Birthdays in the year of Covid19

30 MAR, 2020; Vail, AZ

I don't know Corbin, but he turned 4 on Sunday

His Mom asked the neighborhood if we could help them celebrate by putting a '4' outside somewhere they could see it on their morning walk.  The neighborhood, no doubt going stir-crazy in our isolation, rallied to the cause.  Here are just a few of our "4's":

My contribution . . .

And Spring Flowers are here

These are a few of the flowers I'm seeing on my walks these days.  It does lighten my spirits to see the flowers, the trees budding out, and the return of the small animals and reptiles that share my neighborhood.  The spiny lizard that hung out all last summer on my fence is back, so are the Arizona Cardinals.

My one-eared bunny

 

It's finally warm enough in the morning to have tea outside on the deck.

Spring is here . . . those 'wascally wabbits!!'

25 Mar, 2020; Vail, AZ

I feel like Elmer Fudd . . . 

Every night when I take Phoebe out for the last time, I end up chasing bunnies out of the back yard.  It's not a huge problem now, but I have plans to put in raised beds for herbs and propagating plants, and I don't want the bunnies to get used to finding free meals.  I couldn't figure out how they were getting over my pretty high concrete block fence - but last night I watched them squeeze out through a tiny little hole in the big gate.  Seriously, this hole is probably only 2-3 inches wide.  I plugged it up with a rock about the size of a medium baked potato.  If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed they would have fit!

We'll see if the rock keeps them out.

Meanwhile, nothing is keeping the Crane Flies out!

Several weeks ago, the Crane Flies descended on my house.  They are everywhere!  Hundreds outside and probably a dozen or more find there way into the house every day.  Harmless, kind of annoying and, unfortunately, just the beginning of what I know will be coming.  Last year I was besieged by insects all summer - so many that I was having to vacuum them up every morning inside and having to use a leaf blower to clean them off the porches.

Hopefully, the virus restrictions will have lifted enough that I can travel North during the worst part of the summer this year.

Dang! The hummingbird feeders are empty again!!

23 Mar, 2020; Vail, AZ

I've been surprised at how quickly the 2 BIG feeders are emptying . . . 

But, then this morning I looked out the window and saw a Gila Woodpecker hanging upside down from one of the feeders.  His body weight had tilted the feeder just enough to let some of the syrup out into his greedy little beak!!  Clever little fellow!  

Lots of birdsong when I got up for sunrise this morning - although I can only recognize a few of the more common ones.  Saw several goldfinches on my morning walk.  The neighborhood is very peaceful at that hour.  The staying-at-home kids start playing outside later.

Sunrise!!

Goldfinch

Another beautiful day in the desert..

The New Year Starts with a Bang (or rather, a Crash!)

14 Mar, 2020,Vail AZ

"It's a beautiful day, I'll ride the Scooter!"

It started out as such a nice day; I thought I'd ride my scooter (Kymco People S250) into town.  Halfway to my destination, I found myself lying on the ground.  I still am unsure what happened - no other vehicle, no pothole, the bike just went out from under me.  Fortunately, even though I was in traffic, no one hit me.  Lots of folks stopped to get the bike to the side of the road, and help me up.  The result, one confused me, a slightly beat up scooter, and a broken collarbone and some scrapes and bruises.  Could have been much worse so I am very grateful.  The scooter is languishing in the garage contemplating it's sins until I recover enough to ride it to a repair shop.

Meanwhile, it's the end of the Escape Trailer Era

I've been thinking for awhile now that the type of traveling I will do in the next few years doesn't really fit with the trailer.  While I love it for extended travel and long stays where I can unhook and day trip around with just the car, I don't love it for quick getaways and trips where I'm staying only a day or two.  I'm less spontaneous with the trailer.  So, I decided to sell it (heart-breaking) and go back to something more like the VW Westfalia that I loved in my younger years.  

Getting the trailer out of storage, ready to sell, and showing it to prospective buyers while dealing with a broken collarbone and lots of bruises wasn't a heck of a lot of fun - but, as usual, with molded fiberglass trailers, like the Escape, selling them isn't really too hard. Within about 5 days, I had a buyer.  A very nice couple from California were upgrading from a Casita and are delighted with my Escape!

Goodbye to "en Pleine Aire"; I understand she's now called "Eager" and, after a few months in storage, I'll bet she is!

But, endings leave room for new beginnings

Meet the new blank canvass; a 2019 ProMaster 2500 High Roof, 159" wheelbase . . . . box.

I have an appointment with Wayfarer Vans, Colorado Springs,  in early April to install their conversion kit.  I expect that the kit will get me about 80% of what I want without me having to buy tools and do it myself. The conversion kit is a one day easy-peasy (easy for me anyway, I just sit in the waiting room and drink tea!) way to get all the insulation, walls, floor, bed, kitchen, fan and storage boxes installed.  The rest of the build-out is primarily buying stuff like the fridge, porta-potty, heater, and batteries.  Solar and swivel seats will have to be installed (hopefully by someone else).  Stay tuned for pictures of the new travel solution.

I'm playing with names; so far, I'm calling it "The Beast", or "Moby Dick" - it is kind of a great white whale.  Maybe, once it's fully outfitted, it'll feel more homey and I'll have a better name for it.

"You live in Hell!!"

August, 2019; Vail, AZ

A quick trip to Oregon to empty my storage unit

My friend Claudia agreed to travel back to Arizona with me so I didn't have to face the drive alone.  She kept me awake and well entertained as we spent 3.5 days in a U-Haul - long, hot days on I-5 south through California and then over to Tucson.  Some days were well over 100F ("You live in Hell" she kept telling me!).  But, the AC in the U-Haul worked well and soon we were unpacking into my now, not so empty, house.

Storage unit was packed to the roof - about 1/2 empty now

Sunseets were gorgeous - but, WOW, was it hot!!

How hot, you ask?  Really, really hot!!

My stuff looks small in my huge garage!

Another lovely sunset - from home

Once the weather turns cool in the PNW, I get lots of visitors!

I may "live in Hell" in the summer, but once the weather turns gray and rainy in Oregon, I start getting a lot of visitors.  By the end of winter, I've hosted 9 friends for a total of about 7 weeks!  I love having friends come to visit.

Cats, Cats, and more Cats

July, 2019; Vail, AZ

Fostering cats and kittens for Pima Animal Care Center

I decided after my cat, Faye Wray, died, that I would travel with a dog and not have cats for awhile.  This makes for less stressful traveling, but I do miss having cat energy in my life.  So, now that I have a home base, it was time to start fostering cats and kittens - all the fun without a permanent responsibility. 

The first cat I fostered was in need of a quiet place to recover from a wicked virus. Cleo was a dear, but frankly, a hot mess - skinny, diarrhea, a bony protuberance on her breastbone.  I had her for 3 weeks before I had to travel up to Oregon to empty my storage unit. After her, I was doubly glad that I was replacing all the carpet with tile!

But, perhaps her cat energy drew these guys to my back yard

Phoebe was barking at the base of one of the mesquite trees in my back yard and when I looked more closely, I saw TWO BOBCAT KITTENS!!  I was so torn between grabbing Phoebe and grabbing my camera.  I managed to do both before they scampered on their way.

I had to keep reminding myself that they were wild animals and that I shouldn't get too close - I just wanted to scoop them up; they were adorable!

So, of course, I had to foster some kittens.

I picked up an orphaned litter of 5 kittens about 4 week old from PACC.  They were eating mashed up food and going potty pretty much on their own (thank goodness!).  I had them about 5 weeks while they grew up and got cuter and cuter and finally were ready to go their forever homes.

Raj

Panda

Samantha

  

Scooter

Grayson

Mom, he's picking on me!