DINNER RECENTLY

I cook occasionally.

Not much.

But SWMBO has been cooking for a long, long time.

She is a master.

Even with new recipes.

For example . . .

A roasted, spatchcocked chicken with lemon and herbs under the skin.

Sliced eggplant grilled counter-top in a George Foreman grill, then topped with feta cheese.

Accompanied by some sauced orecchiette (I did the pasta, whoop, whoop), garlic bread and a salad.

A meal fit for a king.

But not a cat.

"C'mon, man, where's mine?", sayeth the Blackwell.

(He always comes around and begs when we're in the kitchen but he won't eat any "human food".)

TUESDAY TRAVELS

I was not born under the sign of Acquarius.

But it might seem that I was by virtue of my love for water in my travels.

From my very early days with Dr. Jim at Carlyle Lake in Saskatchewan.

(Caution for delicate sensibilities - there will be partial nudity in this post.)

To Lake Michigan on a visit to Chicago to see my boys.

To Kentucky Lake in, naturally, Kentucky.

To Lynx Lake in Arizona.

To a mountain stream in Colorado.

To Huntington Beach and the Pacific in California, with my longtime buddy Timmer.

To the blue Mediterranean at Monaco.

To a sailing day aboard the Sand Dollar II, with its captain Harry, off Guaymas, Mexico.

To working on a tan (and a drink) at a beach cottage somewhere further south on the Pacific Coast in Mexico.

To a snorkeling trip with Baseball Steve just south of Puerto Vallarta.

To a lunch with SWMBO and the BRD near the water in Baja California at Ensenada.

And a visit with Tom and Lana in Central California and a trip to San Simeon Beach.

Always the water has drawn me.

So now I'm an old man and what do I do with my time?

Frequently I'm found staring at the water.

I'M HERE, AND HERE, AND HERE!

A visit from a Mountain Jay.

And then, this morning, the Rufous Sided Towhee stopped in.

Oh, yes, it really is him.

They just keep coming in for drinks or baths.

As you can probably tell, they are holding my interest.

RUSHING THE SEASON?

The temperature didn't reach 60 here yesterday and it rained most of the day.

But that didn't stop the Goldfinch couple.

They were enjoying the birdbath for its true purpose: bathing.

One of the couple was a bit cautious while the other threw caution to the winds.

And water into the air.

Finally it became too much of a temptation and the reticent one joined the other in a communal cold water soak.

The tiny birds put on a good show for my camera before flying up into the tree to shake it all off.

All I could think was: brrrrr!

RAINY DAY

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Had I been a wee bit stealthier or quicker yesterday I would have had a great photo to begin today's edition of the Friday Funnies.

My peripheral vision detected a large shape about ten feet from my window in the back yard.

I turned and saw a huge black raven on the ground advancing toward the bird bath.

He jumped up to the rim, bent over and took a sip, apparently spotted me as I reached for my camera and lumbered away.

Oh well.

Next time.

There's always this picture, which I DIDN'T shoot.

The one above is especially for Val the Victorian who has acquired an adorable new puppywhich is half Blue Heeler and half Dachshund.

Sometimes you never know what you'll get.

Well that's curious.

I hadn't intended to do an entire post on dogs and cats.

It just sort of evolved.

Whatever.

Have a fabulous weekend, Gentle Readers, stay warm and safe and always . . . ALWAYS . . . remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

The Western writer Zane Grey was actually a dentist from Ohio.

He came to Arizona to hunt in 1907 and became enamored of pioneer Western life.

He wrote several books which were rejected but finally broke through with Riders of the Purple Sage in 1912, which became his all-time best seller.

Grey built a cabin on the Mogollon Rim and spent several weeks a year there while on hunting trips.

He wrote in the cabin but preferred to sleep outside in a tent.

In 1929 he left Arizona, never to return, after a spat with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

His cabin was deteriorating until a Phoenix businessman bought and restored it.

I visited it several times in the 1970's.

It was nestled among the pines in a relatively remote location.

It was always locked up when I was there but visitors could peek through the windows and view the inside as it was when Grey was there.

In 1990 a forest fire caught up with it and the cabin burned to the ground.

In the early 2000's a foundation was formed and a replica of the cabin built in Payson, where today it is a museum.

Zane Grey went on to become a millionaire writer with many books and movies made from them.

He traveled the world before dying of heart failure  at his home in Altadena, California in 1939.