TUESDAY TRAVELS

May 4, 2009.

Watson Lake boulder area outside of Prescott, Arizona.

The day I discovered my legs were no longer fit for clambering around on uneven surfaces and making quick, short hops to get down off of them.

I was 69 years old and trying to get down off these rocks without killing myself made me feel like I was 100!

I no longer had spring in my step.

It was a sobering discovery.

Now I'm 76, my goatee is even whiter and my legs are even weaker.

Damn! I hate these travels.

ARE WOMEN EQUAL TO MEN?

Just one man's opinion, of course.

PAUL BUNYAN LIVES!

Back in April of this year I wrote a post about my meeting with the legendary lumberjack, Paul Bunyan.

You can read that post and see picture of our meeting here.

Today I can report, for any of you Gentle Readers who may have doubted my story, that the newspaper of record, the New York Times, has authenticated the "history" of Paul Bunyan in Minnesota.

You can read it here.

And that may be all you will ever hear about Paul Bunyan on this blog.

Maybe.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's time!

Yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes!

Time once again for the Friday Funnies!

I can read your thoughts out there, Gentle Readers.

You're thinking "how does he do it, week after week?"

It's all because of y'all and your generous contributions.

So let us commence.

Awright, enough!

Gotta save some for next week.

Have a super-duper weekend, everyone, and remember to always keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, dear)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

BEST GUITAR SOLO EVER?

I was cruising around on You Tube last night and ran across a guitar solo by Mark Knopfler that was called "the best guitar solo of all time."

That's pretty big praise.

Especially given the wealth of great guitar players in the world.

I think of B.B. King, Les Paul, Keith Richard, Prince, Chet Atkins, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and, of course, Eric Clapton.

That's just to name a few.

There's no arguing that Knopfler's work is of a lesser tier.****

The creator of the legendary band Dire Straits is a marvelous finger-picker.

Witness:

But is that the best guitar solo of all time?

You decide.

**** I put four stars because this was a MAJOR error on my part.  What I meant to say was "There's no arguing that Knopfler's work is NOT of a lesser tier."

That's an awkward way of saying that he's right up there with the best of 'em and that's what I meant.

If Mark Knopfler reads this blog (yeah, sure) he has my sincerest and most embarrassed apologies.

Meantime, some good answers in the comment section.  

Keep 'em coming.

And yes I have heard of Leo Kottke.

TUESDAY TRAVELS - CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

A few years ago, SWMBO and I took a drive over to visit our friends Tom and Lana in California.

The occasion was one of Lana's many art shows.

As you can see, Lana experiments in a variety of styles.

Notice the frames on this wine-inspired collection are made of wine corks.

She's also a champion bread baker.

Her husband, Tom, is a colleague from many years ago in Indianapolis radio.

Here he's explaining something to Griff, another friend from those radio days.

Of course if you visit friends who live on the coast you have to check out the ocean.

Naturally, I found some of the avian life of interest.

And there were some wonders of the mammalian world to view.

Elephant seals come, year after year, to this same spot to spawn their young.

It makes for a very popular tourist attraction.

It may have been California but these Arizona heat-dwellers found it a bit on the chilly side at times.

As usual, this dry-land person never wanted to leave the seashore.

Good friends, wonderful hospitality, a great visit.

LOOKING BACK

I was just looking back in my blog and found this picture from November 2008.

Election night in Chicago with a new President-elect and his family.

I think, as President Obama's time in the White House comes to a close that he did a pretty good job for a man facing such opposition for eight years.

CLOUDS

Some random cloud shots taken from a moving car.

These were over the Verde Valley on our recent road trip.

SWMBO took the next two on the road up the mountain from Jerome, also overlooking the Verde Valley but from the other side.

The last one was taken as we passed the viewpoint just above Jerome.

Nice contrast with the mountainside in the foreground and the Red Rocks of Sedona in the far distance.

SURPRISE SIGHTING

I've had this picture in a standby file for months and decided to use it today.

When I posted it here and blew it up I noticed for the first time (I think) that there is a hummingbird zooming in on the feeder.

I'd never noticed that before.

When I cropped it down and blew it up further my suspicion was confirmed.

It appears to be a female Anna's or Black-chinned hummingbird though it's difficult to tell from this photograph.

It looks more like the Black-chinned because the female of the species doesn't have a black chin while the female of the Anna's does, strangely enough.

At least that's what the illustrations in my new bird guide show me.

For the first time I have a guide to birds found specifically in my area.

It's new and if you're in the Prescott area it's available at Jay's Bird Barn.

(Disclaimer: I have no connection with the store or the creator of the product.  Darn it.)

FRIDAY FUNNIES

I was talking with a long-ago former colleague on the telephone last night and he asked me what I did these days.

(We've both been retired for awhile.)

I said that I blogged and spent most of my day on the computer, I read and occasionally I cook.

There was silence on his end.

Eh?

What?

Oh!

You say it's time for the Friday Funnies!

O.K. Gentle Readers, I've had my fun.

Was it good for you?

Have a roller coaster of fun this weekend, thanks for the many contributions and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Where did she go anyway?

THROWBACK THURSDAY

DON'T BUG ME!

The mosquitoes around the Taylor manor have been vicious this year.

Normally I am the magnet while SWMBO seems immune.

But this year we've both been the victims of the nasty little critters.

I don't know if that's one of the biters or not in the photo above but I wasn't taking any chances.

The picture was taken through the glass of a sliding door as it lurked on the outside.