prominent.

I came back early in the morning thinking there wouldn’t be anyone around and the light might be better.  Wouldn’t you know it…the landscape crew was there and it was kinda cloudy.  But they didn’t mind me and I didn’t mind them and phooey on the lighting.

 

 

  

The artist’s name is Vic Payne.  I couldn’t find a title to the piece and  my shots don’t do it justice – it has such amazing detail.  From what I found, he has been sculpting for over 30 years.  There is a gallery that carries his pieces in Sedonna too, I believe.   But to find a work of art by someone so famous where we did just amazes me.

Thank you….

 

oh Heavenly Father for these gifts I am about to receive.

 

I think I need to get out of the house with my camera.  I’m going a little “nutty”.

A Tale of Two Kittens…

 

I have shared with you before photos taken by my oldest brother, Glen, who lives in Tucson.  He has been lucky enough to have a momma bobcat raising two kittens in his backyard.  Here is a series of pictures where momma is teaching the little ones tree climbing techniques.

 

Momma is looking at the camera while the one little one begins to have some trouble hanging on.

 

Things are getting a little hairier for the little one and momma has moved in to try and keep him in the tree.

 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hang on and she seems to be contemplating trying to catch him in mid-fall.

 

But alls well that ends well. 

Within the last week or so momma has taken the kittens over the wall and out into the big wide world.  Glen is wondering whether momma is one of two kittens that he saw a couple of years before in this same tree.  

All of the above photos were taken by Glen.

It’s feeling like….

 

the “dog days” of summer around here.  

Every cloud….

 

has a silver lining.

Hope you’re headed into the weekend with good thoughts, good feelings and good plans.  Enjoy!

Bent, gnarly and beautiful…

 

 

 

 

 

Pigs aplenty…..

 

I started reading to Nicole before she even knew what reading was all about.  Her favorite bedtime story was the beautiful “Guess How Much I Love You” with the little nut brown hare. But as she got older, we both loved rhyming books.  One of my absolute, forever, all-time favorites was “Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore” by David McPhail.  If you ever have the chance to read it to someone you love, DO.  You’ll enjoy it as much as they will.

 

“Pigs from England,
Pigs from France,
Pigs in just
Their underpants.”

 

And these guys are not “pigs” but javelinas that  Annie and I enjoy watching at the cabin….which brings to mind another book Nicole loved called “Don’t Call Me Pig!” about these stinky fellows.

Who you looking at????

 

 

This fellow was chased up the tree by Trixie and sat up there chattering away his irritation.  I decided I wanted a shot looking up the tree and he didn’t really want to cooperate. He moved higher up and played hide and seek with me.

 

I’m just glad he didn’t express his unhappiness in a body-fluid sorta way. :)

Distract the spirits….

 

people honoring Pele (the volcano goddess), Boy Scouts  and fishermen marking trails, or people showing others where vortexes are – these are all explanations for why people do this…

I have come across rocks stacked like this in several areas I’ve traveled.  The  reason given so that the spirits have to stop and count the rocks so it distracts them and you can be safe seems the most interesting to me. I’m pretty sure these that I found stacked in Strawberry didn’t have anything to do with Pele – volcano goddess or soccer player.

Tightrope act….

 

When Annie and I made a wrong…I mean “creative”….turn one day in Payson, we came across this road that was built around this tree.

 

She very kindly found a place to turn around so I could take a picture of said tree.  As we were sitting and waiting for our turn to move back into traffic, I spotted this little fellow using his own alternative route around the tree.

 

Since there were a couple of doves making out on the “roadway” in front of him, he had to take a turn at the first pole.

 

 

Things got a little dicey there for a few yards, but he hung on…

 

Oops…watch out.

He got tired of us watching and stopped at the next pole and just chattered away until we finally left.

I have more squirrel adventures to share, but that’s enough for today.

Creativity and time run amok….

 

I had such a relaxing time at the cabin.  Annie had an idea for a fun project and we spent time scouring thrift stores for unique odds and ends.  You meet some very interesting people in thrift stores – patrons and employees.  I wish I had taken a picture of the “donation dog” who worked the crowd at one of the stores that was operated by the Humane Society.  Nila was such a sweetie. You couldn’t help but stick money in her apron. 

Anyway, here is my finished project.

It’s a wind chime and to keep it from tangling I hung it from the clothes hook in the truck for the trip home…that lasted about a mile before I pulled over and took it down.

We only broke two drill bits while drilling the ends of the spoons.

Did I mention my husband doesn’t like wind chimes???

Beetlemania….

 

These guys were all over the place up in Strawberry.  They liked the porch lights at night and then just hung out on the wall all day. They liked to sneak into the cabin whenever the door was open.  They don’t like to be messed with and hiss when you try to “help” them back outside.  They were pretty tenacious and hard as heck to get out of the hammock. I guess all those little barbs on their legs were made to hang onto things and they know how to do just that!  I haven’t got a clue what type of bug they might be. Maybe Judy at  Prescott Daily Photo is familiar with them and can let me know what I should really be calling them besides all the colorful names I chose. :)

Bob Marley….

 

Well, I’m back from Strawberry with renewed strength and purpose.  It’s a very good thing, Martha.  :)

I did, however, miss the mega blooming of my cactus.  And since some of you were interested in what it might look like, I thought  I would share with you what I got to see.

There were 14 blooms on it and even one of the little babies on the bottom had a bloom.  Darn!  But since the ever-observant Brian pointed out how the original picture kinda looked like the cactus had dreadlocks, Tracy dubbed this guy Bob Marley.

Sorry about the picture quality. I just used my little point and shoot and the lighting wasn’t the best.  It sorta makes my eyes go all buggy.  And speaking of buggy….I’ll share a little something with you tomorrow from my trip. :)

I’m very glad to be home.  I’ll be catching up with all my blogging buddies.  

What’s on your mind….

 

besides hair?

I couldn’t sleep…got a lot on my mind.  So I went outside to see what I could see.  Since it was 12:30 at night…that wasn’t a lot.  But I knew this cactus was getting ready to bloom any day, so I thought it kinda looked like a mind with something on it.  If I count right (and my Pop taught me to count right… nicely), there will soon be 13 blossoms on this little beauty.

 

I could see the lights of Phoenix off to the east….

No tripod and my small point and shot.  Sorry, not a great picture, but you get the idea.  I was being a little careful because I was barefoot in scorpion country at night.  So I kept using my LCD on the camera as a light.  The brightest picture I had that gave the most light was this little jewel….

 

  

Glad I didn’t step on him either.

I’m needing a little Strawberry time so I’m heading back up to Annie’s cabin before the summer’s over and kids have to get back to school.  I can use the time to pull my head out of…the sand and get my thoughts straightened back out.  I’ll be home on Wednesday. Until then, enjoy yourselves and remember to floss.

You don’t want to end up like this guy…on somebody’s wall somewhere with gingivitis.

Not one single Watermelon Martini was injured during the writing of this blog.  Although, one might get that impression. :) 

I’ll huff and I’ll puff….

 

Last Tuesday evening, when we had a terrible windstorm in our area, the awning was blown off our neighbors house, over their roof and into their power line on the other side of the house.

 

The tension from the awning being on the wire broke our line at the common pole we share in the middle of our two properties. Which meant we were without air conditioning or a well pump all night.  No well pump…no water…no water…no toilet.

 

Our hero had to go up in his cherry picker and fix things.

  

 

Then when his work here was done, off into the sunrise he went.

I’m so very glad he got here nice and early.  I know they worked really hard all night and the next day to get power back on for people all over our area.  

Grilled Onion Salad….

 

Okay, I’m going to put the link here for the Grilled Onion Salad I have been talking so much about lately.  The dressing that goes on it would make a wonderful marinade for all kinds of things.  Let your imagination go.

Grilled Onion Salad

I think that the salad is best served warm or at least at room temperature.  What you don’t eat right away, can be chopped and put into a stir fry dish or served over pork chops or chicken or your fingers. :)

Have fun and let me know how you like it.

Wonderings….

 

I’m wondering how it makes a hamburger so much better when you stuff delicious things inside it before you grill it. 

I’m wondering why I didn’t take my camera to Bill and Tracy’s when we went there for our Fourth of July celebration.

I’m wondering why Arizona made fireworks legal.

I’m wondering how many different ways I can enjoy the delightful Grilled Onion Salad I made.

I’m wondering why the Watermelon Martini is not our national drink.

I’m wondering if there is any way I can make it back up to Strawberry while Annie is still there.

Inspired by Betsy at a wonderful blog named My Five Men.

Just a little comparison….

 

Here is the trip to Strawberry in April.

 

Here is the same spot in June….

It’s amazing isn’t it?  Don’t tell Annie, but I really loved being in all the snow.

So much depends….

 

on blending in and staying still.

This is a baby Curved Bill Thrasher that is growing up in our backyard.  I spotted him coming out from behind one of the cactus yesterday morning.  It appears he’s wearing camouflage.  He must have passed through some spider webs on his trip around the yard.  I wanted to reach down and clean him up, but that would have been a no-no.

Nicole was the first to spot him and took this photo of him the night before.

Don’t you love his mohawk, Brian?  Made me smile.

An update on the Killdeer, when I came home from up north the momma bird was gone, the eggs were gone and I’m not sure what happened.  If they had hatched, I would think I would have found some pieces of shell, but they may have blown away.  I haven’t seen the momma and young ones yet, but I’m still hoping.