January 2016...up in the canyon

Wolf, dog, or coyote?

My boot is 4" wide... and 3.5" long from seam to toe.

I'm a way lucky girl

I got to shoot a Barrett 82A1 this weekend.  (I think they cost more than my car...)

Yep... it was awesome fun.

:D

(does my arm hurt?  the spring takes most of the punch, but I have a right broken wrist ..old injury.. and I shot right, so it still hurts.  My elbow slid several inches across the blanket.  But ohhhh it was worth it.)

I don't think I've ever anticipated a shot more in my life.  I couldn't tell you for sure, but I think it has a really long trigger pull.  lol

Chicken for dinner...

What???

The girls are safe.

They actually threw a party in the hen house.

because...we ate the roosters. 

My son and his friend learned that it takes a long time to get dinner when you have to catch it, kill it, pluck it, and cook it. 

I don't think they'll ever complain about a 10 min wait at KFC again.  

Monsoon Magic

The monsoon rains bring the desert to life...

...and my desert is alive with wildflowers!  The beautiful life that the rains bring from what appears to be parched, lifeless earth and rocks never ceases to amaze me!


Isn't she lovely?

Desert Bird Of Paradise

Here's a few more:

The girls even like to frolic in them...

My roses love the rain...

The bumblebees and hummers love this Desert Willow... it blooms all summer

...like fireworks coming up from the ground

These happy little desert marigolds are everywhere...

And I'll leave you with a color-enhanced beauty:

Very 70's, huh?  

Have a beautiful day....

Sheriff's Report: Things you probably don't read in your papers

3:00 PM  PD advised of an injured female illegal immigrant, 25 years of age, who was stranded at the top of ****** Canyon and ******* Trail.  Search and Rescue sent 8 personnel to assist in the rescue which they completed at approximately 8:00 pm.  The woman suffered cuts and bruises as well as a possible broken ankle.
(I don't even want to comment... the illegal problem is so out of control)

4:14 PM A male subject fell approximately 15 feet down the *** Canyon Waterfall. He was airlifted to Tucson for evaluation.
(I was just up there and can see why over 80 deaths have occurred.  Guess no one reads the danger signs or notices the fence put there to keep people out of the falls area...)



Now the funny ones...
5:58 AM PR adv someone stole parts and wires to his well leaving him with no water.
(I'm guessing he's on a well-share and didn't pay his dues)

9:12 AM PR states the subject that is fixing the roadway is stealing dirt...
(dirty thief)

2:18 PM about 4 cows in rd fence is down
(bovine breakout)

4:09 PM PR states she has a rattle snake on her back porch.
(guess she doesn't have a shovel...or didn't want to mess up her porch with a shotgun)

5:10 PM PR req officer contact her ref information on what she can do about a male...
(welll, ummm....)

7:25 PM PR adv his next door neighbor was riding his dirt bike up and down the road
(so it wasn't a dirt road, or what?)

7:44 PM PR states there is a cow in the road on ghost town trl road. He states he isn't...
(didn't know cows could talk...)

8:07 AM PR states a large stray brown dog attacked his chickens
(just tryin to eat healthy...)

11:26 AM PR adv an RV was taken from this property and a barn was taken....
(a barn?)
12:07 PM PR states there are two head of cattle out in the roadway
(better than 2 heads...)

1:29 PM PR called to advised that****** ******* has been drinking....
(oh geeze, again?)

1:39 PM PR advising there are 3 bulls on ******* Rd just south of the bridge that keep...
(that keep what? BS-ing?)

4:03 PM PR states that there is that there is a bunch of cattle in the rd on the bend
(sounds like a kids memory song.. "there's a cow on the road in the bend by the fork under the bridge..chewing it's cud...)

4:53 PM PR states that she is out with a horse at the given address. Req assistance
(maybe she shouldn't be going out with horses??
)
6:35 PM PR states that there is a calf on the rd
(I hope it's a small cow and not a leg...)



1:04 AM PR states his mother has "lost her mind"
(he may have been the cause.. darn kids)

3:48 AM PR states his daugther's boyfriend, Casper, will not leave the premises...
(hmm..maybe he's a ghost...)

5:51 AM Report of two horses in the road
(they're probably protesting... they want open range like the cattle have)

11:10 AM PR adv of subject speeding in the area in an off road racing dune bugging type
(racing is the key word here... oh my...they might be having fun)

5:48 PM adv cow on Purdy lane at the second culvert
(maybe it was just a "purdy" cow?)

6:45AM Black and white pig and beagle walking down the road
(I wish there was a picture of this one...)

7:01 PM PR states (his neighbor) was threatening to kill his rooster
(I can relate...actually, it's what's for dinner..)

10:35 PM Intoxicated person refusing to be seen at the hospital and now is hanging...
I'll leave you "hanging" with that...


I was reading these laughing... but then I got pulled over this week by the Sheriff's Dept and was hoping I didn't make the paper:

CA plates on my rental car.  Speeding a wee bit...  pass a sheriff.... a hasty u-turn---pretty lights---


Smiling jolly cop asks, "Do you know how fast you were going?"  I said "no", but it is a rental car. (meaning I'm not used to it...) 

He said to my son, (who is in the back seat with his friend because THEY missed the bus and I had to go get them from work),  "Is she your mom?" 

(son claims me...and doesn't turn me in as a kidnapper from CA or something...friend sitting next to him just tries to hold back laughter...) 

Then he looks at me and says, "So rental cars don't have speedometers?"  (kids are snorting out their noses)

I had to laugh too...

He turned to the boys and said with a big shiteatin grin,  "Have fun giving your mom a hard time over this later... just do it respectfully, boys."  (gee thanks mr sheriff)

"Ma'am, is there anything I need to know about before I run your liscense?  Any recent tickets?"

(son's snorting again...)

Me:  "Uhhh... well actually, I have one on there for speeding... but I did pay it."  

*BIG SMILE*  "So, you've had your ticket for the year???"

.... and he goes back to his car only to return with a state-trooper face.

"Ma'am?  Do you have a current insurance card?"

oh crap...
 
"Current?  You like the current ones, eh?"  ..."Well, actually, YES I do, I have it right here."

I hand him my insurance card.

He becomes jolly-sheriff again and tells me they are just trying to slow people down now that school has started.  

I can't help but mention the cause of my trip being that these snorting boys in the back seat missed the bus... but I will learn how to use the cruise-control on my rental and slow it down...

He laughed and told me to have a nice day.. and smiled a "have-fun-with-it-boys" smile to the kids.

Why do they pick on me??  

Bee's hideout...or grave?

Storm: Part II

The water rose. The winds gusted up to 100 mph.  It was like a hurricane with sideways rain and hail that  lasted 3 hours... I've never seen hail last for so long.

Water rose up to the door, blew through the threshold, through the windows, through the skylights and vents ..and on to my brand new carpet.

Our short dirt road off the main road was flowing toward the river.

This is our road much later...after the storm cleared.  It was still flowing the next day.

Just down the road, the earth gave way to make a waterfall... 

This is a half mile BEFORE the river. 

Locals say our annual rainfall here is about 11"..  We got 6" in 3 hours. 

The way the storms collided and came through the riparian, made it severe in just a small area.  My friends 3 miles down the road only got 3-4" of rain and pea-sized hail for a short time.  

Weird. 

 For a couple of days, no one knew what we were talking about... 6"???  Large hail ??  Then the stories started come in about bridges washed out and folks driving through ranches to get home, carports blown over onto vehicles., animals drowning... dead birds everywhere.  

In town it was bad too. Trees blew down...even one on fort. The winds were bad, and the rains seemed heaviest toward the mountains.

That was the kick-off to monsoons. 

Oh boy.

The good news is:

I get a new air conditioner and roof. and the paint for the house is paid for. 

We saved our chickens. 

And I don't have something happen to me without something funny or strange... it's how I roll. lol:

My extra washing machine was outside because we didn't get it to the shed yet and the other one broke, so I was using it until we got a part for the other one. (there wasn't room in the mud room for two) The insurance man saw the hail damage on it.  We said not to worry about it...it was a spare that came with the house.  

He asked if I was doing laundry outside. (I think he thought I was a real-live redneck woman)  

"Uh, yeah... I've been washing outside."

. He looked at me funny and gave us money for a new one.  LOL

I'm thankful it wasn't worse... it definitely could have been.  

But my poor car...

Oh Hail

Wrexie's Hood

Clouds

The Storm: Part 1

A storm came in over the mountains Tuesday afternoon.  I had just finished painting primer on areas of the house to protect the old exposed wood from the coming monsoon rains. At least until we could paint, those areas would be protected. I finished on the house and decided I might as well get started painting the shed. Since the earlier storm blew over, I had hopes this one might at least hold out for awhile. But one storm was coming in from the west, the other from the southeast.  They were headed for a thunderous collision over the riparian river area where I live.

We were finally able to get the chicken coop started only the day before.  It was solid, with a partial tin roof, almost four complete walls, and a make-do door.  We needed to get the shed built first, the coop was to follow right behind.  Between work and getting the house done, we were right on target as home improvement goes... falling well behind!   

Well, monsoons ARE here... so we just expected a good storm, but as the clouds blew in off the two opposing mountain ranges...the proverbial pot began to boil quickly.  

The rains started...

The lightening flashed. 

Clouds rumbled... and on the thermometer I stuck to the window just hours earlier, the temperature was plummeting quickly from the 94 degrees it had reached.

The chickens huddled near the house, where they were used to roosting as they waited for their new home. The sky darkened...

We tried to 'herd' them to the coop before the rains, but they were enjoying grazing in the cool of the day..and were used to being outside, day and night.  Grasshoppers were starting to emerge, and they had no intentions of missing one. A couple hens stayed in... but the rest were chasing 'hoppers'.

The rains came.. and they stayed outside.  

The winds picked up... gusted. Unsecured things were blowing everywhere. We were under severe storm warnings with hurricane force winds... and we had no idea.  

We went inside not too worried about the chickens.. rain won't hurt them.

Then the hail started.  The hail storms I've experienced never lasted too long.  We figured by the time we caught all the chickens, it would be over.

I've never seen hail fall for so long ...it was about 2 hours before it stopped. (and I grew up in the Midwest.) 

I put a motorcycle helmet on and threw on a rain coat.  I didn't have time to change out of my shorts... the chickens were getting hammered.

We ran out to get tenderized chickens to the coop.

It got worse.  The hail went from pea-sized to penny-sized... to quarter-sized.  And the winds were coming in like a hurricane...

OUCH.  And I mean try-not-to-cry, ouch.  For me or the chickens... I couldn't hold them and my coat shut. I'm a mom.  Can't help what I did.  I  turned to take the pelting to protect their little soaked feather bodies..

The chickens let us scoop them right up... except for one guinea rooster.  He wouldn't go in.  He was standing guard, no matter what.  Literally, hell or high water, I guess. 

I've never seen chickens so wet. So cold. Or so afraid.

We were soaked, sore and cold.  We left him, figuring he'd be dinner.

We returned to the house trudging through the quickly rising water...

Bolt vs The Coyotes

This morning the roosters didn't crow. ??

I woke up late...wondering why.  When you live out in the country, sound is an important sense.

I heard a chicken make a brief "cluck".. but the guineas weren't squawking.  That was REALLY weird if something was wrong.

They weren't sounds a visitor would even notice.  But it sounded all "wrong" to me...  I didn't listen to my instincts, and sleep won out a little longer.

When I did wake.. it was to find out my dog, Bolt had gone under the gate at Mach 2.  I could barely see where she escaped.  She can morph, the dog is amazing that way.

Something was after her chickens.  There were feathers in the yard... but all the birds were accounted for.

I didn't see it first-hand, but the coyotes were on the other side of the gate.  A pack came right up to the house.  And she took them on at full speed...

She took down the first one, sinking her teeth into its neck, impacting it so hard it caused them to go into a spin.  She held on.  The coyote couldn't get a hold of her. She let it go after stunning it good and went after another one... chasing it across the field, onto the doctors property... and down into the wash.  ALL the coyotes tucked tail and ran.

She wasn't ready to come home.  She refused to come when called. She "secured" all the area she felt necessary...   She had to be leashed to get her back in...

I was so afraid they hurt her... but she only had a scratch from a mesquite tree...  I couldn't believe it.  I knew she was a tough little girl... but to take on an entire pack???  wow.

Yep, she got leftover steak for breakfast.   Good dog...

Happy 4th of July!

"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, 

nor do they deserve, either one."

~Benjamin Franklin

Spider eats Scorpion

Chicken Saddles

Nope.  I'm not kidding.

There is such a thing as a chicken saddle.  I laughed myself sick yesterday evening when I found out.  

Then this:

She has an old t-shirt on.  With little wing-holes. To protect her from ROOSTERS.  

You see, apparently she is the hot chick in the flock.  So hot, her wings have had the feathers worn off them. Then the other hens (mostly the red-heads) pick at her feather-less spots and make them worse. But the roosters still think she's hot... so, 'round and 'round they go.

So now I have to use the pattern found on the internet to make a real chicken protector/saddle thingy before she's bald because apparently there are lots of hot chicks that have rooster and jealous hen problems. 

Seems like calling it a saddle is just wrong though.   

OK. Stop laughing now.  I dare you....

bird in question..

Lacewing Chicken

Lacey

Meet Hawk Eye, Lacey, and ...well, if he's another suspected rooster we'll just call him ...Sunday Dinner for now.
They were hatched in March...so still not sure who's a he and who's a she.

HawkEye was being shy... he's my favorite rooster.  I know he's a he because I've seen him get all puffed up and belly slam another rooster.  Yep.  

..and he tried to crow.  

It was funny:  errr a eeeerrrr  ..eeeeeeerk

(His voice is cracking like a teen.. made us laugh. )

(I get in trouble for naming them... because then it's hard to butcher..or they live up to their names...
The last one that got eaten was named DragonOff.  We didn't eat her.. a coyote or fox dug under the fence and drug her off.  I felt bad she lived up to her name. We still have DragonOn.  She won't leave the nest. She sits on everyone's eggs. See what I mean? I should name one "Golden Girl"... maybe she'll lay golden eggs???  haha...yeah right.

DragonOff & Roscoe

We didn't let ole Rosco out quick enough that night to save her... cuz he would have.
Nobody messes with Roscoe's girls.  not nobody.  

feathers

Update

Saw the ortho surgeon today.  Doesn't look like he'll need pins...at least yet.  It's a totally different 'break' than the ER explained.  More like the bones broke loose and shifted on the growth plates? It's a weird one.  He's in a cast....for a good month or so.  But he can pack boxes now :)

SKATER KID..the music is for him

So I let my son have a friend over Fri night to 'help pack'.  They don't get more done, but they more have fun not getting more done.  So after lunch his friends mom comes to get them so I can really get stuff done.  (have you ever seen boys pack? I bet there's dirty underwear in them boxes... he won't have to look for his boxes or boxers after we move, the dog will find them).

I'm getting a bunch done now... thinking I just might really pull this thing off and actually move this week....

20 minutes later the phone rings.  My friend who's actually helping me pack, teasingly hands me the phone and says, "It's P telling you he broke his arm at the skatepark".
  
Me:  "very funny.  har har"

I answer the phone.  "Mom?  I fell on my skateboard going down the hill at about 30 mph... I know it was that fast because A's mom was driving behind us up to the house after she let us off at the hill to ride down to the driveday.  I got a little roadrash and I think I broke my wrist... actually my elbows are shredded and my wrist is all weird, and it feels a little numb...or maybe that's the adrenaline, not sure."

All I could do is point my finger at my friend with my mouth gaping open.  Uh.  Uh. 
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY YOU GUYS?

P:  "WHAT are you talking about, Mom?  I'm serious.  I really did eat it on the asphalt.  I'll put ice on it for awhile and call you back if it's not better or swells more or something.  We already cut off the extra skin with A's pocket knife.  He'd be a really good field medic, mom."

Me:  "Did you hit your head?  no?  did you have your helmet on??????????????  ...oh, well of course not.  okkkk.  I'm coming.  AND we're going for x-rays."

P:  "X-rays????  nooooo.  I'm putting ice on it.  It'll be fine."

Me:  "I'll be there in 15 min.

3 hours later.... and a car accident/screaming lady triage setback:

Yes Ms Wrexie.  He broke his wrist.  It's on the growth plate.  He'll  have to see an ortho on Mon.  He might needs pins... you'll have to go to Tucson for that.  Tough kid you have there... they usually whine and cry a lot.  He'll be fine...

Yep.  Well, doc...we're moving this week.  Good timing, eh? Not the best way to get out of packing though, is it? 
The doctor with 5 brothers just laughed and said, "I have no idea how my mom survived raising us." 

Bless her heart...

Creepy creeeeeeeeeeeeepy thing.

I went out to the garage this morning...

I had no idea they got this big.

He's now an official science lab specimen at the local school.