Our little dog, Cabela, flushed this nasty-looking fellow from behind the compost bin today. She was about to investigate further (and probably would have been stung) but I held her away from the scorpion while I administered a stomp that ended the threat. It was still twitching a bit when I took the photo. Click on the image to enlarge.

At dusk last evening, a herd of javelina meandered down the road in front of our house. There are seven adults and two offspring in this photo. There may have been one or two more.

Image: Herd of javelina - click on the image to enlarge.

We were in the office and would have missed seeing them were it not for Cabela’s loud barking from the great room. Damsel called to me to bring the camera. We went out into the courtyard where I snapped several photos. The herd then moved on down the road as they foraged for their evening meal.

The following is excerpted from Arizona Game and Fish Department page “Living with Javelina.”

Though some people think javelina are a type of wild pig, they are actually members of the peccary family, a group of hoofed mammals originating from South America. Javelina are common in much of central and southern Arizona, including the outskirts of the Phoenix area, most of Tucson, and occasionally as far north as Flagstaff. Javelina form herds of two to more than 20 animals and rely on each other to defend territory, protect against predators, regulate temperature and interact socially. They use washes and areas with dense vegetation as travel corridors. Javelina are most active at night, but they may be active during the day when it is cold.

UPDATE: Error correction. I used Cleveland instead of Cimarron sage - the Clevelands (3) are in the courtyard not by the driveway. I edited the title and the post accordingly.

This is a close up of one of several Cimarron sage bushes that our landscape contractor planted along our driveway. They planted five of these and three of five are doing great. One, near the top of the driveway was a slow starter, but it’s going to make it. Another completely died; the contractor will be out to replace it since each bush is guaranteed. Click on the image to enlarge.

We attended a class yesterday devoted to home protection and gun safety. One of the topics they taught had to do with equipment for the home. Of course, we already have firearms but we need to research some of the other tactical gear that we ought to have on hand.

UPDATE Image: Smith & Wesson Galaxy 13 LED Flashlight. This is the model we ordered.

The course instructor advised that if we’re going to have firearms handy that it is a very good idea to have a high-quality flashlight on hand to aid in locating and identifying potential targets. Not the cheap Chinese crap that you find at the discount stores, but a good, reliable and BRIGHT tactical flashlight similar to those used by military and law enforcement. Pursuant to that end, I have started a ‘wish list’ on a well-known on-line retailer site where I have entered several candidate flashlights. Over the next few days, Damsel and I will down-select to a single flashlight and then order two of them. One for her and one for myself.

After completion of the days chores, the Damsel cranked out her wonderful chile relleño casserole garnished with avocado and refried beans - awesome! Click on the image to enlarge - please do not drool on your laser optical mouse.

Digging his own grave . . . with a golf club!

We headed down to the Metro Valley area today to run some errands. We dropped the dogs off at the groomer for their regular baths and cuts (Bear only - Cabela is already really short-haired). As we drove through the old Main Street section of town, I took this image of the old western buildings under an overcast sky. We did get a few drops of rain today, but nothing measurable. Click on the image to enlarge.

We took a little ride today up to Yarnell, a little mountain mining town on State Route 89 north of Wickenburg. There is a steep, winding section of the road between Congress and Yarnell. On the downhill side, there is a scenic pull-out with this view of the valley south of the Weaver Mountains.

I composed this panoramic view of the valley from three exposures which I later stitched into this panoramic image. On the horizon, you can see Vulture Peak towards the left of the image; moving right, you can see the Harcuhala and Harcuvar mountain ranges toward the right of the image. In the valley below, you can see a large stockyard in the left center and the town of Congress toward the right. Click on the panorama for the full-size view.

According to the shake map above (click to enlarge - sorry about the crappy quality, but this is the original resolution), Washington DC is about 80 miles northeast of the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude quake. It surprised me to hear that the quake caused officials to evacuate the Capitol and other government buildings. According to the color code, the DC area would have experienced “weak” to “light” shaking and no damage to structures.

As a former resident of a very seismically active area, I can attest that most of us who experienced that amount of shaking would simply have said “Hmmm - a little temblor.” And would go on with whatever we were doing. Some of us nerdy types would go to the USGS Earthquakes website to see the epicenter and magnitude. Maybe even look at the shake map.

I got a bouquet of roses yesterday. I took one of the buds and put it in a bud vase in the little bathroom. The lighting is from a skylight that our contractor installed in the bathroom. He installed another one in the laundry, both of which take advantage of the seemingly endless sunlight to illuminate those rooms without the need for artificial light during the day. Click on the image to enlarge.