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Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Fall is busting out all over
Click on this photo to make it bigger and see the many different colors in the tree.

When I was back in Washington D.C. in September, it was just barely changing colors. Most everything was still green but had we gotten out and up into the 'mountains', I'd have seen more. But not far from their house, this tree was aglow. I wanted to get down there and catch it in the morning sun but I never made that. So this got shot in the afternoon sometime.

When I was back in Washington D.C. in September, it was just barely changing colors. Most everything was still green but had we gotten out and up into the 'mountains', I'd have seen more. But not far from their house, this tree was aglow. I wanted to get down there and catch it in the morning sun but I never made that. So this got shot in the afternoon sometime.
Phoenician statues
These are just some of the art at The Phoenician that I had hanging around. I deleted a lot of what I had and then found these that I hadn't. I should find another wonderful place to haunt. I've probably bored you out on the Phoenician. One of these days I'll go out to The Pointe and see what they have to offer. Or.....let's see. The Camelback Inn? Maybe I'll go there and get a room. Just to see how the other half lives, you understand.
I liked this one.
I liked this one.Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Arizona nature at work
Monday, November 16, 2009
One Hundred Years!
A lot goes on in one hundred years. Yet in the scheme of all things important, it's only a blink in the eternity of time. My dad is 100 today. It's an age I never want to be. But for some reason unexplainable, he still does not want to die. Is it fear of the unknown? I have no idea, but he still says he doesn't want to go. Everything has gone but his very strong heart. And his mind. Although that's changed a little bit. He still remembers better than I do. He is not understandable when he talks, and that frustrates him more than we all know. And yet he still goes on. He said once he will outlive all of his children. One has gone. I believe him to be right. These pictures are part of his long life.
These people are his parents. They were married December 3, 1896 in Big Cottonwood, Utah. He was the 6th of 8 children and has survived all of them. That must be a lonely feeling.
From Utah they eventually went to Southern Idaho and farmed on the Snake River Valley land. They had a lean-to house about 3 miles west of what became eventually Rigby, Idaho. This photo of him is about two years old in front of that house. In winter, of course! Look at those raggedy clothes.
He was about three here. The background looks like a backdrop. Where they got the money to take him to an actual photographer is a mystery. He is very dressed up for it though. Hair combed nicely and neat clothing.
Again mostly likely a photographer took this. He is about 4 or 5 here and is standing with his younger sister, Eleanor.
The house by this photo in time had been fixed up. He is the taller boy on the right by now. His father next to him will have died only a short few years after this picture was taken. My guess is this was taken on a Sunday. They are way too dressed up for a regular day.
This was my father when he went on a mission to New Mexico in 1930 - 1932. I look at this and just wonder who that cute little girl is and was in the background.

This was my mother and father taken a few months after they were married February 1, 1933. I say that because those are lilac bushes with lilacs in bloom and in Rigby, Idaho that's about late May or June. Depending on the weather.
Most likely this was taken in Los Angeles, California roughly around 1943 or 44. It was a V8 Ford automobile. He was working at Douglas Aircraft during the war and probably made pretty decent money then.
After 1945, they moved back to Rigby because he wanted to farm. Though my mother loved California and always said you could stick a toothpick in the ground there and it would grow into something, she was probably very happy to get back to where her family lived even though winters there were very cold and lots of snow as this picture shows. Don't you just love the way he made sure everybody in history knew which one he was in this photo?
These people are his parents. They were married December 3, 1896 in Big Cottonwood, Utah. He was the 6th of 8 children and has survived all of them. That must be a lonely feeling.
From Utah they eventually went to Southern Idaho and farmed on the Snake River Valley land. They had a lean-to house about 3 miles west of what became eventually Rigby, Idaho. This photo of him is about two years old in front of that house. In winter, of course! Look at those raggedy clothes.
He was about three here. The background looks like a backdrop. Where they got the money to take him to an actual photographer is a mystery. He is very dressed up for it though. Hair combed nicely and neat clothing.
Again mostly likely a photographer took this. He is about 4 or 5 here and is standing with his younger sister, Eleanor.
The house by this photo in time had been fixed up. He is the taller boy on the right by now. His father next to him will have died only a short few years after this picture was taken. My guess is this was taken on a Sunday. They are way too dressed up for a regular day.
This was my father when he went on a mission to New Mexico in 1930 - 1932. I look at this and just wonder who that cute little girl is and was in the background.
This was my mother and father taken a few months after they were married February 1, 1933. I say that because those are lilac bushes with lilacs in bloom and in Rigby, Idaho that's about late May or June. Depending on the weather.
Most likely this was taken in Los Angeles, California roughly around 1943 or 44. It was a V8 Ford automobile. He was working at Douglas Aircraft during the war and probably made pretty decent money then.
After 1945, they moved back to Rigby because he wanted to farm. Though my mother loved California and always said you could stick a toothpick in the ground there and it would grow into something, she was probably very happy to get back to where her family lived even though winters there were very cold and lots of snow as this picture shows. Don't you just love the way he made sure everybody in history knew which one he was in this photo?Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday in the desert
The other day Paws and Vetsac called and asked me if I wanted to go horseback riding. That's like asking a starving person if he would like something to eat. I grew up on horses and have never gotten the love and desire for them out of my system. So any chance I can get to ride is a chance I'm not going to say 'no' to.
Well, the 'horses' turned out to be donkeys. Or mules. Whichever. I'm a horse person. Not a donkey person. I only know there's a difference somewhere in what they are called. I could have said 'jackasses' you know. But I'm related to know of humans who fit that description more than these pokey animals do. But what the heck. We hopped on and rode out into the desert. This was Paws' first ride on a horse donkey.
There she is....clear up in front.
And again coming back to the homestead.
She did good!
The house we were at was way out in the desert all by itself. How would you like to have this back yard.
I could wake up to this every morning.
There was skeet shooting up the hill. We didn't take Little Paws up there. Too noisy. I went straight to the ear plugs first and then watched Vetsac line up for a shot.
And ... KaBoom. I tried this once up in Idaho. I was so-so on it. The rebound of the gun kept hitting my shoulder and I had some nice bruises the next day. I'll stick to horses.
This was behind the house as the sun was going down over that hill.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Duck, duck.. goose, goose.. and a pigeon or two
I picked up PAWS and Little PAWS today for some shopping fun. Afterwhich we stopped at a park to show Little PAWS the ducks. Which turned out to be a lot of geese and about a zillion pigeons. They must procreate a lot, right? All you have to do is get out of the car and these guys start running for you. They certainly are not hungry by any means as everybody and their uncle arrives there with a loaf of bread. And we did too.
These geese would get right in your lap for the food.
And even pose for the camera.
And then.....the pigeons appeared. They are no dummies either. People = Food!

The geese fought the pigeons for the food and the ducks just waited their turn in the lake. And then battled each other for a morsel.
That cute little boy was with his grandfather and PAWS gave him some bread to join in the food festivities.
This one picked up the bread off on my knee. And that's not the only thing he did to that pair of Levi's. Fortunately there were baby wipes handy.

The ducks tried to stay out of the gangs and kept the lake to themselves.
Do you ever get the feeling someone is staring at you?
The ducks tried to stay out of the gangs and kept the lake to themselves.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Upstream alongside the Salt River
Last summer .... or maybe even the summer before last summer, I went with a friend of mine to catch creepy crawley things for her cub scouts. Like frogs, tarantulas, snakes....you know the type. While that didn't interest me in the least, I did take my camera along and was glad I did because it was a day when the river was deep and very, very still. And the sky was so beautiful and blue. Actually most days are like that here, but I like to get descriptive. What I got that day were incredible reflections in the water.
The Salt River is an actual river where we were wandering that day. It winds into the valley from the north, but before it gets to Phoenix it hits a dam so all the way through the Phoenix area we have a dry river bed that used to be quite a heavy running river.
A little trivia the next time you play Jeopardy.

I don't know what those weeds are alongside the river but they're everywhere. I'd like to say they are bulrushes, but there are no cattails.
The Salt River is an actual river where we were wandering that day. It winds into the valley from the north, but before it gets to Phoenix it hits a dam so all the way through the Phoenix area we have a dry river bed that used to be quite a heavy running river.
A little trivia the next time you play Jeopardy.
This is Red Mountain. That's it. That's the name. Wasn't much thinking that over when they were deciding on a name, was there.
I have learned that with a camera, you can take a picture of just about anything and it will come out to be a photograph that's pretty neat. Even a silly little branch and twig of a tree.
I don't know what those weeds are alongside the river but they're everywhere. I'd like to say they are bulrushes, but there are no cattails.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Superstition Mountain up close
Every day all I have to do is look east and see this mountain. Not this close of course as I'm about 15 miles from it, but it's always there. It's always a treat when the sun comes up behind it.

Here in the East Valley of the Phoenix area we prefer to think we own this mountain personally. We always have it in our back yard each morning and think fondly of it that it's ours. Which, of course, it is. :)
Here in the East Valley of the Phoenix area we prefer to think we own this mountain personally. We always have it in our back yard each morning and think fondly of it that it's ours. Which, of course, it is. :)
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