VICTORIANS

Here are a couple of the famous Victorian houses dating back to Prescott's early days.

This one was built by Henry Goldwater, an uncle of the late Senator Barry Goldwater.  He came to Prescott from Yuma, married a school teacher who raised money from the Carnegie's and local residents for the town's first library, ran a cigar store on Whiskey Row and worked with his brothers in their eponymous store just down the hill from this house.  He was also somewhat of an inventor but he moved on, to California.

The house is now a vacational rental.

A NOT-SO-CRAVEN RAVEN

There are many ravens in this part of Arizona.  Many people mistake them for crows but there is a distinct difference.

This one was perched on a light fixture when I passed by.  He was so brazen as to stay there even as I stopped and took his picture from only a few feet away.

Inside the community center I showed the photo to the young lady working the desk and she told me it was one of a pair that apparently have roosted on the roof.  She said she had looked up ravens in a text and learned that they are generally monogamous and mate for life.  

That can mean around 20 years for ravens in the wild though the famous birds that live at the Tower of London have been known to live for 40 years.  I remember seeing them there and hearing that because of the lore that if they ever leave the British Empire will fall the ravens wings are clipped so they can't fly away.

Our ravens, with their loud calls, seem to have no inclination to leave.

No.  Nevermore.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Here it is, folks, your brand new 2015 edition of the long-running, sometimes funny Friday Funnies.  We begin a near year with a look back at the last one.

A New Year's Day hangover.

Hey!  Who left the cat out??!!!

Have a great weekend, a fantastic 2015 and keep chuckling!

(And thanks to contributors and to those from who I stole!)

SNOW ON THE RED ROCKS

A friend sent me a couple of pictures that were taken in the Red Rocks near Sedona, Arizona yesterday or today.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

In this dusty and creased photo from 1961(?) the young Lothario was putting the moves on a cute secretary at the YMCA in Minot, North Dakota.  Maybe the madras shirt put her off.  Or the Obama ears.  Suffice it to say that nothing worked.  Nice smile, though.

We had more snow during the night and this morning, at the start of 2015, a white winter wonderland greeted us.

But something . . probably a bunny . . had been snooping around in our front yard during the night.

MEEE-OWWW!!

Happy New Year!

CELESTIAL DANDRUFF

Once upon a time I worked for a radio and television combine in North Dakota.  One of the radio announcers, Bill Drilling, who I've long since lost track of, coined that phrase - celestial dandruff - to describe snowfall.  There were plenty of times to use that term in North Dakota. Not so many in Arizona.  But today, on this last day of 2014, we have a fairly rare winter storm beginning.

Regular readers of this blog will know there's a town and a mountain range out there but a whiteout has eclipsed them this morning.

Closer to home . . .

"I took the road less traveled."

The snow is forecast to continue through tonight and tomorrow with an expected total of 6 to 12 inches in the area.  That changes New Years Eve plans for lots of people, including the BRD and her Beau Jack.  They have decided to stay in and celebrate around a warm fire. We, too, will be home and warm though we gave up plans for going to New Years Eve parties many years ago.

But for those who may be celebrating a little too much tonight, whether home or away, here's something to begin the New Year.

Dr. Taylor is a distant relative of mine.  My father and grandfather discovered him in 1948 when they made a trip back to New England searching for ancestors and their descendants. This doctor was also an amateur genealogist and later sent us an extensive family tree, tracing the Taylors back to Yarmouth, Massachusetts in 1630.

And, apparently, he got some of the drunks off the street.

Have a safe and happy new year, folks.