FRIDAY FUNNIES

This week it's all about the miracle of the modern age that has made life so much more interesting and simple for everyone.

No, it's not booze.

It's the computer!

All right, fellow residents of the Brave New World, don't you feel better now?

All tuned up and logged in for a wonderful weekend?

Have a great one, turn around now and then and look at your housemate, your dogs and cats, your garden and always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Two generations of Taylors pose with a sign at their home town of Stanley, North Dakota, in the very early 1950's.

(L to R) Franklin Bruce (Catalyst) Taylor, Franklin Berry Taylor and Wayne Howland Taylor.

The photo was sent to us by a Minnesota-based cousin who noted a long-running joke about the two state's natural flora.

My grandfather, on a visit to Minnesota once, was being driven through the countryside and my uncle said to him "Look at all this scenery, isn't it beautiful?"

His response? 

"I can't tell. There's too damned many trees in the way!"

My cousin wrote in sending this picture "When I was in North Dakota I could see what the prairie looks like, but a few trees here and there might help the view."

SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN

As I watch the stories on television about tornadoes, floods, hail storms, lightning strikes, snowstorms, icy roads and whatever, I am glad I live in Arizona.

The winters where I live are never very cold.

For long.

The summers are never very hot.

For long.

Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, the Colorado River valley which forms the western boundary of the state; they all get very hot in the summers.

Flagstaff and the White Mountains can get a lot of snow and stay cold for a long time in the winters.

But where I live, at an elevation of 5,131 feet, the weather is much milder.

Nevertheless, from time to time, the sky does cloud up.

This was our sky yesterday afternoon.

It looks dangerous but SWMBO was doing some yard work and cut and pulled weeds right through it.

And the clear blue sky surrounded the clouds and occasionally broke through.

I know it rained somewhere but here there was just a light sprinkle, enough to make the street out front wet.

And the clouds eventually moved away and more blue sky took over.

We'll have some slight cooling over the weekend, down to the 60's and perhaps some light showers.

But the forecast says a week from today the mercury will climb once again into the low 80's.

Perfect weather for an aging Huckleberry Finn.

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.

TUESDAY TRAVELS

Back in the day when we first lived in Phoenix, we discovered Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction.

Located just off the Apache Trail, the park is adjacent to the Superstition Mountains and is named after the perhaps mythical Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.

The mysterious mine supposedly was discovered and its location kept secret by a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz in the 19th century.

Many people have searched for generations in the Superstitions without ever finding the mine.

Some have lost their lives in the search, adding to the mystique.

But we just used the park for weekend picnics for many years.

Not the Lost Dutchman. It was me in front of the Superstitions range.

And SWMBO or as one our friends once labeled her The Storied and Fabled Judy.

My dad spent winters for several years escaping the North Dakota weather by living in Mesa and we took him to the park a couple of times.

One Easter many years ago, Judy and I hiked up into the foothills of the mountains and picnicked with a spectacular view.

This shot was taken partway back down the "trail" as she stopped to harvest some wildflowers.

If you ever get to Arizona you could do yourself a favor by visiting the Lost Dutchman park, about 40 miles east of Phoenix.

And I'd be happy to share if you somehow discover that hidden gold mine.

SENSATIONAL SUNDAY

What could be better than a warm Sunday morning on the patio with a couple of pieces of re-heated pizza for brunch?

Well, let me tell you.

Late Sunday afternoon, with the temperature hovering in the low 70's, SWMBO fired up the grill for the first time this season.

She had found a recipe for Spatchcocked Chicken in a magazine and was determined to fix it.

I told her I had mentioned Spatchcocked Chicken to her several times over the years with no interest until she found a recipe on her own.

She replied "Oh, I've known about fixing chicken that way for years only I never heard it called Spatchcocked. I just smashed that sucker flat!"

So, with apologies for my idiotic camera setting on the chicken picture, here's our meal.

In case you don't know that's a temperature probe in the chicken.

To accompany . . .

A mix of vegetables also grilled.

And my oven-baked sweet potato spears with a citrus sour cream sauce.

Oh and there was this too.

A nice bottle of white.

By the time we got through all of that, y'know what?

I had forgotten all about my breakfast pizza.

THE DREADED ZOMBIE

SWMBO and I visited a Tiki bar when we last lived in Phoenix.

It was my suggestion.

I remember fondly the many happy meals (and drinks) we used to have at the original Trader Vic's restaurant in Scottsdale.

It was loaded with kitsch, fake food of the islands and powerful drinks.

But we young(er) romantics loved it.

So when I read about a bar and restaurant called Hula's Modern Tiki in Central Phoenix, I had to check it out.

We stopped in one day just for a peek and a drink.

The drinks are shown on the banner at the top of this page.

Mine is a Pink Bikini Martini, which featured watermelon juice.

SWMBO said she'd try a Zombie, a drink she hadn't tasted for decades.

Probably for a good reason.

Esquire Magazine's recipe is on the web.

It has light, dark and golden rum mixed with lime, pineapple and papaya juice and a teaspoon of superfine sugar.

Then to top it off there's a "float" of 151-proof rum!

And there's a toothpick with two cherries surrounding a cube of pineapple atop the drink.

Don the Beachcomber supposedly invented the drink back in the 1930's for some guy with a horrendous hangover.

It is said that no self-respecting bartender will allow a patron more than two of these killer cocktails.

SWMBO said hers was good and we left after one to go home for a nap.

All of this has absolutely nothing to do with this next song but I always enjoyed it back in the mid-20th Century.

THE PRESAGE

I can't say I wasn't warned.

It snowed here much of Wednesday afternoon.

I was stunned.

It was the last day of March and I thought we had escaped the traditional early Spring snowstorm.

I should have known better.

A short while before I noticed the snow in the air I had taken note of an extremely cloudy looking sky to the north.

I thought it was just a low-hanging cloud.

Mainly fog.

Perhaps a spit or two of rain.

Even though it looked ominous.

A short time later I noticed the snowfall.

It was warm enough that even though it snowed, on and off, most of the afternoon none of it stuck to the ground.

SWMBO escaped the weather wrath as she was visiting a friend in Sun City, a suburb of Phoenix, on that day and was enjoying 70 degree weather.

She returned the next day and brought warming temperatures with her.

The forecast says it will be 82 F/28 C here NEXT Wednesday.

"If you don't like the weather, just wait an hour. It will change."

                        --an old expression, used everywhere