Deep Fried Turkey / An Afternoon Surprise

As I expected , the gathering for the birthday party turned out very well . Great conversation among  friendly people , with a wide loop thrown over the topics . Everything from the weather to cooking to horses , pets , recent travel , future travel , the recent interest in local real estate [?] , we couldn't get a grip on that one ! A lot of time spent eating the various food that everyone contributed to , I'm proud to say there were hardly any left overs !
The big excitement of the day was Mr. Coyote making an appearance to raid the duck pond ! Bold as brass in broad daylight . Recently the duck population has been diminishing , it was attributed to owls at night as no coyotes had been observed , then in the space of two days a couple of them show up and ba-da-bing three ducks missing . We were sitting in the tent talking quietly and Bob stood up and walked over to his golf cart , picked up a pistol and started a slow walk towards the duck pond , for a big old guy he moves pretty quiet ! Using the trees and brush for cover he was within 20 yards of the pond when he stepped to the side and up comes the pistol , a sharp crack and Mr. coyote was seen running down the road , a second sharp crack and Mr. Coyote developed some serious problems ! Bob dropped that coyote on a dead run with a pistol at  least 40 yards . A great shot by any standards , a really GREAT shot by a 79 year old man shooting in bright sunlight ! Me? I didn't even know the coyote was there ! Bob confided to me later , he heard the critter go in the water . Remember I said we were in the tent talking ? Bob was sitting with his back to the pond , and he heard the coyote in the water with people talking around him , I was facing the pond and I didn't hear zip ! I believe I'll stick to the cooking and trash dumping chores and leave the gunslinging to Bob ! Tim told me later he's seen Bob hit jack rabbits at 35 to 40  yards with the little 22 auto he carries on his belt , not once but several times ! What a Guy !
The party began dispersing around 6 or so as nearly everyone had some driving to do to get home . Clean up was swift and everyone helped , . Upon returning to the hacienda and putting away the cooking gear , Had a large  glass of tea and watched the sorms play around the mountain peaks , the light show from lightning is always surprising . I sit 20 miles away and feel safe and can hardly hear the thunder as it rackets from peak to peak . Just before sunset I watched a storm line come in from the east off the Pelloncillos . A pressure change and the push of air gave me time to reach the windows and get them closed before the wall of dust came . Someday I'll have a chance to capture this sight with the camera , visibility went from a crsytal clear  afternoon to a brown , blank wall in seconds ! This lasted for most of 2 minutes and then , it was gone , but it was an exciting 2 minutes ! Trailer was rocking and the wind varied from a low sub sonic hum to a wail of a jet engine in seconds , then silence . The aftermath was evident as the sun dropped further behind the mountains , I hope all of you aren't getting tired of sunsets , this one really got my attention !

                     
 

  

 

  

  

 

Trip to Safford / Supplies and wide open country

Yesterday a trip to Safford AZ to go to the Home Depot to find what little I couldn't find at the Mercantile in Animas . Essentially I'm sitting here with a fresh cup of coffee thinking , now what would interest others in my trip yesterday ? To start with it's always interesting to go up Rt 80 through Granite Gap and on towards Road Forks  the subdued colors of the high desert give way to a clash of colors in the rocks , boulders and cliffsides of the mountains. Ranging from a dirty brown , slow moving creek color to a higher shade tan the ground cover includes mesquite , snake bush , cats claw , sage and wild rosemary . The minerals of the smaller rock and split boulders glisten in the sunlight like shards of broken glass , as you climb upwards through the pass different strata of rock glow with mauve to a deep maroon . Various lichen growing almost in a carpet show colors ranging from a key lime green to a verdant yellow mixed with a chartreuse shading , depending on where the sun is at right then . You don't get bored driving this route . Rocks and boulders the size of your vehicle rest on the sides of the road waiting just waiting . There is one spot a boulder rests that is roughly the size of a small house , all alone it sits there , no evidence of where it broke off from or even a clue as to what part of the cliff face it may rolled away from , just is there .
Through the gap and the rolling plain of the basin we call home extends towards I -10 and Road Forks , hop on 10 over to 90 and the journey north resumes with wide open grass lands and more rolling terrain . Still climbing in altitude but it is gradual , so no ear popping , rising to Safford , running slow at 50 - 55 mph watching the terrain change more hills creeping up to become mountains , almost a hundred miles of driving without signs of civilization , total vehicles seen on this stretch 4 . A very good day , so far .
Supplies in the van , even did the monthly grocery at the Safeway , it's back on the road and the descent back to the Ranch .The summer sun moves slowly across the distances of eastern Arizona / western New Mexico , as usual I wonder how the ones who came before us dealt with these distances , carrying everything they owned with them walking , on horse back , in wagons . It's still a rough country , break down out here and oh well , you get the picture .
Made it back to the Ranch with no mishaps and only one detour , just had to go down that road , it may or may not have been shorter but I avoided a few miles of interstate . Arriving home , I put the supplies away , fired up the Cobb cooker and readied a burger with green chilis , a silo size glass of ice tea and sit my butt down to watch the mountains and wild life till dark . Life ain't bad if you let it just be ..
A few pictures of the blooms around the fish pond by the office .
Stay tuned ...

                                                                                                    

Recovery and Luck of the Draw

The party was a roaring success ! Lots of food [and some left over for football today] lots of good friends and a good time was had by all . 
 The birthday folks got a lot of good natured ribbing and some cards that weren't quite X-rated , we watched the TV as the reports rolled in about the storm damage and various folks thought of friends and acquaintenences in the path of that big bastard and quite a few phone calls were made to check on their condition . Fortunately returning reports were all positive , the damage is/was extensive to property , I'm sure everyone has seen the news by now and I can assure you the worst is yet to come as areas open up and folks can get back to homes and businesses . . Last we heard it may take quite some time to get into all the areas , the guys who were working at the refinery at Texas City have talked to their bosses and the refinery is going to be up and running before too long if they can get the workers back in . Problem is all the surrounding housing is pretty much destroyed and the area is inaccessable and no power to the town . The refinery itself has emregency generators but you still need people to operate everything and not likely anyone is going back in there very soon . A portable housing situation is in the works but right now the guys here are sittting tight . 
I read about all the gas prices going thriugh the roof and WHAT A CROCK ! There is no shortage , there is no big problem other than a bunch of greedy bastards with unpronouncable last names who see a way to make a fast buck . After talking to a lot of these oil field workers the problem seems to lay between the top of the heap and mister middle man who sells the end product , that leaves a lot of room for that old demon, greed to work it's way in.
Enough of the rant , by the luck of the draw we have escaped injury and/or damage from the storm or the party  , but the trip is still young and I'm sure there will be many opportunities to get stupid down the highway .

And thats , that

The storm has passed and given the folks up north of Corpus a whipping . We have experienced little or no effects here and are getting ready to start cooking for my good friends birthday party . We did take the precaution of moving the location back away from the shore to my friends house just to be on the safe side , 
still expect a big crowd and have plenty of food to celebrate . 
A partial menu 2 smoked shoulder clods , 1 crown roast of pork , twice bake potato , cole slaw , various dips and chips , baked beans [from scratch ] , homemade biscuts and corn bread ,4 kinds of fresh sausage on the
grill , frozen limeade pie , fresh peel and eat shrimp , fresh seafood ceviche' , needless to say we ain't going hungry ! 
After the party and recovery period I have told my other friend from Kentucky [AF1] that I'll meet him in Kerrville on the 26th of Sept . We want to attend the big alternative enegy fiesta up there and see all the new technology available , then will head over to Big Bend and Terlingua . 
I'll post an update on the big party later as soon as I recover ! 

Dublin Blues , Old Friends , Dealin the Devil his Due

Whatever possessed Me to store clothes in a garbage bag in a carport I'll never know . But I can pass this bit of info along to you, IT'S A BAD IDEA ! Two loads of laundry has netted me said garbage bag refilled with nearly everything I took out in the first place , rot follows mildew , and strong soap and hot water do NOT reweave material. I believe I can blame it on the devil as all my other demons were occupied with my other project for today .
As I don't believe in recreational drugs anymore my solution was to crank up Guy Clark on the music box and listen to the album Dublin Blues , at least it will take the edge off an aggravating day . You just can't feel bad listening to Guy Clark , I believe it is illegal in some states ! There just isn't enough O's in smooth for Him .
Next on the agenda is get rid of the rest of my stress , I believe I'll bake a batch of cookies , no I won't eat them , Demon Diabetes takes care of that , but just because you are on a diet doesn't mean you can't look at the menu ! Beside3s it make me feel good to do something constructive , since I pretty much screwed the pooch on everything else today .
In two short days I've got to talk to old friends in Texas , Ohio , New Mexico Florida Keys , Kentucky , and Missouri , that in itself is a pretty good deal also makes Me one lucky sucker to have that many friends , bless all the technology gods who make communication so easy and affordable I can remember when making a long distance call was a big deal ! Now it's normal , then the wizards who herd signals around the internet for our e-mails make keeping in touch even easier.That being said I shall go bake some cookies !
As an added attraction here's Guy's website , Go here!! http://www.guyclark.com

Splainin the VA title &dealing with the Credit Demon

Yesterday I wrote that the VA loves me , splainin that , is even though they can be the most exasperating bunch of people to deal with short of a bunch of crazed Walmart shoppers the day after Thanksgiving , I receive very good care at most of the VA facilities I have to go to .The long waits , Doctors who at best have a marginal command of the English language and even less understanding of American culture still provide Me with good medical care . Not saying I don't get as aggravated as anyone else, just don't want to give the impression I don't get care .
Yesterday I got into an electronic conversation with some folks out in Texas , and as we talked about the sad state of the Country and credit and mortgages , banks and assorted other forms of thievery , I mentioned a guy named Clark Howard . He has a radio show that deals with financial stability and not wasting money in general . He has a website clarkhoward.com that can be real helpful to anyone interested in not getting ripped off or wants to save money . He is a great proponent of getting out of debt and staying out ! Basically get rid of all those credit cards , keep your car more than a year or two and watch for bargains , He DOES NOT give investing advice or tell anyone to get into stock trading . I don't believe there is a hidden agenda to what this guy preaches , common sense and take responsibility for yourself are His main topics . His ideals of self sufficiency and not buying stuff you don't need are right up my alley and falls into what I'm trying to do with Azad . Even though I work on a really tight budget the parts and pieces I buy and try to pay cash for , are of good quality . I've found two salvage places for RVs and the parts they offer are in good condition and the price is generally within my budget . One of the things I'm discovering is take time to make stuff work , don't rush it , sometimes an engineering break will give you a new approach to a problem and keep you from spending more $ to fix a problem ,