TUESDAY TRAVELS

Back in my youth . . way, way back in the 1940's I was captivated by the tales of the gigantic lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his great blue ox, Babe.

He was a product of oral folklore that later found his way into print.

Supposedly Bunyan had logged millions of trees in North Dakota (my childhood home) which accounted for the miles of treeless prairie land.

The stories of his exploits are legendary but I know that the gigantic Bunyan was REAL because I met him once and he called me by name.

I am in the lower left of the photo, standing next to one of Paul's big dogs and in front of the man himself.

Paul would turn his head, raise one arm and greet visitors by name and perhaps the town they came from.

At this time he was located in the Paul Bunyan Amusement Park near Brainerd, Minnesota.

Later the park closed but Paul and Babe were relocated to what is now Paul Bunyan Land, a few miles east of Brainerd.

When I visited Paul back in the day I was also photographed with a chipmunk from his tales.

Everything was outsize in the park, including my long legs.

An uncle of mine owned a cabin on Camp Lake, which was only about 20 miles away so my visit to the mighty woodsman was a natural stop on our way back to North Dakota.

TOWHEE(s)

I wrote the other day about a visitor to our bird bath, the Rufous Sided Towhee.

This morning he/she was back again.

Since I don't know whether it's a male or a female, I'm going to refer to it from now on as "it".

Sorry, pal.

It was enjoying the cold water, splashing and ducking it's head.

And then, suddenly, a SECOND Towhee arrived.

The first one checked out the second one but it soon became clear they were acquainted and it went back to its bathing.

The late arrival seemed content to just sit in the cold bath water but the constant splashing of the other one showering water on it finally caused it to depart.

The first bird continued violently splashing and throwing water over itself for some time.

Finally it was apparently satisfied and departed as well.

And so, once again, the bath is quiet.

I can only wonder what will come next.

PINWHEELS FOR KIDS

People driving by the Prescott Valley Civic Center recently may have wondered about a field of  blue and silver pinwheels.

The grassy area is occasionally used for displays of this type to commemorate something.

This field of pinwheels . . 3,000 of them . . was recently "planted" to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The number represents the approximate number of children under age six who live in Prescott Valley.

HEY RED!

What to my wondering eye did I see when I opened the blinds this morning?

Why I believe it's my old pal, the Rufous Sided Towhee, who summers in these parts.

With the mercury in the low 40's it seemed a little early for a bath in that cold water.

But sure enough he spent quite a time there enjoying a vigorous dousing in the birdbath.

I don't know how long he'd been there but I managed to get a couple of pictures before he flew off.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Been to the doctor lately?

For someone my age, that's like saying "Done anything interesting lately?"

O.K.  There's a theme this week.

Brought to you by the . . .

All RIGHT!

I don't know about you, Gentle Readers, but I'm feeling better now.

Listen up. 

We've had light rain overnight here with more on the way.

I'll be staying inside today.

Wherever you are in the world I hope you have balmy sunny weather this weekend for a great time.

Eat well, stay healthy and always keep a smile on your kisser.

Or a kiss on your smiler. Whatever.

Here, kitty kitty.

(uh-oh)

THROWBACK THURSDAY

45 years ago today I married the love of my life.

Amazingly we're still together.

While this is us, this is not our wedding picture.

It was posed in a photo studio for a Christmas card.

This is also not our wedding picture.

Judy handmade the costumes for a Halloween masquerade party at her daughter's house.

This was a fine day during our European tour in 1985.

Monte Carlo, Monaco, at the marina.

The only day in a month that we found a menu with escargot on a restaurant menu.

We gorged.

And this is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.

On the enclosed patio of our home in Guadalajara, Mexico, around the time of our 20th anniversary.

We've been around a bit and the signs of age are showing.

But we're still creaking along.

Together.

Happy 45th anniversary, J.G.

MEDITATION

This is a mono, or monk that we acquired when we lived in Mexico.

He/she has been with us for several decades and now stands watch in our back yard.

The monk began as a dusty green color but seems to have turned gray as it has aged.

Coupled with that came this even odder picture in my email a few minutes ago.

So it goes.