Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

January 2016

Wet Weather Coming Followed by Cold

pacific-storm.jpg

The Pacific storm system currently going through California should be here in a couple of hours. All of the west needs the rain, but the colder nights are of little use to those of us with osteoarthritis and other cold-sensitive ailments (or just plain old hate the f@^&ing cold syndrome). The lows after the system moves through will be below freezing and the daily high temperatures are scarcely enough to thaw out the achy pains of old age.

The rain just started as I am typing this. I started the first paragraph of this post an hour ago while there was still some blue in the sky. Now, it is completely overcast and the rain and wind are apparent even from inside our secure little home.

We were going to watch a pass of the International Space Station this evening, but the clouds and rain (not to mention wind gusts to 30kts) preclude any stellar observations. If it clears up, there is another ISS pass tomorrow and a couple more evening passes early this week. We will bundle up and attempt to watch the flyovers in the cold.

31 Jan 2016 by Arizona Environment Retirement

Early Valentine Gifts

Chocolate Strawberries

Since we’re going to be on the road during the St. Valentine’s Holiday, Bob thought it would be best to present me with my gift before we get going. Yesterday, I received a couple of pieces of Waterford Crystal, namely, a nice nine inch crystal bowl and a crystal seahorse paperweight which is more of a showcase knick-knack than a paperweight. I have received Waterford crystal for Valentines Day for a number of years now. It is nice to see the tradition continue.

Today, a box containing a dozen delicious chocolate-covered strawberries showed up. You can see from the image above, that I already enjoyed one of these tasty delicacies before taking the photo, since there are only eleven left in the box now in the fridge. I plan to “ration” them out at no more than one per day until they’re gone. Click on the image to enlarge.

28 Jan 2016 by Holidays

Warm Hands

Little HottiesDuring the winter months here in Arizona, the temperatures don’t get extremely cold, but to an aging couple, both with arthritic hands, the lower temperatures can bring some discomfort. Add to that the fact that we don’t run the heater in our retirement house, the minor discomfort is not limited to the outdoors.

Damsel suggested that we acquire some hand warmers for those occasions when a little heat might go a long way to relieve the little aches and pains in our hands. I went on Amazon and found these Little Hotties Hand Warmers. I ordered a box of ten pairs of them and today, I opened up one pair to try them out.

It was cool in the office this morning when I activated the pair of warmers at about 10AM. It is now quarter to eight in the evening and these little guys are still warm in the front pouch of my hooded sweatshirt. I have not had cold hands all day and the discomfort due to the cooler temps is virtually nil. We probably won’t need to use these every day while the cooler weather persists, but, on those occasions when the joints are acting up, they will be a welcome addition to the pockets where the hands go when they feel cold.

24 Jan 2016 by Arizona Environment Technobabble

Five Years in the New House

2011.jpg 2016.jpg

The Damsel and I moved in to our desert house in early January of 2011, just a few days more than five years ago. Since the move in date, we have made a few improvements over time. I took both photos above, one back then and the other today. Comparing the two, one can see the result of planned improvements to our rustic desert homesite. Click on either image to enlarge.

Almost immediately after we moved in, our contractor began construction on the courtyard wall. That was followed by the landscape contractor who installed irrigation and the shrubs, then finished with the river and red rocks covering the ground all around the house. Somewhere in the middle there, we had the sunscreens and security doors installed.

After experiencing several minor RV drive washouts from monsoons, we decided to have our contractor put in retention walls last February. We also asked them to pave the RV drive with concrete all the way around. Last summer, we had what the Maricopa County Flood Control District referred to as a “millennium” rainfall event, dumping up to five inches on us in less than two hours. The walls did their job of diverting the runoff and the pavement drained properly.

We now consider our home in a maintenance mode. We still have some minor improvements to make to the rock and cactus garden west of the house. We have taken it upon ourselves to spread some of the rock ground cover and to reinforce the runoff creek with large rocks and boulders already available on the property. All in good time, of course.

21 Jan 2016 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

Welcome Signs of Spring

Paperwhites

We have had some relief from the sub-freezing temperatures over the past couple of weeks. The really cold temperatures may be behind us, as attested by flowers opening in the desert.

In recent days, my Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus) have begun to bloom in the courtyard. We have had these perennial flowers come up every January since we planted the bulbs shortly after moving here, about five years ago.

Any resemblance to daffodils is not a coincidence according to Wikipedia:

Narcissus papyraceus (from papyrus and aceus; meaning paper-like), one of a few species known as paperwhite, is a perennial bulbous plant native to the western Mediterranean region, from Greece to Portugal plus Morocco and Algeria. The species is considered naturalized in the Azores, Corsica, Texas, California and Louisiana. The white flowers are borne in bunches and are strongly fragrant. It is frequently grown as a house plant, often forced to flower at Christmas.

Paperwhites are part of the Narcissus genus which includes plants known as daffodils.

In addition to the places listed above where these are considered “naturalized,” I submit Arizona should be added to the list. Click on the image to enlarge.

20 Jan 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Back to the Saguaros

First SaguarosAnyone who has crossed the Colorado River on Interstate 10 eastbound from Blythe, CA to Ehrenberg, AZ, will almost immediately start seeing the ubiquitous (to Sonoran Arizona) Saguaro Cactus along the route. I took this photo of some of the first-encountered Saguaros on a rocky hillside shortly after entering our home state after the last visit to Palm Desert.

Image of some of the first Saguaro Cacti encountered after entering Arizona on I-10. Click on the image to enlarge.

After entering Arizona, our route takes us 29 more miles on I-10 to Exit 31, US Hwy 60. We follow 60 all the way to Wickenburg, going through the Arizona Outback and the towns of Brenda, Hope, Harcuvar, Salome, Wenden, Gladden, Aguila and finally Wickenburg. It is a colorful and interesting drive through the small towns, farms, ranches and a lot of RV parks with Saguaro Cactus to be seen most of the way.

When we bought our desert property in 2010, there were no Saguaros on the lot. After building the house, we included three transplanted Saguaros as a part of our desert landscaping. When arriving home after one of our trips, it is always nice to see the big Saguaro at the top of the driveway in front of the house. Other than the Palo Verde at the bottom of the driveway, the big cactus is the first thing you notice when coming up the road.

We love the state, our home and all of the Saguaros.

Saguaro, Saguaro,
I Love you Saguaro,
You’re only a State Away!

Apologies to Strouse and Charnin, composer and lyricist for Annie the Musical.

12 Jan 2016 by Arizona Photography Travel Wanderlust

States Visited Meme

my-states.jpg

I saw this meme on the FecesBook™ thing and didn’t do anything about it. Then, I started seeing it show up on the blogs I read, most notably Every Blade of Grass, so I decided to participate.

I have been lucky to have visited a lot of places, domestically and internationally, because of Military Service, occupational deployment, personal vacation and travel, plus my secondary occupation as a pilot and flight instructor. My count of states visited in this country is up to forty-eight of them, only missing Iowa and North Dakota. I assure you, those two are on the bucket list.

We may visit the missing two this summer, depending on how things work out, but in any event, we will extend our 2017 Eclipse Vacation to include the two missing states. There are a lot of interesting things to see and do in that region of the country and we look forward to the trip.

I made this map using the link to MapLoco to Create your own states map. Click on the image to enlarge.

08 Jan 2016 by Blogosphere Travel Wanderlust

Categories

Archives