Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

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Classic 1950’s Chevy Tractor Truck

1950’s Chevy Tractor Truck

I was thumbing through some of the photo archives and ran across this image of a vintage Chevy truck. Since we recently posted one of a similar Ford truck, I thought to share this classic here in the interest of providing a classic competitor of the day. Click on the image to enlarge.

The Chevy truck was parked in the lot of one of our shopping centers near the west side of town. I took the photo in October of 2012, about a year and a half after we moved here. I actually took two photos of the truck with the intent of making an anaglyph 3D image. I have had the hobby of making 3D pictures for many years and posted them on our other blog. You will need a pair of red/cyan glasses to see the result here.

02 Aug 2021 by Bob's 3D Stuff Classics Nostalgia Notions Retirement

Cleared to Proceed Via Orbit Seven-Niner

earth-orbit.jpgWell, here it is another milestone along the road that we travel as inhabitants of the Blue Planet. I have previously made reference to the fact that every year of our lives marks one orbit around the Sun by our fair planet. This day completes my 78th orbit and as far as I can tell, the Man Upstairs has given me clearance to pilot my path along the next circuit to which I reply, “Roger, SIR, proceeding as cleared.”

At this time, I have no reason to believe that I might not complete this next orbit and several others beyond that. My sweet Mother, Kate and her Grandmother, Emma, both made it into nonagenenerian territory and, GOD willing, perhaps I might make it to those future orbits as well. Tempus narrabo.

Our celebrations today were modest, what with running a coupe of errands and then grilling a couple of steaks outdoors which Damsel complimented with a nice Salad. We plan to spend the rest of the evening just relaxing and later watching a movie on the Tube*.

* I guess there aren’t any actual tubes in our entertainment boxes these days, but whatever. They still refer to “film” to record them even though actual film is seldom used anymore.

22 Jul 2021 by Notions Retirement

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

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

Beltane – A Celtic Cross Quarter

beltane3.jpgThis 5th of May, 2021, Damsel and I have decided to skip the traditional “Cinco de Mayo” and celebrate “Beltane” instead. The Cross-Quarter day (midway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice) of Beltane, an ancient Celtic day of importance, occurs on May 5th this year according to the “Grand Octal Clock” which can be seen at the Archaeoastronomy.com website.

So, to celebrate the Celtic First Day of the Summer Season, we will be preparing a traditional Irish dinner of Corned Beef and Cabbage along with some boiled vegetables. I know, we just had that on March 17th for St. Patrick’s Day, but we like to have this meal more than once a year.

I discussed our Irish Ancestry in a post on St. Patrick’s Day last year. I also have English, Welsh, Scottish and some other mixed Northern European heritage along with a couple of Italians and one Choctaw great6th grandmother. Doing the math, that Indian ancestor qualifies me for Native American heritage benefits four times greater than Senator Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren. Of course, I wouldn’t do that – I’m not a Democrat.

So, since neither Damsel nor I have any Hispanic Genealogy, we will probably be more inclined to celebrate Beltane than Cinco de Mayo in the future on May the 5th. That being said, we will still, of course, indulge in Tex/Mex Cuisine from time to time.

Happy (Insert Your Preferred 3/5 Celebration Here) to you!

05 May 2021 by Ancestors Holidays Notions People

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