Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

CapnBob

Independence Day – July 4, 2021

This is an awesome video on the origin of our National Anthem . . .

The video tells the story of Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry from British ships in the Chesapeake. I have to tell you I got a lump in my throat a couple of times while watching this one. Key, of course wrote the words to the Anthem. The tune was taken from an old English-originated folk march.

Happy Independence Day – we’re celebrating at home with some simple grilled tenderloin (Filet Mignon) steaks and a nice salad. No fireworks because dogs. We hope everyone enjoys the celebration on this extended weekend.

Hat tip to Braden at Langley Outdoors Academy for showing this video to us a few weeks ago.

03 Jul 2021 by Holidays Notions Patriotism

Summer Solstice And Fathers’ Day June 20, 2021

Father’s Day GrillingIn 2021, Father’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 20. This happens to be the same day as the summer solstice (June 20 at 11:32 P.M. Eastern Time), which makes it the perfect time to kick-off the summer season with grilling a couple of steaks. We’re in the middle of a heat-wave but we’re prepared to go outdoors and cook over the grill by virtue of having plenty of water and perhaps an adult beverage or two.

Image: Ready at the Outdoor Grill – Click on the image to enlarge.

The local sunrise for today is at 5:20 AM and the sunset will take place at 7:45 PM. The longest day at our latitude is 14 Hours and 25 Minutes. The forecast temperature at grilling time is 112° F. As I said before, we’re prepared – the summer heat is one of the reasons we moved here.

The menu today is for Beef; tenderloin steaks for today and a tri-tip roast for later in the week. The side dishes are baked beans and potato salad, both of the KETO variety, i.e. low-carb soy beans and cauliflower instead of potatoes in the salad – both taste the same as the high carb dishes they replace.

Finally, today we salute all the Dads out there and wish them a good day. We also salute our Dads again as we did last year.

20 Jun 2021 by Astronomy Family Holidays Notions

Flag Day 2021

Flag Day 2021

Damsel and I raised the colors this morning over our little house in Wickenburg. We had the flags down the last couple of weeks because of 30 knot gusts and the occasional “dust devils” that roar through the desert. Those, fortunately, have diminished in favor of a nice westerly wind today that is under 15 knots or so – BTW our high temperature today was 114° according to the thermometer out in the back patio. We’re OK with that here in our nice, cool 80° office.

Our local American Legion sets out flags all over town on this and other holidays. They seem to have hundreds of pole holes all up and down the major thoroughfares where the flags are distributed early in the morning and then collected late in the day. It is a pleasant sight to see all those flags, although we didn’t get out to see them today. We’ll have another chance on Independence Day.

From Wikipedia:

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.[1] The Flag Resolution, passed on June 14, 1777, stated: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.

Today marks the 244th Anniversary of that event.

14 Jun 2021 by Notions Patriotism

Spring Quail Chicks

Female and 2 chicks One of the Chicks

Mid afternoon, I was getting drowsy sitting at the desk, so I picked up my SL1 Canon and put the 400mm lens on it to go out and see what I could photograph in our busy little desert. Just as I came out of the back patio screen door, I noticed some quail and their chicks on the hill behind the RV drive. The photos above are of a mama and two of her chicks and a single chick. Click on either image to enlarge.

We have been seeing young quail for a few weeks now that the breeding season is in progress. The young birds leave the nest within the first day after hatching and follow their parents to places where they can forage for themselves. Quail do not feed their young so foraging is necessary for them to survive. The chicks are flightless for the first ten days or so, but shortly after that they can follow their parents as they fly up on the back retention wall behind our RV drive. We have seen a couple of broods back there which is entertaining to watch as the little ones, one by one, flit up to be with the others up on the wall.

You can read more about these interesting birds at All About Birds – Gambel’s Quail.

Photo Details: Cropped and resized by myself – Canon EOS REBEL SL1 – Normal Program Mode, 1/500 sec, F5.6, ISO320, Focal length 340mm. Lens model: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

There’s always something to photograph out here like Gila Woodpeckers, Cactus Fruit getting ripe and a Birdhouse I recently repaired and hung in a mesquite in the outback.

09 Jun 2021 by Arizona Critters Photography

Operation Overlord – June 6, 1944

normandy.jpg

Seventy-seven years ago, the invasion of Normandy began. My Dad was an electricians mate aboard the USS Brooklyn light cruiser, whose 5 and 6 inch guns softened targets in France so the Allies could do their thing. Dad came back from the War, but many did not. Take a moment today to remember those selfless, brave men that chiseled out our victory in Europe.

06 Jun 2021 by Military Patriotism

Memorial Day 2021

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Damsel and I took a spring vacation, probably back in 1986 or so, to the Washington D.C. area to see the sights in the area. A visit to Arlington National Cemetery was one of the major items on our list of things to do. We saw the Iwo Jima Memorial, JFK’s Eternal Flame, scores of important historical items and also a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

We were at the Tomb when the ceremony for changing the guard took place. It was one of those things that sent chills through your body what with the precision movements made by the Army Soldiers as they relieved the current guard with his replacement.

As for the contents of the Tomb, there are the remains of three unknowns; one from WW1, another from WW2 and a third from the Korean Conflict. These days, with DNA testing, there are almost no “unknown” personnel, so no more are expected to be interred at the Tomb.

On this Memorial Day, we remember all of those who never came home from the conflicts in our history. May GOD rest their souls and may they not have died in vain for the liberty and freedom we cherish. Amen.

Enjoy the holiday, but remember them.

31 May 2021 by Holidays Military Patriotism

Woodpeckers

DrJim, at the Every Blade of Grass blog, posted an interesting article on the appearance of a Northern Flicker Woodpecker in their yard in northern Colorado. Since we have our share of woodpeckers here in mid-central Arizona, I thought I would post about them. We see mostly Gila Woodpeckers but occasionally see Gilded Flickers too.

Gila Woodpeckers in Mesquite Tree Gilded Flicker and House Finch on the Backyard Feeder Gila Woodpecker on the Saguaro

Images: Woodpeckers – Click on any image to enlarge. Left and right images credit me. Center image credit Damsel

The image at the left shows a Gila Woodpecker couple in/on the mesquite tree directly across the road in front of our house. We have been seeing them having activity there since march or so. The image in the center is of a Gilded Flicker flushing a House Finch off of our backyard feeder. On the right is the male of another Gila Woodpecker couple perched adjacent to their hole in our big saguaro by the garage. We just noticed woodpecker activity in the saguaro over the past month.

One of the most interesting things to us in our retirement home is the desert wildlife. We are in a semi-rural area where these critters abound. Just this morning, we observed a Gambel’s Quail pair and their five or six little offspring on the retention wall behind the RV Drive as we were eating breakfast. Unfortunately, by the time the cameras came out, the birds were elsewhere. Maybe another time.

We haven’t been really good about regular blogging lately, but between the two of us, we get some really good photos of our desert wildlife and I think we might resume putting some of those up from time to time. Plus, it is springtime and Flowers are in bloom. Damsel has a bunch of those that we should share.

27 May 2021 by Arizona Critters Notions Photography

Categories

Archives