GOLDEN COTTONWOODS

SWMBO and I took a little road trip a few days ago, replicating somewhat my solo visit to the Verde Valley recently.

We stopped on the lower edge of Jerome to snap a couple of photos of the color in the trees and brush.

But the real treat was when we got to the Valley itself and saw all the cottonwood trees along the river in their brilliant gold colors for Autumn.

It is simple to track the course of the river as it wends its way through the area.

The moisture loving cottonweed trees lead the way with their brilliance.

We used to live in an apartment on a bluff looking down on the river and enjoyed seeing the trees changing color as the temperatures dropped.

We were directly above a large open field that occasionally flooded in the spring and apparently held water through the summer because every year a huge throng of Canada geese would fly in and land there for a few days on their journey south.

But that's another story.

LEFT-OVERS

I know Halloween was almost ten days ago but I have a few items that didn't see the light so . . .

Some residents of Clarkdale go all out with their decorations.

There, all caught up.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yo!

Everyone doing okay out there?

Well, then let's get on to The Friday Funnies.

This is a special edition, brought to you by the Catalyst and his gaggle of Humor Fairies.

Some of you Gentle Readers occasionally express consternation over my constant love and affection for creatures of the feline persuasion.

So this week, we're goin' to the dogs.

So there, I acknowledge the point.

Dogs can be funny and adorable too.

Now all of you clearheaded canine keepers take your dog for a walk this weekend before he becomes claustrophobic and cantankerous.

Make it a SPECIAL weekend and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

ThrowBack Thursday

One of our favorite get-aways when we lived in Phoenix in the 1970's.

The Lost Dutchman State Park near Apache Junction.

We hiked up into the Superstition Mountains (behind me) one Easter Sunday toting a picnic lunch and a bottle of wine.

We didn't find the Dutchman's mine.

Ominous clouds on this day way back then.

WEDNESDAY POTPOURRI

Know what this is?

Considering the wisdom of my readers, I suspect you will identify it.

But the answer is down below.

I went to the big mall over in Prescott a few days ago and spotted what I first thought was a tribute to the Washington Nationals for winning the World Series.

But it was just a kiddy play area.

My trip to the mall was prompted by finding a pair of reading glasses that had gone missing at least six months ago.

I had searched the house, the garage, the car and had inquired at a couple of stores I visit and at the public library.

No one had found them.

And I had finally given up.

Then they turned up on the floor beneath our recliner.

I thought at first they were a pair belonging to SWMBO.

But when she saw them she said they weren't hers and they appeared to be my reading glasses.

When I tried them on I was amazed to realize she was correct.

They apparently had gotten into the works of the recliner and stayed there until somehow they had finally worked themselves out.

But both of the lenses had a scuff on them and Judy said if I took them to the store where I bought them several years ago the optician could probably grind that off.

So that was why I went to the mall, arriving at 9 a.m.

Only to see signs on the eyeglass store and most of the others that they didn't open until 10 a.m.

So I walked around a bit and then sat in a comfortable chair and read my email, nodding to the occasional passers-by intent on fitness by walking, back and forth, from one end of the mall to the other and repeating.

Now I am of a certain age and that is way too much exercise for me.

But I applaud them.

Finally the clock reached 10 a.m. and I was the first (and only) customer to enter the eyeglass store.

I explained my problem, handed the man the glasses and was promptly told that he could spray clean them but my wife's solution of having the scuffs ground off wouldn't work because it would change the prescription.

Well!

This was a venture into futility.

But the scuffs are on the upper part of each lens and I've found that when I read I look through the bottom half, sort of like bifocals, so they work for me anyway.

Doing a quick segue to another topic, last night was sort of wakeful for me and I didn't rise from the Arms of Morpheus until after 7:30 this morning . . more than an hour after my usual time.

Judy was already up and she asked me if I had heard the hailstorm.

"What hailstorm?" asked I.

She said the ground had been covered with small hailstones about 7 o'clock this morning.

I had missed the whole thing.

We were planning a short road trip today but with the possibility of scattered thunderstorms we have postponed it until tomorrow.

I'm not sure why I have carried on so much here this morning but I did and there you are.

Oh, the picture at the top?

It's blue denim.

A close-up of my jeans-clad leg.

I'm a rock star.

A view from a scenic overlook just up from Jerome, Arizona.

FIRE!!!

That photographer shouldn't be standing that close to that fire.

But be that as it may, if you see a huge bonfire tonight it may be somebody celebrating Guy Fawkes Day.

Fawkes was a member of a Catholic English group that plotted to blow up the House of Lords while the Protestant King James I was inside and replace him with a Catholic head of state.

Unfortunately for Fawkes he was arrested while guarding a cache of explosives, tortured and executed.

The burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes on the night of November 5th has been going on ever since.

The original incident occurred in 1605.

Which proves one thing: the English have long memories.

(If you're interested you can read more here.)

MOROSE ON MONDAY

A couple of things are wrong here.

First, the photo was taken on Sunday.

And second, I wasn't feeling morose.

I had dug out one of my black hats and put it on for a photo to compete with a couple of "dime store cowboys", as someone called them.

(Did she really write that?)

At any rate, here they are:

If you look around there are a lot of black hats in that room.

Well, mine needs a bit of a brush-up and some shaping.

Maybe that was why I appeared to be morose.

At any rate, I'm grinning now.

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

Today, November 2nd, is the day when Mexicans remember their relatives and friends who have crossed the line before them.

But it is not a melancholic remembering but rather a time of joy and happiness, thinking of those who've passed as if they were alive.

Markets are full of people buying skulls.

But made of sugar!

Or chocolate!

Small dolls are also sold.

They are probably for the Día de los Inocentes on November 1st, when infants and children who have died are remembered.

(These pictures are from a market in Guadalajara.)

The belief among the celebrants is that the spirits of the departed return to visit.

So cemeteries and gravesites are lavishly decorated and favorite foods and drinks of the spirits are present.

(These two are from a cemetery in Ajijic, on the north shore of Lake Chapala, south of Guadalajara.)

Music is played loudly and the revelers, for that is what they are, enjoy picnics among the graves.

Now, if you will indulge me, some pictures from the Halloween just passed.

First, from Indianapolis, my longtime friend Easy Ed, portraying the angry old man.

(Which, in reality, he isn't.)

And then, from Mount Vernon Street in Prescott, an historical district full of elegant old homes which draws hundreds if not thousands of trick or treaters every year, Cruella Deville.

Portrayed here by the BRD (Beautiful Rich Daughter).

She was accompanied that night by her Beau Jack, passing himself off as a pirate.

Here's hoping your celebrations went just as well.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's the First of November!

Can the devouring of turkeys and pumpkin pies be far behind?

Well, Gentle Readers, how did your Halloween night go?

Better than those two, I hope.

But never mind, it's time for The Friday Funnies!

That's all for this week, Humor Lovers.

Now I'm hankering heartily for all of you to have a happy weekend, filled with hijinks, hubbub and high-stepping, while not hoisting the hemlock.

In other words, enjoy yourselves!

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .