Sunday, March 29, 2009

Politics!

All right.

Here's where I lose some of you.

Maybe all of you.

Whatever.

It's time to talk of politics.

I think Barack Obama is doing a pretty good job as President. Sure, he's not pleasing everyone, especially some of the people who supported him in his run for the presidency. But. But. He can not make everyone happy. When he became president, he learned many things that he didn't know as a candidate. He perhaps changed some of his positions, or some of his actions based on his views during the campaign. But a campaign is not a presidency. So things change. Live with it.

Again. The campaign is not the presidency. The candidate does not know all that he will come to know as president.

So. He is now the president. His decisions have angered some...perhaps many. But he's been president for TWO MONTHS!!!! Give the man a break!!!

And that's all I've got to say.

At present.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

What a little water will do, do, do . . .

Here's a photo of the terrain around Prescott Valley. Pretty dry. But you have to remember this is the high desert so dry is in.

BUT WAIT!!!

Let's pull that lens back a bit.

Oh! What's all this green stuff? Why it's the Stoneridge (aptly named) Golf Course. See what some water and some mowers can do . . . even here in dry, dry, dry Arizona? Did I mention money? Yeah, a lot of money helps, too.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Arizona Sycamores

The part of Arizona where Montezuma's Castle is located appears to have once been covered with water. The Arizona Sycamores grow there, looking as if they have been living underwater.

Their bark appears, at a distance, to be ghostly white.

But the closer you get, the more you see the bark resembles camouflage.

It is very noticeable when you get very close.

You can learn more about these trees here.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Grand Canyon

Arizona's greatest tourist attraction.

The Grand Canyon.

Or as a sardonic friend of mine once said, upon first seeing it, "Well, it's a great canyon but I'm not sure it's a grand canyon."

It's still an awe-inspiring sight.


There are those who can't seem to get close enough to the rim. (Click on these pictures for a "closer view.")

But wait! There's more! As we were heading away from the Canyon, we spotted these two cow elk. There really are two. The lighter one has her head down.

And, in spite of all those signs in Northern Arizona that say "Watch for Elk" and I had never seen one, these two and several others were peacefully wandering very close to the road. Here's the initial shot.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Montezuma's Castle

I drove over to Montezuma's Castle National Monument the other day. It was built and occupied by the Sinagua Indians around 1400 A.D. The first photo shows what was called Castle A by archaelogists.

It really is nothing more than some caves hollowed out of the cliff. Years later, a five-story masonry construction was built higher up on the cliff wall. Supposedly about 45 people lived in the "apartment house" before mysteriously fleeing the area, never to return.


The ruins are now off-limits to tourists although a park is operated at the base of the cliff and thousands of visitors come to the park annually. I've been there several times but this week was a perfect time to visit with temperatures around 70 degrees.

Incidentally, the name "Montezuma's Castle" is a misnomer. When the ruins were discovered by European Americans in the 1860's, they were believed to have been built by followers of the Aztec emperor of Mexico. In truth, he never came anywhere near this far north. But the name stuck.

Friday, March 20, 2009

A Montana Girl

My cousin, Bonnie Rae, has been here for a couple of days visiting.

It's quite a trip. She lives in Billings, Montana.

Yesterday we spent all day touring Northern Arizona.

First an examination of an Arizona Sycamore tree at Montezuma Castle Park.

Then a trip to Arizona's most popular tourist destination. No - not my house. The Grand Canyon. Bonnie had visited the North Rim but this was her first trip to the South Rim.
She was amazed at the vast number of other tourists there - especially as we hunted for a parking place. We would have found parking easier had we been traveling on these.

We stopped in at a motorcycle shop the other day and Bonnie tried out a Victory bike. I was amazed at the size of the biggest bikes but was assured that while weighing about 800-plus pounds they were delicately balanced and easy to ride on the highway.

I'll take their word for that.

Anyway, it was a good visit with this adventurous Montana girl.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Tokin' with Larry

I just don't know if I can believe this. But . . . you decide.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day

Oh it's that day again.

As always the leprechauns have been out painting a shamrock in a P-town intersection.

Actually, the leprechauns come from this nearby establishment.

The folks at Murphy's bar and restaurant tend to celebrate St. Paddy's Day in a big way every year. But they have some competition now from another Irish pub and restaurant.

The folks here intend to get into the day early.

And after one or two of those 60 ounce pitchers of Killians, the flag out front may look more like this.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and . . . take a cab home from the pub!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Spring is in the air

This may be my favorite time of year here because of the flowering trees.

These purplish trees are everywhere right now.

As always the photos are even more spectacular if you click on them.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Cooking

I cooked tonight.

It has been some weeks.

I shopped for this meal a couple of weeks ago. Tonight, I finally did it.

Saltimbocca

Not veal, but chicken breast. Coupled with prosciutto and sage.

My gawd, it's wonderful.

Even SWMBO raved about it.

You could find a recipe on Google.

Try it.

Some changes

Some changes here at Oddball Observations, as reflected in "Da Gang" along the right margin.

I have re-found Miss Cellania and invite you to check out her great sense of humor. I'm not sure why I lost her. She used to be linked here but may have gotten lost when I got lost for awhile. But it's great to have her back.

I've also added Malicious Intent to the group, though she'll have to decide whether she wants you reading her blog or not. But she's pretty good about those things. I mean she let me in didn't she?

There are also some who have left "Da Gang", most notably Old Hoss, who recently moved on to that great blogland in the sky. Miss Cellania has a great "goodbye" to Gene here. (Scroll down a ways.) I agree with what she has had to say about him. He was one of a kind.

Let's all be careful out there.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Lunch

I had to run some errands today. So, since I was in P-town anyway I began thinking of all of the fine restaurants and lunch spots there, trying to decide on one.

So, where did I end up?



Actually I've never been able to "get" the mystique of In 'n' Out burgers. To me, they're just another greasy fast food burger.

So why was I there? Convenience, I guess.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Monday, March 9, 2009

Clouds

There were so many clouds in the sky today they seemed to talk to me.

(Click on the individual photos to lose yourself in the clouds)





Friday, March 6, 2009

Spring?

This doesn't look like a pleasant spring day.

A glowering dark sky and brisk breezes have the flags at the Town Hall whipping briskly in the sky. And one shivvers. After all this is early March and still, according to the calendar, winter.


But wait. What's this we find just a few blocks away?

Well, it's either a flowering plum or apple tree. I never can keep them apart in my mind. And that is a sign of spring.

(Several days later: SWMBO came in and said she had thought of what that tree is: an ornamental plum. I looked it up on the Web(s) and sure enough, she's right!)


Well, it can't come any too soon for me.

And, as always, the photos are more spectacular if you click on them.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Fry - too high!

Fry's Food Markets are opening a new gasoline station at their store up in North Prescott - at Willow Creek Road just north of Willow Lake Road. I was by there today and was astounded by the prices they are advertising.




Based on those prices, I don't think they'll stay open too long.

But, truthfully, the station isn't completed yet and those figures were apparently just put up to test the signs.

Don't worry, folks, it's not that bad.

Yet
.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Catalyst Unveiled!

So, you see, I've been growing my beard out lately, just to see how grey, or white, it has become over the years. Awhile back, Tombo said "Let's see a picture!" But I declined at that time because it was mostly stubble. But the other night, as I was on a nice run of cards down at Old Charlie's Hootch-n-Stuff saloon, somebody with one of them damned new fangled cell phone cameras got a picture of me.

It wasn't long before the sheriff showed up and checked the cards. Blast him, he says they were coming from a marked deck. I don't have any idea what he was talkin' about but it doesn't matter. Now here I sit in the hoosegow (jail) waiting for Angel Mary to come by with a cake I told her to bring me.

The worst part of this is after all these years of foolin' you folks with pictures from my youth, now you know what I really look like! Once I get out of here I'm going to have to do something with my appearance to fool them boys followin' the reward posters!