Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

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For the term "Cabela".

Meet Cabela

cabela.jpgYes, she is named after Cabela’s, the famous hunting, firearms and outdoor outfitter chain.

Last week, we went to the Humane Society of Wickenburg to look at the adoptable dogs. The pet keeper asked us what sort of dog we were looking for. Since we were looking for a short haired dog, we asked if they had anything like a miniature pinscher. Much to our surprise, they had exactly that!

Image – Cabela – click on the thumbnail to enlarge

We went out to the kennel area to meet this dog and immediately fell in love with her. Unfortunately, we couldn’t adopt her that day since she had been spayed the day before and was still recovering. They also said that they couldn’t put a hold on her until they were sure that she and Bear would get along with each other.

We went to the Humane Society this morning. Determined to get there before anyone else, we tried to get there by the time they opened. We were a few minutes early, but some of the staff were already there and let us in early. After Cabela’s introduction to us and then to Bear, it was a matter of filling out a bunch of papers and paying the adoption fee.

She is a purebred miniature pinscher (no AKC papers), about two years old, has a red and tan coat, hazel eyes and is smart, very playful and loving. We are extremely pleased with our adoption.

17 Aug 2010 by Arizona Critters

Visit to Cabela’s in Glendale, AZ

It was almost a religious experience. The grandeur of a giant department store devoted to all things outdoors and shooting. Damsel wanted to camp in the parking lot. Her eyes glazed over with the faraway look of a shopaholic who sees something shiny. Me? I was drooling on the seemingly endless display cabinet of hand guns with lower-than-expected pricing. Oh, and there was that S&W M&P 15-22 that flirted with my brain – I had to avert my glance to avoid being totally mesmerized.

cabelas.jpg

California needs stores like this, but we know the creeps in Sacramento and the idiotic Governator will drive stores and revenues like this away from the Anti-Midas state government – everything they touch turns to sh*t. The “Golden State” paradigm is now a fond memory from the past.

19 Oct 2009 by Arizona California Firearms Second Amendment Something Shiny

Mesquite Tree Bean Pods

This morning, while walking the dogs, I photographed them inspecting the myriad of bean pods recently fallen from the Mesquite tree in front of our house. You can get an idea of how numerous the pods are under this and other trees in the area from the (clickable) image above.

During the spring and summer months, the Mesquites produce these pods, which are said to have been a staple food source among the native Indians and this area’s early settlers.

From American Outdoor:

The yellow pods were once used by all the indigenous inhabitants of the desert regions, usually ground into a flour and eaten. The ripe pods are sweet, and when ground into flour, can be used to make a variety of tasty and nutritious dishes.

This shrub, or one of its close relatives, can be found throughout the deserts of Southern California, southern Nevada, parts of Utah, in Arizona along the full lengths of both the Colorado and Gila Rivers, southwestern New Mexico, and even east to Texas along the Rio Grande River.

There is no point in attempting to clean up the pods since the desert critters and other conditions do it eventually for us. Moreover, it is too warm to be handling a rake in the 105+ degree daytime temperatures here.

By the way, Cabela (on the right above) will celebrate her SIXTEENTH birthday tomorrow. Other than partial blindness due to cataracts, she is still going strong. We expect that she’ll be with us for quite a while longer.

02 Aug 2024 by Critters Home & Garden Notions Photography

July 11th – 7/11

Today’s date reminded me of the dice game “craps” which is popular in casinos worldwide. We are not particularly gamblers, especially at our advanced ages, but reminisce occasionally about things we did in the past which we thank God that we’re now over those days and urges.

Anyhow, here a couple of notes about the goings-on in our world on July 11th of 2024:

The (clickable) image above shows one of the several mesquite trees around the house which are all fully endowed with green foliage and numerous bean pods. Not shown in the image is the ground beneath the tree covered with more bean pods. The desert critters and other phenomena eventually clean up the pods, so there is no labor involved, which is good since daytime temperatures here are in the 105-115° range during pod season.

These deciduous trees lose all the green (well, most of it) during the colder months, but have lots of bipinnate leaves providing shade during the warmer months. We’re thankful to have these around the property.

We have had Cabela, our Min-Pin, for almost fourteen years now, and she was estimated to be about two years old when we adopted her in August of 2010. In the (clickable) photo, you can see that she has cataracts in both of her eyes, the right eye completely blind now and the left one not far behind. She does OK in bright light, but tends to not see very well in darker conditions. She also seems not to be able to see things close up and her depth perception is certainly impaired judging from her reaction to things around her.

In spite of her vision problems, she is physically able to get around and prances like the little puppy still going inside of her. We worry when she runs around, since she tends to collide with objects from time to time.

This particular breed of miniature pinscher (not related to Doberman Pinschers) has skin problems resulting in bumps and growths on the surface of her (almost) hairless body. These aren’t a significant problem since they are benign and if she doesn’t scratch them and make them bleed, they don’t seem to affect her.

So, we will continue to baby her as long as she remains healthy and spry. Naturally, we dread the day that eventually will come when we lose her. Dog lovers everywhere know the pain of that.

11 Jul 2024 by Arizona Critters Notions Retirement

Eclipse Excursion Planning

There will be an annular eclipse of the sun on October 14, 2023. We have begun the planning for a trip in order to be where we can see the ring of fire. The path forecast favors places like Monument Valley, UT and Albuquerque, NM, both of which are just a few hours from home. We will be taking the Class A Motorhome to see this eclipse, just as we did the last time on August 21, 2017.

Damsel and I are both familiar with camping in both Goulding’s RV Campground in Monument Valley and American RV Resort in Albuquerque, so we were quickly able to choose the latter, given it’s convenient location to I-40 and the amenities there with which we’re familiar. So American RV it is — on condition we can get reservations there on the dates of the event.

In the image above, we were getting set up in Casper, WY for the August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. Damsel is by the open side door with Tom and Amber (our friends) in the foreground. Cabela and Beethoven, our Min Pins look on as we go through our antics. Looking at these old pictures gives us the wanderlust to get this next event planned as well as getting our shakedown cruise going.

I refurbished the old countdown timer that we used to count the time left until the August 2017 eclipse to now count the time until the eclipse starts in Albuquerque in 2023. See the sidebar for Eclipse Countdown.

08 Sep 2022 by Astronomy Notions Retirement Wanderlust

National Dog Day

The Dog Park

We didn’t know it when we took Beethoven and Cabela to the Wickenburg Dog Park today, but today is National Dog Day. I discovered that it was dog day while browsing the book of face after we got home.

The dogs really enjoy running around the dog park. They don’t generally get off their leashes when outside, but they run around sniffing everything and, as usual, give us an opportunity to clean up after them. Today, they enjoyed it so much that they took an extra lap around the park perimeter and didn’t seem to want to get on their leashes until after that.

After I discovered it was National Dog Day, I searched for it on the internet and found Holiday Insights:

National Dog Day has two goals: to honor dogs, and to rescue dogs from homelessness and abuse. It’s an opportunity for us to recognize and appreciate the value and importance of dogs in our lives.

This day is intended to honor dogs for all that they do for us. In addition to giving love and companionship, dogs help us out in countless ways. They are watchdogs for our safety. They lead the blind. Dogs aid in search and rescue, and they seek out bombs and drugs.

The second goal of National Dog Day is to rescue dogs in need. On occasion, dogs need us to save them from homelesness and abuse. The goal of the National Dog Day foundation is to rescue 10,000 dogs a year. Lend a hand to help a dog in need today, or any day.

26 Aug 2014 by Arizona Critters Holidays

Happy Halloween

Halloween Dog

Since our house is located on an unlit unpaved road away from where kids would go on Halloween, we don’t get any tricksters. But, that’s probably a good thing since our Min-Pins tend to be overprotective and raise a ruckus whenever anybody comes calling.

We still enjoy the spirit (no pun intended) of Halloween and decorate accordingly, including our little girl Min-Pin, Cabela. Click on the image to enlarge.

31 Oct 2013 by Critters Culture Holidays Photography

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