A SHORT ROAD TRIP

While SWMBO* was having a visit from the BRD* today I took a little drive up over the mountain, down through Jerome and Clarkdale to Old Cottonwood.

(*She Who Must Be Obeyed/Judy and the Beautiful Rich Daughter/Gayle)

As I told them when I returned, everywhere I went today it had rained yet I got only a light sprinkle on my windshield.

But here is why the Verde Valley is especially green this time of year.

A view from below of the Black Hills of Arizona, which house Mingus and Woodchute Mountains.

And a familiar sight from our years living in Arizona and particularly during the two years or so that we lived in Clarkdale: the road to Jerome.

That road which continues onward and upward over the Mingus Summit Rest Area and down the southwest side back to Prescott Valley is one of my favorite drives . . switchbacks, gawking slow-driving tourists and all.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Oh boy.

Oh joy.

It's FRIDAY!

This week seemed to just race by but I'm glad it's over.

Of course, that means I'm one week older.

Ah well, it also means I've survived one more week in order to bring you a wee tad of hilarity.

Hmmmmm, okay.

Well Gentle Readers the weekend is upon us so let's get at it. 

Have a fantabulous time, enjoy your days off and you retirees, try to avoid saying "days off from what?"

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

I TAWT I TAW A PUTTY TAT

"I look best surrounded by color and patterns"

Yes, you do, Muggles (aka Constant Companion).

She's snoozing in this picture but she has something to celebrate.

The one she owns, SWMBO, has graduated.

Yesterday was her last day with her home Physical Therapist.

A couple of days prior to that she was discharged from home Occupational Therapy.

For her graduation exercise yesterday, Bill handed her a cane and asked her to walk around in the house.

She said it was a little bit shaky and a little bit scary but she did it, with Bill walking closely behind her to catch her if necessary.

It wasn't necessary.

Today she had two doctor appointments and went to both of them using only her walker.

Her brand new, bright blue wheelchair that Medicare bought her on her last day at the Rehab hospital stayed home alone.

Muggles, though seemingly exhausted, is proud and happy.

BOIDS

Foist (first) let me explain.

I took these pictures with an aging smartphone.

It don't do well when I zoom it in.

So the pictures will be fuzzy.

Okay?

With that proviso, let's check out that woodpecker.

This photo of the busy 'pecker doesn't show you his beautiful coloring.

Or much of the detail of his body.

But it does prove that I have one in our neighborhood.

He was busy in a tree in our neighbor's yard tonight for a long time.

The branches aren't very big so I can't imagine that he's going to hollow out a home but I'm not real familiar with woodpeckers so I'll just have to wait and see.

Maybe he's just practicing.

But I did have a bit of a surprise when I took my first picture tonight.

While trying to focus on the woodpecker (lower left), I was amazed to catch a curious hummingbird in mid-air (upper right).

Talk about a great catch!

I know.

Neither one of them is in focus.

But hey!

This isn't Wild Kingdom, y'know.

NO CLOUDS TONIGHT

This is a photograph of our clear blue sky tonight.

Not a cloud in sight.

Probably won't be any until the weekend, if the Weather Gods are predicting correctly.

They blew it in Tulsa last night as three tornadoes touched down in the mid-city without any warning, causing a lot of damage, a few dozen injuries but no deaths.

The Weather Gods there say the twisters came from clouds close to the ground and therefore were unpredictable.

In New Orleans a lot of rain in a short period of time overpowered the city's pumping stations and caused yet another flooded Crescent City.

And the beat goes on.

Meanwhile, here in Arizona, the skies are blue and no rain is in sight until the weekend.

Good news for the people down around Mayer who have been flooded by rain falling on ground barren after a forest fire a few weeks ago.

I often say that I live in the best possible climate zone.

I just hope the Weather Gods don't make me eat my words.

NATURE NOTES

Judy ventured carefully out onto our rear patio last night and we sat in chairs observing nature.

Mostly crabgrass that has spurted up and needs to be "Round-Up'ed".

We kept hearing an insistent rat-a-tat sound coming from our next door neighbor's tree and finally Judy spotted the culprit briefly before he flew away.

Then today she spotted either him or another one in the tree just above our bird bath.

I spotted him from my window, which is closer, and identified him (with the help of "Sibley's Birds of the Arizona Central Highlands") as a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker.

He's easy to identify with his distinctive black and white striped coat and scarlet top-knot.

(And no, I didn't take the picture, I swiped it from the Web.)

Now on another note I just realized that the day I'm having my pacemaker replaced is the day of the total solar eclipse!

I'm not sure how I feel about someone messing with my heart on Eclipse Day but I'll just have to trust him.

The eclipse will only be a partial one here in Arizona but I was lucky enough to witness a total one back when we lived in Mexico.

It must have been 1991 because it was at our last residence down south in San Antonio Tlayacapan.

(Try saying that after a couple of margaritas!)

We shared the experience with a couple of friends, Lori and Hugh.

You can see the sky darkening behind us and this was at around high noon, I believe.

We have our dark film viewers to safely look at the sun.

Another safe way is by viewing the sun's reflection in a bowl of water, which is what we were doing here.

One interesting sidelight: our yard boy was an educated lad.

He was going to college but he still held onto some of the old superstitions of the native people.

One of these was that a red cloth should be tied to any fruit tree to keep the fruit from falling off during the eclipse.

Our backyard had probably 20 or 30 fruit trees and each one got a red cloth tied to it.

Superstition or science, it must have worked.

None of the fruit fell.

Maybe I should tie a red flag around my wrist when I go in for my surgery on the 21st!

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yeah, me too!

Judy (SWMBO) continues to make improvement and I am scheduled for a pacemaker replacement in a couple of weeks.

What could be better, eh?

And most of all it's Friday.

So, Gentle Readers, let's dive in and see what's here.

O.K. Walmart (I'm sorry), I'll leave you alone now (for this week anyway.)

Are your sides aching?

I may have overdone it this week.

A way overdue thanks to all my contributors who continue to supply me with the makings of these End-of-the-Week Entertainments.

You know who you are but this reminder is for all of you Gentle Readers: this weekend - - ENJOY yourselves.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(oh, no, not again)