R.I.P. BLACKWELL

I sent our beloved cat Blackwell to his reward this afternoon.

He had grown ill and stopped eating several weeks ago.

He drank water but, as far as we could tell, consumed no food and he grew smaller and weaker.

Today when he slipped while turning around on the window shelf in front of me I finally accepted that his time had come.

The Yavapai Humane Society handled his passing.

We'll miss him.

In an earlier, better time

STARTING A NEW WEEK

This Monday isn't all that bad.

At least the sun is shining.

I just checked my nearest Weather Underground reporting station and the precipitation total from yesterday's thunderstorm has risen from 0.67 to 0.82 of an inch.

Still less than an inch but rain can be spotty and the local newspaper estimates there may have been up to 2 inches in the hardest hit areas.

At any rate there are cattle lying down in the damp grass of the field near us and most of the water has either run off or soaked into the ground.

I was awake from roughly 2:00 to 4:00 this morning and foolishly turned my computer on.

So, in spite of a couple of naps, I'm kind of punchy today.

Therefore, school is let out and you may now return to your regularly scheduled broadcast: The Horrors of Helsinki.

WHEN IT RAINS IN ARIZONA

If you've been paying attention over the past few years you know that Arizona and much of the Southwest and the Far West of the United States have been in drought conditions.

Here's what happens when we get a lot of rain in a short period of time like we did this afternoon.

That and all of the waterlogged areas you'll see in the following photos are a normally tinder-dry field just a very short distance from where we live.

Fortunately we live uphill from where all this water is flowing and collecting but some people further down the hill may not have been so lucky.

We saw fire crews out blocking the roads through a low-lying area.

Our thoughts are with folks who may live down there.

Incidentally, the nearest Weather Underground reporting station, less than half a mile from our house, lists just over two-thirds of an inch of rain from this afternoon's thunderstorm.

FRANCE WINS THE WORLD CUP!

The French are the champions of futbol/soccer after defeating Croatia in the final match by a score of 4 to 2.

No one was happier, it seems, than French President Emmanuel as he exchanged congratulations with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

O.K., LET IT RAIN

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Okay so it's Friday the 13th, so what.

I've already had all the bad luck any man could tolerate so I'm ignoring the date.

(He said as he just wrote about it.  🙄)

Let's get on with this week's hilarious (he hopes) edition of The Friday Funnies.

Awwww-right!

(I'll just betcha that last one has you sayin' "awwwww".)

Now for your quixotic weekend, no more quiritation, instead follow your quipsome host and spend your time with quignogs and quandorums.

You'll be surprised - next Friday will be here quicksticks!

(You have no idea the intensive research I go through just to wind these festivities up q-tly.

Okay, I made that last one up.  It should be "cutely".)

Ta-ta.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

MADDIE

I wrote the other day about one of our neighbors.

Here's another one.

This is Maddie, who allows Captain D and his family to live with her.

She seems to spend nearly as much time in our front yard, sleeping under the bushes I presume, as she does at their house.

Yesterday I opened the door to retrieve a package that had just been delivered and Maddie dashed inside!

Captain D had warned me some time ago that she would do that.

He said she'd been in other houses in the neighborhood.

She is a very friendly cat.

And yesterday she was in a very relaxed and trusting mood.

I took these pictures as she rolled and squirmed at my feet.

I've learned that a cat that will show you it's belly is very comfortable with your presence.

SWMBO looked at the photos and said "She's flirting with you!"

What do you think?

GOOD NEIGHBORS

There's an old saying (or maybe I just made it up) that when you move to a new neighborhood it's a good thing if you have a cop living in the area.

Far as I know there's no policeman on my street but I do have the next best thing living across the street.

A fire captain!

Actually this is the SECOND time I've lived near a fire captain.

When we lived in Phoenix five years ago the house next door was owned by a captain with the Edmonton, Alberta, fire department.

Anyway, Captain D, my current neighbor, a couple of months ago, bought a vacant lot next to his home and planted a huge garden.

I was chatting with him the other day and noted that, though it was planted late, some of the corn was "knee high by the Fourth of July".

That's a pretty crumby picture of my knee in the lower left as a comparison.

We had a good rain today and SWMBO said his corn will probably grow a foot taller in the next day or two.

But I was also taken by what I found growing in the ditch at the edge of his field.

These thistles, which grow like common weeds, don't look like that much from a distance.

But they show off their beauty when one goes all macro with them.

Judy said this one looks like fireworks.

They're spiky and the green parts of the plant also have those sharp spikes which protect the plant from being eaten by herbivores.*

*Herbivores are animals that thrive on plants.  So says Wikipedia and I won't argue with that.

CATALYST'S COOKERY

I've been spending some time in the kitchen recently.

Yesterday I did my best to replicate the Spinach Artichoke dip we had recently at a Prescott restaurant.

Mine wasn't exactly the same but it was damned good and it was the major part of our dinner.

Unfortunately I forgot to photograph it.

But not so the English Muffin Bread I baked on Saturday.

I know, I know, one loaf seems smaller than the other.

As I emailed the BRD, your mother wanted a loaf too.

Actually it was the fault of the baker, putting more batter in one pan than the other.

Maybe I need to get my eyes checked.

THE MONSOON ARRIVES

Traditionally it arrives on July 4th.

This year it was two days late, leaving the big rodeo performances in Prescott dry as dust.

And hot.

But now the skies are darkening in the late afternoon and the sound of thunder can be heard.

Some menfolk used to say thunder was the sound of God bowling and lightning was when he scored a strike.

At least that was what they said when we were impressionable kids.

But yesterday the first drops of rain in this monsoon season began to fall here in Arizona.

Today at about the same time, it is happening again.

I've told this story before many times so forgive me if you've read it before.

When we moved from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Phoenix in 1972, we arrived at a KOA Campgrounds on the north side of the city at just about exactly this time of year.

It was hot.

Very, very hot.

That evening I was in the small store when suddenly everyone ran outside.

Customers and employees alike.

I asked someone what was happening.

"It's raining!", he or she shrieked.

I then learned that it had been over 100 days since the last rainfall in Phoenix.

Since that day 56* years ago I have been known to dance in the rain on more than one occasion myself.

And to repeat the mantra of my fellow desert residents.

"Bring it on!"

*Okay, okay, so my math skills have gone to hell.  Make that 46 years ago.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

I realized that it is my role in life to alleviate your pain, to lift your spirits, to take your mind off your troubles and to encourage you to turn off Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.

At least for a while.

In short, to put a smile on your face and some joy in your heart.

Ergo (you could look it up, it's a favorite in my crosswords).

Ergo, I say, the return of The Friday Funnies!

But first, let's check on the weather.

(When I first moved to Phoenix, back in 1972, air conditioning was known as "refrigeration".  I'm not sure if it still is.)

Next, because I skipped a week . . . not one, not two but three pie charts!

Finally, a check on animals favoring tight cozy spaces.

 

But not ALL animals, it seems.

Now, if you're all feeling better, I want to wish you a beautiful, bountiful, bodalicious weekend full of good eating and drinking and fun and lots of laughter.

Always remember the laughter.

And try to stay cool.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .