Another New Project

I think this will be the last burst of industriousness from Dave as the weather has finally turned fantastic!  He installed a pull down ladder into the garage attic space.

This is the hole Dave cut out of the ceiling.  Actually he just enlarged the existing access to accommodate the new ladder.

This is Dave trapped in the attic, patiently waiting for me to unscrew the two 2 x 4 boards.  It was interesting having so much power over a man sealed in an attic space.  I did make sure he took his phone and a bottle of water before going up there.

The finished ladder!!!!

Spotted around Saddlebrooke

On my way back from the grocery store, and remember it's a 12 minute drive and seven miles to the closest market, I spotted these two guys.

I think they are hawks.  But they look kind of scrawny and aren't too attractive.  But it was unusual to see two on the same tree.  Must be family.

Pottery is booming, as usual.  I'm experimenting with different glaze combos and different glazes.  The dark pots on the right are hoping to become soap dispensers.  I'll post an update when they are completed.

Before and After

Things always need updating or fixing in this 1990s era house.  The builder was definitely not a fan of overhead lighting.  This made for a very dark dining room.  Dave found a way to crawl through the  attic ceiling and install the new light.  I think he thought of it as an adventure, but it really was just many hours of being stuck in a small, dark space.

The new hole in the ceiling.

The new light in the ceiling!!

Night, Camera, Action!

We have been very satisfied with our "hunter's" night vision camera.  It is motion activated and we have caught several shots of wildlife in our backyard doing their thing while we are sleeping.

This is a gray fox.  And we also got a movie!!

                                          

Back at the Ranch, The Ostrich Ranch

About 30 minutes from our house is this kind of goofy Ostrich Ranch/Petting Zoo.  Once you pay the fee you are handled two cups full of different food for the animals.  Actually it sounds dorky but it was really fun.  We started with donkeys, then deer, then the goats.

This actually says Goat Penthouse.  There were six goats up there all waiting for me to add food to their "conveyor belt" and send it up.  This was the most fun.

Goat food conveyor belt.

Then there were the creepy sheep.  They kept putting out their skinny legs as if they were going to jump out, but none did.

Very aggressive ostriches.  I know this one actually looks cute, but really he's huge and kind of mean.

Lots of rabbit babies!!!

Very assertive Lorikeets drinking from the cup Dave has in his hand.

Onto the Grand Canyon

Very cold, but at least there were very few tourists.  The low lying clouds, along with the dusting of snow made for some very nice photos of the canyon.

Gillian makes every shot prettier!

We were definitely bundled up for the day!

These daredevils were not us.

Sedona

After exploring Jerome we headed to Sedona.  We hiked up to Airport Mesa expecting to feel the energy from the Vortex that is there but we couldn't find it.  There were some people huddled in a blanket playing songs on a flute, however.

We also visited the old Tuzigoot Ruins which are nearby.  Another Indian community of homes from approximately the 1300s.

First Visitor of the Year

Gillian came down for a few days to enjoy the sun in Tucson.  Unfortunately she saw more rain and snow than sun.  Here she is arriving at the Tucson airport while not realizing she is being watched.

The next day we headed up north to brave the cold.  Here is the Sliding Jail in Jerome.  There are still a ton of buildings in this same shape around the town.

The Art of the Cactus

Yesterday we did about a six mile hike in Tucson called the Sweetwater Trail.  This is a very scenic hike amidst tons of Saguaro.  The only problem is that the path is so rocky you can't really enjoy the scenery as you are walking or you'll trip.

This is not a great shot, but it's a Crested Saguaro Cactus.

This Prickly Pear looks like a mess.  Really, a packrat has added all these twigs to build himself a bit of a nest.

Just a really large, old Saguaro.

On a side note, a couple of days ago we were surprised by seeing a coyote run into our backyard and then over the back wall into the neighboring homes.  We were just too stunned to think about getting the camera out.

Mt. Shasta from the road

I forgot to include this nice shot of Mt. Shasta on the first day of our drive.  This was an out the car window shot, but it still looks great.  It's about six hours from our house to get to this point.  Seeing Mt. Shasta is always a landmark we look forward to seeing during the long ride down.

Swimming in January

Luckily the pool is WARM.  No matter the air temperature, there is no hesitating getting into this pool.  Of the four pools on the property, this one is the least used and so it's our favorite.  Plus we can walk to it.  Most of the time we have it to ourselves and we feel like it's our own private pool.  We love the scenery and often, once the temperatures get into the 70s, there will be a lot of birds hanging around.

Birthday For a 95 Year Old

This may be unusual in the general population, but probably not so rare here in Saddlebrooke.  But still a day worth celebrating!  All "the gang" was excited to experience the famous Selfie Stick.  I tried to get everyone and the mountains in the photo, but this is as good as it gets with this group.

The birthday boy is the third one down on the right.  Everyone had hamburgers and fries, except us, for dinner.  I think it was the $9 special that caused that to happen.

50 Year Trail Hike

We experienced our first organized hike of 2017 on Friday!  This is an easy, 5-mile hike not far from our home.  It ended up being a beautiful morning and we were all shedding layers as the hike progressed.  Which is a good sign.

Dave is in the black shirt.  This is his "why are stopping again for another break" pose.  I kind of felt the same way.  But most people on the hike are 20 years older than us, so it's probably important.

Jackrabbit Hill

Less than a mile from our house is an unincorporated few acres where we often see wildlife.  We are always looking for Jackrabbits because they are so unique looking, and fast.  In fact, we saw one that was enormous.  Not including the really tall ears his body seemed to be the size of a medium sized dog.  He was so fast that there was no way I could get a photo, but I will prevail one day.

On the walk home we did see something unusual.

This is not the best photo, but I believe this is a Swarm of bees.  (One resident said Killer Bees, but uh, I'm not sure about that.)  There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of bees covering what I suspect is the Queen Bee deep inside.  This Swarm was about the size of a football.  Pretty interesting.

Restaurant Dining

On New Year's Eve we joined our family for a dinner out at the local Mexican Restaurant.  It was festively decorated for the holidays.  See if you can notice a recurring theme in the photo.

If you guessed that most people we hang out with are over 85 you got it!  We have a great time with them and they are very entertaining.

Loving the Laundry Room

Our house in Arizona has an actual laundry room.  I've never had one before.  It's always been in the basement or the garage, so this is heaven.  But I knew something was missing.

Thanks to my daughter Gillian's benefits working at HP, she printed a large poster of my hero Ross Poldark.  Now the room is complete and Dave and I can sleep at night.

The Truth about Grocery Shopping

Notice that yellow part of the wheel?  I think it's the equivalent of "The Boot".  After finishing my grocery shopping at the least desirable market I pushed my cart close to my car to unload.  All of a sudden there was a loud CLUNK and the cart wouldn't go any further.  I looked down and discovered The Boot.  Somehow these tricky carts must detect when being pushed too far from the store and then The Boot hits the fan.  I had to practically carry the cart at this point to get it near my car.  Another reason to not shop at Basha's.

Driving to AZ for the third time!

Uneventful journey this year.  Which is the way I like it.  While heading towards I-8 we stopped in Westmorland to experience the famous Date Shake.  We probably passed a dozen signs on the approach advertising the Date Shake.  Sounds a little too similar to something bad that could happen to a girl at a fraternity house, but we went in anyway.  The store was fantastically stocked with all sorts of international treats, along with oodles of boxed dates.  We got our shake and it was meh.  The strip mall housing this store is a little sketchy, but once again, uneventful.